Category: Filament

3D Printing Canada

With the sudden popularity in 3D printing there has been a race to create the perfect plastic material. Back when it was starting to go public there was only one big type and that was ABS (Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene), which is strong but hard to print with because of its shrinking factor. As it is printing, any cool air makes ABS curl up on the corners making it hard to keep stuck to the bed.

Then came PLA (Polylactic Acid) which doesn’t shrink as bad and is much easier to print with. The best part of PLA is its biodegradability. Recently there has been a surge of newly created PLA filaments: PLA Plus, Advance PLA and now Select PLA.

I recently reviewed PETG (Polyethylene terephthalate with glycol), TPU (Thermoplastic polyurethane) and Wood filament for 3D Printing Canada, you can read that review here. Since I liked that filament so much, they’ve sent me their new Select PLA.

PLA typically prints at 180-205 °C. Select PLA prints best at 215 °C. Before 3D printing got popular it was hard to find cheap filament that was also good. As the industry grows the filament is getting better and better. Back then the cheaper filament cost around $60 for the good stuff. Now the $30 rolls is the good stuff and the value filament is around $15. And the $15 rolls are good enough for everyday use, although I haven’t tried the value filaments from 3D Printing Canada.

Select PLA is the filament you want for special items like display pieces, or if you sell prints to the public. For the price it’s good for everyday items as well. The value filament is probably something you would use for functional prototyping. I haven’t tried the value filaments yet, but I will be giving those a try.

3D Printing Canada gave me 4 colours to try. The first one I tried was White. First I printed a tolerance test to judge the printers accuracy. While I am reviewing the filament, I am also reviewing a 3D printer named JGAurora A5. The test showed me that the printer and filament can print articulate parts with a .2mm tolerance. That is a very good result. It means, if you want to print a hinge you would need to have a minimum of .2mm separation between the parts.

Then I printed something I have been wanting to print for a long time: the Skull of the Tyrannosaurus Rex. Some day I will print a large-scale model of the entire T-Rex. The skull came out great and it is displayed proudly in my office display cabinet. Being a nerd, or geek, I like interesting things like space, dinosaurs, and fantasy stuff like super heroes!

Next I printed a simple toolbox that attaches to the side of my printer. The prints really came out beautifully; I am so impressed with this filament – as well as the printer!

After that impressive Dino skull I wanted to try something else that shows incredible details. Many nights I look up at the moon in awe. It’s a massive rock spinning around our planet and interfering with such things as our ocean tides and our weather. As you can see it is as impressive as the T-Rex Skull, and much more detailed. Links to these files are below.

The Orange filament has a nice colour but I’m not sure what to print with it. The colour of the filament doesn’t matter because it’s easy to paint. I recommend sanding them down and using a filler primer to fill in the layer lines. The first orange print was the ever-popular 3DBenchy, the little boat that was created to be a benchmark test; it printed great.

I printed an articulate horse for my daughter because she loves horses. It has tiny hinges between each piece to make it flexible. That is one of the greatest things about 3D printing, you can make things that connect and move, all in one piece. To show the accuracy I also printed a 20mm cube. As you can see, all those are very close to 20mm. Accuracy comes from both the printer and the filament.

I love printing things for my 11 year old. She loves to display these proudly in her section of my display cabinet. We share the office, and she has her own special desk. Another hobby of hers is drawing, so I decided to make her a drawing robot. It is still in the works, but getting close. It will have WiFi / Bluetooth connectivity.

Using Yellow filament I added a mix of colours to the drawing robot. The yellow prints as good as the other colours. I promised my son I would print him a plant holder. He has a love for plants since his school coop placement in a flower store. Here in Canada students in high school get placed in a job, for experience and a high school credit. Because of his interest in gaming I printed a Mario game block he can paint and use to grow plants in. I had to drill holes for drainage.

The last color I tried was black. Black and white are useful for lots of things. Me, when I see black – I think of Batman! I printed a small pair of toy grippers for the kids and a bust of Batman for myself.

I’m very happy to have a Canadian filament supplier that is pricing their filament competitively. For far too long we have been paying way more than people in the US. Ordering from the US means we pay a lot for shipping and duties. So the Canadian suppliers have been charging a minimum of $30 for the cheapest filaments. To get this quality at $30 CDN is a good thing. I can’t wait to try the value filament which is currently on sale for $15 CDN. The electronics shop in Ottawa charges $30 for 1/2 kg rolls of cheap filament that doesn’t print well at all.

The Select PLA filament prints at 215°C and bonds very well. It is nice and strong for functional parts that you prototype or download.

These are my opinions and you should form your own, by trying the product or doing more research. But this filament is well worth the price. They also offer free Canada wide shipping for purchases over $120 or $10 flat rate below. My friends and I buy together in bulk to save the shipping costs.

