Materials
When I purchased my first 3D printer, it came as a kit. One of the “spider” style.
By this I mean it had three towers with arms that supported a hot-end platform. By moving the base of the arms up and down the towers, the platform would move in 3 space.
It was the fastest type of printer available.
Unfortunately, it was not a good choice. The instructions were not good, and in particular, they got the size of one of the drive wheels wrong.
The printer was designed around 3mm filament at a time when most hotends had moved to 1.75mm. I paid to have a 3D printer dude tune my printer to make it work. It didn’t, but he did upgrade it to 1.75mm filament.
There were three types of filament at the time, PLA, PA, and ABS.
PLA is a starch-based plastic; it has a relatively low melting point but is cheap. It is the standard for most prints.
ABS is the standard plastic you find almost everywhere.
PA is Nylon.
I purchased some ABS and Nylon but never had what I would consider a successful print.
Fast forward to today, and the types of filaments have exploded.
Besides the three listed above, they now have PETG, TPU, PC, ASA, PLA+, PA6, PA12. And many of these are available with CF (carbon fiber) or GF (glass fiber) added.
PETG is stronger than PLA and has a higher melting point. It is commonly used. I use it anywhere I might need something that will withstand a little heat.
TPU is a printable rubber. You can print custom gaskets with it. It is also used for non-slip feet.
PC is polycarbonate; it prints clear and is heat resistant and strong. ASA is a stronger than ABS material.
All of these do a job well. And I’m going a bit bonkers trying to make sure I hit the correct price/performance mark.
The good news, for me, is that I’m starting to come out of the print for the printer and starting to print tools and organizational things for me.