Choosing & Storing Your Filament
Your choice of filament can be the deciding factor between a high-quality print and a low-quality one, which is a lesson we learned early on in our printing.
Choosing Your Material
There are many different types of material filament can be made from- from PLA, to ABS, to PVA and more. Identifying the best material for your project is the first step.
ABS is best for prints intended to withstand time and weathering as it is known for its hardness, gloss, toughness, and electrical insulation properties.
PLA is easier to print with as it is less prone to cracking and de-lamination.
Each material has different benefits and weaknesses. Evaluate your project needs and use them to determine which material is best.
Some general questions to keep in mind:
Does this print need to be water tight?
Does this print need to withstand weathering?
What type of finish is desired?
Choosing Your Filament
Next you need to choose your filament. We used mainly Inland filament for our first year of printing. It was cheap, we could buy it at our local Microcenter, and it worked… most of the time.
As we started to explore other options, first with Gizmo Dorks and then Proto Pasta, we were excited to discover that the additional investment increased print quality and ease. Prints were more consistently successful and we could make the layer height way smaller.
When you’re first getting started messing around with mid to low-grade filament is best- you’re bound to wind up spaghetti mess quite often, so it’s best not to have too much invested in it. While the cheaper filament was more difficult to work with at times, it made it a lot easier to make the expensive filament perfect, as we were forced to focus on making the temperature just right and really zeroing in on our slicer settings.
Be careful when purchasing filament online, though. We’ve been burned twice by bad filament companies. The first time, it took over 3 months for our filament to show up. You can read all about the second time here. Take care to find reviews of new companies online, before purchasing. If you don’t have positive results, reach out- companies with good customer service will help.
Storing Your Filament
We learned the hard way that PLA absorbs moisture and becomes impossible to print with.
You should only open filament you intend to use within a month. When you aren’t printing, it is crucial to store your filament in an airtight container with silica packets.
If you open a roll of filament, but then realize you won’t use it all within the month, vacuum seal it again in order to preserve it.
We store our filament in a large plastic container that we used foam strips to insulate. We keep a ton of silica packs in the bottom to help soak up moisture.
Wrap Up
Consider how your print will be used and what it will need to handle when choosing your material. Understand the quality you are looking to achieve and know quality will improve with a larger investment.
Further Reading:
