Until a few years ago there were only basic PLAs, PETGs, ABSs and TPUs were available. More or less we had a common understanding where to use which Filament. Nowadays I see Plus, Premium, Pro and Hyper Speed versions for all but TPU. There are some comparison test for PLAs very few for PTEGs and did not see any for ABS. Also there is no balanced review for hyper speed versions of any of them. Manufacturers make claims that one version is stronger that others but test results usually do not mention any significant strength difference but a slight break pattern and flexibility difference.
I had quite variety of PLAs and PETG. When printing with my Ender 3 S1 Pro I did not notice much difference between different types of PLAs or PETGs.
I have been using P1S for only a week. I used different types of PLAs which were waiting around for a year or so to print some of my projects in the SD cards i was dreading to print because of long print time estimates. I did not see much difference between them. Printed with Generic PLA profile.
I did not have any hyper series filaments and I was researching if I would better use them for P1S. There is no clear information out there. In my country we do not have access to known brands and we have to use local brands. The price gets much steeper with variations Regular>Plus>Pro> Premium>Hyper.
I mainly design and print functional parts and all variation of PLA and PETG produced sufficient results for me with Ender3 S1 Pro.
So I am curious what is your experience with them do you have distinctions for specific project while choosing these variations.
Do you have any Pros and cons for Hyper series. I read in this forum that generic PETG profile is to fast for PETGs that many users had to drop them to much conservative speeds. Is Hyper PETG is any better?
Here are few things I planning to consider while selecting filament variations.
0,2 nozzle> regular or may be Plus. 0,2 is already slow and the is no need to use a hyper speed. Pro and premiums as well as exotics like marble, silk etc is not very good for 0,2. 0,4 nozzle fine prints> pro, premium 0,4 nozzle functional prints> Pro and hyper speed. Some users report some layer inconsistencies and loss of strength with Hyper so i am planning to use hyper when I need a part quick and do not care for its aesthetics. 0,6+ nozzle any large scale project> hyper
But aside from speed i can not find a reason to select a variation for a particular project ie: Premium for miniatures, Pro for houshold items etc.
PLA - cosmetic & glamours stuff (ornaments for the missus, toys, props, anything that doesnât need ârealâ strength⌠multi-color and âsilkâ decor stuff is all PLA)
PETG - anything that goes in the car, anything where âreal strengthâ is important (shelf brackets), most of my âfunctionalâ prints are PETG. Desiccant holders and âhub weightsâ are all PETG for the higher heat tolerances.
TPU - anything where PETG is âcloseâ, but the part needs more flex (which is highly controllable just by changing walls and infill)⌠my 5-gallon Jug cap design was TPU as it needed to flex over the âneckâ of the jug to form a tight seal. Gaskets and âinterfacesâ for phone stands to add friction (I loathe a phone stand that moves around when I poke at the screen⌠so a layer of TPU on the bottom is win).
Thatâs it so far, never used PC, ABS, or anything more âexoticâ.
PLA vs PETG vs ABS become almost a common sense for everyone. I am more interested in if you make any preference for subtypes of filaments Regular vs Plus vs Pro vs Premium vs Hyper. It looks like they started produce these for PLA, PETG, ABS and ASA (I only saw Hyper).
These are all made-up marketing terms with little agreement as to what they mean across manufacturers. I would not get too caught up in any of this. In many cases, $10 PLA is no different from $30 PLA.
In most cases, +, Pro, Hyper, means there have been additives added to make the filament string less, flow better, have more impact resistance, etc⌠I would put ZERO stock in any of the âpremiumâ naming schemes. Only testing these filament will tell you if they have genuinely improved over the standard variety.
As I mentioned in my first post, I had not observed any meaningful difference between them with my old Ender 3 S1 Pro. I can not perform an objective strength test but looks and quality of them were same. That is why i am a bit confused about these subtypes. Looks like âTest it yourself firstâ is the way to go.