I have been printing for awhile and I am starting to expand my filament horizon.
A lot of what I make needs to have very clean esthetically pleasing outer walls, especially when using black filament.
Oh I am so sick of the inconsistent results when you have through-holes - banding, ghosting etc. (always more noticeable on black)
I have used PLA Basic and PETG-HF mostly with good but mixed results.- I take into consideration - drying, speed, flow, temps etc - but my results are not always consistent no matter how many times I have printed the same model.
Even if the color map in the slicer for flow, speed, temp, layer time, fan all show consistent colors - I still manage to get seem imperfections, blobs, zits etc. - this is still after drying and dialing in my settings.
I was so happy with PETG-HF last year - and then I tried Overture PLA Turbo - and all worked well. Then the firmware and slicer upgrades happened - and my dialed in settings did not produce the same results as before. (I don’t know what happened, all I can say - the current prints do not look like the previous prints and I did not change anything) - anyway…
I just opened a roll of PLA-CF that came with my first purchase of my Bambu X1C - from 2023 (I have 4 X1C units - and only 2 of them came with PLA-CF - the rest only came with the support for PLA and that Green PLA Basic) - I am looking at the print as I type this - and I must admit - it is looking amazing.
I print with pla-cf all the time, it’s great, no issues for me at all, just make sure you are drying it not only so that it always prints nice but also ensuring that what is already a brittle filament doesn’t get even more brittle and then snap on the AMS
Please take into consideration that when handling printed objects with hands, small CF fibre snippets will remain in the skin. I have already seen it demonstrated by three independent people on YouTube when watched under a microscope.
I don’t know how problematic that really is. But even though I love the surface, having seen those closeups is sufficient for me to stay away from CF for parts that are intended to be handled regularly.
Beware using any-CF for mechanical parts that rub. Consider the surface a 2000 grit sandpaper Alex brings up a good point too about the CF embedding in skin, don’t use it for parts that people will CONSTANTLY handle. (aka dont use it on a game controller, but a handle or a grab bar? sure). I’m not sold on the threat profile of the fibers in skin. Your skin is constantly dying and being pushed out of you, those fibers are (likely?) gonna go along for that ride. Sure, plz dont coat my skin in that, but 2 or 3?
I tested PETG-CF and ASA-CF over the weekend – also with the microscope and to see what it does to my skin.
I’m sticking with ABS-GF
When handling it, it is best to wear gloves. I would recommend that everyone coat the finished print with a layer of clear varnish if it will be handled.
Your body doesn’t recognise carbon fibre that gets into your skin as hostile and therefore does nothing with it, unlike a small shard of metal or a splinter.
Any fibre based filament will have small fibres that will free themselves from a print that is subject to abrasion, ie frequent handling or rubbing surfaces.
Both carbon and glass fibres are exceptionally bad for your lungs, wear a good quality mask (ideally full face to prevent ingress via eyes) when sanding or cutting fibre filament - a good Air Quality Monitor is a sensible investment in your printing/work space with both particle counts (PM1, 2.5 and 10) and Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC) measuring.
Under the microscope, I couldn’t see anything on the printed surfaces or on or in my skin with ABS GF. It looks completely different with CF filaments. Gently touching the test cubes with my fingertips was enough to transfer dozens of carbon fibres to my skin.
I have no idea why that is. Whether it was a coincidence or whether it’s generally true. So far, I’ve only tested this with two Bambulab GF filaments.
I am not an independent laboratory. These are my own investigations, and I simply follow them IF I really want to use a filament with such additives.
Incidentally, PETG-CF also looks much cleaner under the microscope than ASA-CF, both in its raw and printed form. The fibres appear to be better enclosed in PETG in both states.
Personally, I don’t think the lax handling of these filaments is particularly good (incidentally, I feel the same way about resin, as many people handle it uncleanly and every other YouTuber grinds the stuff without a mask or similar protection).
Just because it looks nicer, I would never prefer it over other filaments without these additives.
Alex brings up a good point too about the CF embedding in skin, don’t use it for parts that people will CONSTANTLY handle. (aka dont use it on a game controller, but a handle or a grab bar? sure). I’m not sold on the threat profile of the fibers in skin. Your skin is constantly dying and being pushed out of you, those fibers are (likely?) gonna go along for that ride. Sure, plz dont coat my skin in that, but 2 or 3?