Success printing PolyPropylene and PolyEthylene

[DesignER]

I’m excited to share this and get any further refinement on these settings - please try this and post any improvements - Especially on how to speed these up.

I have had good luck printing both PolyPropylene (PP) and PolyEthylene (PE) Thanks to the posts from both 3DTech Holmes4 and MotherOfInvention. I built off their info and adjusted it until I had success with different PP & PE materials.

Best results were with the Braskem brand. I wanted to simulate PP copolymer used in many stiff walled disposable medical devices. Both PE & PP stick to themselves well but don’t like to stick to anything else such as a build surface.

The keys to getting the PP & PE materials to work:

• a wide brim - 8-15+mm to help with platform adhesion
• having the platform stay hot to help with platform adhesion
• slow print speeds so it does not peel off build platform
• Engineering platform
• Adhesive Critical for PE, sometimes needed for PP

The first Centaur PP we got a sample of only had a durometer of D50 and is flexible almost like TPU. For my application this filament is too soft and flexible - it did not feed well and parts were too flexible.

Best results have happened with the BRASKEM FILAMENTS
Braskem Polypropylene 3D Filament – FL105PP / 1.75 mm / Natural / 700g
Braskem Polyethylene 3D Filament - FL300PE / 1.75mm / Natural White / 700g
Unfortunately the spools are slightly too big a diameter to fit in the AMS so you can use the rear spool holder.

I purchased these from Amazon, for some reason the direct order from xtellar did not go though, your luck may be better.

Engineering build plate seems to have best adhesion.
The engineering plate seems to work good by itself for the PP, though adhesive helps.
The Magigoo PP adhesive is critical to get the PE to adhere.
MPP2018 3D Printer Adhesive Glue, Reduces Warping for Polypropylene Filament

Settings
There are very few settings I found I needed to change between the PP & PE.

Braskem Polypropylene Filament Settings

Braskem Polypropylene Process Settings

Braskem Polyethylene Filament Settings

Braskem Polyethylene Process Settings

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Exported Settings ======================

With Studio 1.82 you can import these profiles. :Printer config bundle:
Bambu Lab X1 Carbon 0.4 nozzle 2024-03-29 PP+PE.bbscfg.zip

Best Filament presets in this file:

Best Process presets in this file:

[holmes4]

See also my post at Printing with polypropylene (PP) filament and Magigoo PP - Other topics - Bambu Lab Community Forum

[DesignER]

Yes, I forgot to give you credit, I had read your posts too. Thanks

[Olias]

Thanks for taking the time to share so many great details.

You wouldn’t by chance have photos of some of your successful and unsuccessful models to share? It would be helpful for folks who come across this post what a visually acceptable vs unacceptable print looks like.

[DesignER]

The parts I got working well are still unreleased designs so I cannot share them but our friend Benchy shows it good.
I printed this in PP using the settings included in my first post .2mm layer height.
You can see the over hangs turned out really well, as did the bridging.
This was printed without supports.
You can see the brim and actually see the brim stayed attached better to the half of the build platform that had the Magigoo adhesive.
There is some stringy areas but that has not been a major issue on my parts. I wonder if there are process setting that would reduce the stringiness?

[mr2y54hfzt]

Excellent work. Thankyou.

[user_1822899202]

irrelevant question but these are really nice photos! can i ask what camera/phone?

[DesignER]

Samsung S24, and I didn’t notice at first that some areas are blurry, If I had noticed I would have retaken the pictures

[user_1822899202]

I really like them - nicely lit and you can see details like the texture of the bed and also where the brim pulls away from the bed

[trapeze39]

[trapeze39]

Given that Xtellar is out of business, any recommendations for Polypropylene with a 65d or harder shore rate???

[DesignER]

Now that Braskem/Xtellar are out of business I suggest trying Eryone:
I have had good luck with this in white, I also see Black for sale now:

ERYONE Engineering Filament, 1.75 mm 3D Printing Filament, Dimensional Accuracy +/- 0.03mm, Fit Most FDM 3D Printers, PP Black 900g Spool

https://www.amazon.com/ERYONE-Filament-1-75mm-0-03mm-Printer/dp/B0CHDSH1MP?ref_=ast_sto_dp&th=1

Amazon.com: ERYONE Engineering Filament, 1.75 mm 3D Printing Filament,...

I have just started testing this and have had some luck with Yousu:

YOUSU Polypropylene PP Filament, 1.75mm 3D Printer Filament for FDM 3D Printers, 1kg (2.2lbs) 5 Pcs Build Sheet Included, Semi-Flexible Ultra Tough Filament, White
https://www.amazon.com/Polypropylene-Filament-Printers-Included-Semi-Flexible/dp/B09QQGG6SY/ref=sr_1_1_sspa?crid=3CK45KPR0IP81&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.liu4D018sIHehQz0Oqk2ZuseF_fcqAkkVpvwyt5ClDSbGvp-UaAtnRdqHMnixQinPuoFH6ZGDnYLtaxRGL_bYnavAZdW9jsk6LKAI_0YwPXcWXQpl2QBLPohnlR80gtvuM04il0E87iOHB_Dht1HEImggTRD_c1DZJDYAmevzKA-gQsAoEm69FibQL6zbjfRE09WCBUduQfX-DF-mF3mDa7Yn7q-k2-jEqj0cXZfBNI.7e_VXJOyyJRNVwhvJgmLBt4KyoGwb6PyGvLcl018v_w&dib_tag=se&keywords=yousu%2Bpp%2Bfilament&qid=1724770236&sprefix=yousu%2Bpp%2Caps%2C78&sr=8-1-spons&sp_csd=d2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9hdGY&th=1

Please give these a try too and share your results/print settings.
Chris

[trapeze39]

I have tried the YOUSU Polypropylene with mixed results. Warping or sticking to the bed have not been an issue, but 50% of the prints fail due to clogs, even with a .6 nozzle. It seems like it has chunks of something in the filament. When it works it’s great, but too inconsistent for me.

[DesignER]

@trapeze39

to clogs, even

thanks for the warning on Yousu.
Give the Eryone a try
Chris

[DesignER]

if clogs are a problem have you tried turning up the nozzle temperature?

[trapeze39]

Turned up the nozzle to 265c , Vol Flow ratio is 4 mm 3/s . If you check Amazon, I am not the only one having clog issues. I have a few more spools, I will give it another go, and try Eryone too.

[GinGrogger]

Thanks. been looking for this.

[user_3108375703]

Hi, thank you for the detailed post. I’m using YOUSU PP material with the provided film but it warps around the edges. Have you tried Magicgoo MPP2018 with the PEI plate? I don’t have an engineering plate.

[holmes4]

I haven’t tried Magigoo with a PEI plate but I see no reason it wouldn’t work.

[DesignER]

Yes I have tried the “Magicgoo 3D printing adhesive for PP” with the PEI plate. I was hesitant to try it but it worked fine.
When done it washes off with soap and water in the sink.
Chris