I’m looking for some community advice on material selection. I have been able to successfully make a prototype of a specialized bell crank housing I’ve been developing using PLA. The parts are fantastic, but a bit too compliant. I’d like to use something more rigid and I’d like to stick with a Bambu offering for simplicity (at least for now) as I’m brand new to plastic 3D printing. I see offerings of PAHT-CF and Polycarbonate in the store. My objectives are: good quality of print, repeatability, ease of use, and printer longevity (low service needs, if possible). Cost is secondary at this point. Does anyone have recommendations on best Bambu offering for what I’ve described? Thank you!
PAHT-CF and PC would certainly be stiffer, but are much fussier to print. PA, being Nylon, is possibly too compliant for your use, even with the CF, though I find my PETG-CF (non-Bambu filament) prints to be very stiff. A lot depends on how the CF filler is made - fibers will add stiffness, powder not so much.
If you can expand your horizon outside Bambu relabeled filament, you have many more choices.
Thank you for the input. I was thinking I might need to go that direction. Any inputs on which material providers will have the best compatability with the Bambu X-1?
For a point of reference the Priline PC i use is more complaint than PLA.
cant vouch for bambu PC.
for ultimate stiffness I would look into CF or GF PLA.
From my knowledge, Plain PLA is generally considered to be the stiffest filament you can buy without getting truly exotic. adding fiber reinforcement to PLA would push that higher imo.
I just remembered Priline also does PC-CF. very good stuff. dont know how it compares to PLA-CF though. They are not that expensive.
I do recommend getting a 0.6mm hardened hotend assembly if you plan on using CF or GF filaments. the majority of them recommend larger nozzle to avoid clogs.
By chance did you use part cooling fan(should be zero except when absolutely necessary) or limit the speed to 50mm/s? PC and PC-CF is VERY sensitive to such things.
This was on a different printer quite some time ago, so I don’t remember. I will note that the Priline, like most PC filaments, is a blend of PC and other materials (PETG?). I do love the crisp detail in its prints.
I have not tested yet but i ordered touch-pla from Material4prints. After i had a look at the tds i saw it‘s better than petg and after sintering even a lot more robust then petg. But nearly as easy to print as standart pla.
Could check it out.
If you want to get the toughest stuff, as in keeping form and standing physical stress, plus quality, you won’t get around the
Prusament PA-CF. Not cheap at all and barely available due to its properties.