Hey all, I was wondering if anyone has any opinion of the new PLA/PETG support material.
Have any of you used the original PLA Support and found the new dual material is better, worse, the same?
I have little use for special support material and still have a roll of the original Bambu stuff.
No problem getting my supports off and if I do need a much better surface I use PETG for PLA and the other way around.
Just for the interface layers…
For my dual head printer I still keep a roll of water dissolve-able filament.
Only use this expensive stuff for models where I have to supports in basically impossible to remove locations.
Another cheat I sometimes use on this printer is ABS for the interface layers.
Like for rather small but very ‘nasty’ models that need a really good surface while being a total pain when it comes to removing the supports.
A few minutes in acetone or MEK and things basically just fall off.
The key, IMHO anyway, is to at least have a material for the interface layers that does not like to bond with the printed filament.
OR: Being able to dissolve the interface layers/supports.
Which brings me to the fundamental issues at hand if you don’t have a dual head printer or such:
WASTE…
I tried a sample of this new dual purpose material - not from Bambu but probably from the same manufacturer in China as the advertising specs were identical.
Yes, it does work, yes, if calibrated supports are easy to remove…
But the printer flushes out lot of it as well.
Not an issue IF you could select the material for just the area where it really matters a rather big issue though if you need supports for sloped surfaces.
Here you get a flush at ever layer if things are complex.
In the end this means flushing more of the expensive support material than what is used for the print - not an economical solution.
The print time also goes up quite a bit if there is a need for the support material over 40 or more layers…
Never had to worry about such things on my dual head for some reason…
If you print a lot and won’t waste time cleaning up models go for it.
For the random need at times on a hobby level there is much cheaper alternatives…
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I’ll keep it short and sweet.
Use it up then use PLA for PETG and vice versa. Keep it dry and it’ll work well.
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Did you ever which came first here?
“Dedicated” support material for a problem we never had?
Or a generated need for a ‘dedicated’ support material that costs way more than what the trouble is worth ?
I think it is a bit of a problem with WHAT is expected from good supports.
Take a flat top - bridging can look ugly, tree supports do better but a proper, flat support surface works best.
Here easy to remove support materials really shine.
On the other hand, where the support also has to prevent the layer from curling up and such we do prefer a certain amount of bond.
Take a prime example in the form of a long overhang with a rather low angle.
ABS or even Nylon can be really bad behaving here.
Funny enough we don’t have any dedicated support material for them which are both easy to remove AND offering the strong support bond required to prevent disasters.
PLA and PETG are the most used filaments right now.
With no actual need for s dedicated support material, except maybe dissolveable ones I wonder if it is all just for the money…
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