Since the little note of Bambu Labs discontinuing their [PETG] line in lieu of a “better formula” what are some of your speculations as to what it might be?
Going over the Official Wiki Page and seeing how they specify recommendations for the following filaments, I’d love to see them be offered officially through Bambu Labs.
What filaments would you like to see?
I would like to see experimental PLA versions…
I noticed, for example, that glow in the dark PLA is surprisingly strong and impact resistant compared to standard PLA.
PLA is great because it requires only rather low print temps and won’t warp.
We do have bubbling light weight filaments, dedicated engineering ones, shiny and colour changing filaments…
Those glow, CF or GF filaments all come with the downside of being killers for everything the filament moves through.
In terms of exotic nothing really is exotic as for our hobby machines we usually only get what the industry used already, be it for injection of blow moulding parts.
Our problem is not being able to get fancy filaments probably only a few users ever really make full use of.
The real problem is getting them to work properly with what we have.
And no offence but that’s where Bambu is still falling behind badly.
My P1S for example is limited to a max bed temp of 120 degrees Celsius.
Plenty for many exotic filaments but still on the low side for real engineering materials.
While the hotend might be happy to go to 300 degrees, the insufficient cooling in the upper part can make heat creep a real nightmare.
Not to mention the lack of temp control and tolerance for the build chamber.
Without matching print profiles it can be a rather costly experience to calibrate fancy filaments until they work as expected.
BVOH is great stuff and can be very useful.
Same for PVA.
But I usually have little problems with my supports, I do see the benefits for very complex models though.
For me Bambu and filaments is a dead horse as they are not able to deliver more than 2 rolls.
Anything above is a hit and miss with the courier and a problem with them and Bambu refusing to take any responsibility for deliveries lost or stolen before the receiver can take care of them.
For me, personally, the bigger questions that might be worth answering is:
What would be the best suited filament for a job?
Like: Do I need a CF filament or would PLA do just fine, how can I print parts for the use in temperatures well above 100 degrees Celsius…
Would be really nice to have such guides included in Studio somewhere for reference…
Hmm I agree with some and disagree with most of you’re opinion. We’ve sort of completely abandoned any “Chopped” CF infused material unless its already [High Temp] aka “Exotic” is what I’ve simply referred it as because not many users will print PAHT-CF, Nylon-GF or PP like we go through it. Reason why is the chopped CF is actually breaking down the polymers true composition and “weakening” it’s structural strength. You can print using a high infill percentage with success but will be mind blown when using standard infill and comparing say PETG-CF to normal PETG. It’s become more so a skin over the actual performance of the filament which is great but definitely not for functional modeling.
I have stated in the past these printers are definitely marketed as being capable of high temp filaments but surely not meant to full time round the clock without issue unless all precautions are met which takes some effort to set these up to do so.
I haven’t tried PVA or BVOH yet I’ve really only tried HIPS with ASA.
I wanted to really see if anyone’s benefitted from the properties of this new to me [PCTG] filament. The composition seems to be out of this world and the characteristics achieve everything someone would want in a easy to print, high temp resistant, chemical resistant material for functional or useful household models.
I only see [1] company that operates as a small business on Amazon selling it and they’re pricing a [1kg] spool @ [$35.99]
This is my answer above for your question below haha. If I try it out i’ll respond back, but PCTG is looking to be a newcomer when it comes to a solid replacement of PLA/PETG with best of both worlds as it’ll come in a variety of colors as well.
I’m also intrigued by seeing if we’ll see cored filaments such as [PLA Shell/PETG Core] filaments.
PAHT-CF has the higher tensile strength, about three times higher than PCTG+CF, the bending strength is more than twice as high, the impact strength is slightly lower. The properties of PCTG without carbon fibre are worse, carbon fibre makes PCTG much more impact resistant.
To be honest, I’m printing PAHT-CF right now and I’m still looking into using it for more mechanical, technical projects in the future. I really like several aspects of PAHT-CF: the appearance of the surface, the high wear resistance and a low coefficient of friction.
They did add a generic PCTG filament profile option in Bambu Studio in the latest update, so maybe they plan on including it at a later date.
I read it as they will be replacing the existing bambu basic petg with a new formulation of petg, not with something completely different. I.e. petg would still be the main ingredient.
But as for totally new filaments, pa 6 copa would be a nice addition. It doesn’t warp, doesn’t even need a heated bed, and it prints very smooth, yet has very high temperature resistance. Similar to petg,
but better.
Sure, the filament won’t get fully dry using just silica gel…
But so far I had no adhesion or quality issues of any kind.
Not even with Nylon and PETG…
PCTG sounds like a great filament to try but it also comes with a need basis for me due to the price.
I will certainly try a sample at some stage but right now just don’t have any real need for it that would justify the investment
I noticed that recently, I do hope they tend to follow their trend from when I noticed in the beginning of them doing that.
They’ve done it pretty much every filament besides PCTG and PPA/S
For sure it does! Honestly, the feel of the filament alone is enough to tell it’s pretty solid and rigid.
You can easily get a quick reference by merely taking a filament and feeling the texture and doing some bends, besides PAHT of course since it just snaps but when it’s melted down wheewww it’s solid.
We couldn’t justify Bambu Labs’s PAHT-CF with the $94.99/1kg price tag but I do agree and won’t argue the fact of it being a great filament of theirs. I was thankful to have received a full 1kg when I ordered my first X1C.
Since then I did some research and invested in MatterHackers NylonX series. Bought 3kg/s for $180 when they offered a sale.
[Link]
I also think there are few alternatives, or am I wrong? I don’t often buy such filaments because of the high prices.
I have already produced many a mechanical part, back then with the Anet A8. I was sceptical about PAHT-CF. But if it really can withstand that much tensile force, you can do a lot with it. I made a washer for the handlebars of my MTB with PAHT-CF. I put so much pressure on it when tightening the handlebars until it gave way, and it was really tight. Nevertheless, the part holds on the bike and does its job in all weathers. You can do something decent with the properties. I’m not sure what you should use PCTG for.