Links to everything I’ve printed:

3DBenchy

Drawing Robot

Batman Bust

Moon

T-Rex

Mario Cube

Horse, gripper and toolbox  (I can’t seem to find these items…)

But there are plenty of things to print, on Thingiverse.com

I’ve been very interested in 3D printing for a few years now. I enjoy reviewing printers because it gives me a chance to see new printing technology, but also lets me see how companies differ on the same technology. For instance the different types of hotends. I have used many different types and brands of filament but never gave it much thought; to me it was just a consumable. Sure there are different colors, but there are generally three main types used: ABS, PLA and PETG. Each filament comes with its own set of strengths and weaknesses. For instance, ABS is strong and withstands higher temperatures but it’s very hard to print because it shrinks as it cools and pops off the build plate. You need an enclosed printer to print ABS. PLA is easier to print with less shrinkage but isn’t as strong as ABS.

So when asked if I wanted to review filaments from 3D Printing Canada I at first said, no thanks. Then, after giving it some thought, I figured why not try filaments outside my wheel house. So I chose one that I haven’t used, one that I have only used once before, and one that I have used a few times with mixed results. These are, wood, TPU and PETG, in that order. 3D Printing Canada has not paid me in any way to write this review, they provided the filament for free, and that’s all.

Wood

Wood filament is very cool but costs a bit more, and has a limited use case. So far I have only seen people print vases and Groot from the Guardians of the Galaxy movies. It is PLA with infused wood fibers, however it is hard on the brass nozzles commonly used on 3D printers (The nozzles are very cheap). I received the filament last week and asked on a 3D printing Facebook group what I should print. Of course, they said Groot and vases. As I wanted to be a bit different, I decided to go with a wooden shelf with a secret drawer.

The first print I started didn’t go too well. Not the fault of the filament but the printer itself. I started and it was going great, but when I went up stairs the Y axis started missing steps which caused major layer shifts.

So I increased the current to my Y stepper motor because it was lower then the others, and started the shelf again. This time it printed great. Not perfect, because of a bit of shrinking on one part, but luckily that was the hidden part so not a huge deal.

The next item I printed was a square mug, and a circle mug.

Just kidding, that is one mug! Holding this mug in the right or left hand gives you a different perspective. The person who came up with this design must be highly intelligent. The person who made it for people to download and print is Devin at the Make anything Youtube channel. I don’t know if he came up with the idea, but he is smart and has great 3D printing content, you should look him up.

This being my first time to use wood filament I can’t say it’s better than any other brand. What I can say though is that it is a very good filament and I’m happy to use it. I may try a Groot some day soon.

Thingiverse – Secret Shelf

MyMiniFactory – Mug

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TPU

TPU, like wood, has a specific purpose and costs a bit more. I have purchased a roll of SainSmart TPU and used it for my printer reviews in the past. The 3D Printing Canada TPU filament has a softer feel to it. TPU is a rubbery type of filament, good to print things like RC tires and phone cases. It may also have uses for gaskets, rubber dampening parts for vibration control, and other specific use cases. I have no use for it at the moment, so I decided to print soft toys for the kids to play with.

The first was a MatterHackers mascot Phil A Ment. He is a cute little astronaut. The print that came out was softer than the tiers I printed with the SainSmart TPU. The 3D Printing Canada TPU also printed better. To make your prints stronger, use more outline layers and higher percentage of infill.

After seeing the astronaut the kids wanted a minion. So off to Thingiverse and MyMiniFactory to find one suitable to print with TPU. I found these two; one with one eye, and one with two eyes. That was to keep track of which was whose (2 year olds are very protective of their toys.) The one with the single eye needed support for the eye since it sticks out. Supports for any other filament are not an issue. TPU supports are hard to remove because they stick so well to the part. It being a tiny bit, I was able to cut these off with a pair of side covers.

MatterHackers – Phil

MyMiniFactory – Minion One Eye

Thingiverse – Minion Two Eyes

PETG

PETG was created to be the best of both PLA and ABS. It’s supposed to print with the ease of PLA, and be strong like ABS. In the past I have had mixed results with PETG and wasted a lot on failed prints. So I chose PETG in the hope of getting a good source. Not only was it good, it is located here in Canada and I don’t have to pay duties! My first PETG print was the ABS temp tower with PETG temps. This is two pillars with a bridge across every 60 layers or so. You set the start temperature at the highest, and decrease it by 5 degrees every section of the tower, then you look for the temperature that prints the best, and use it for the prints. Being made for ABS, the temps on the part are not what I used. I went from 250 to 225 and found 235 to be the right temp.

PETG is used to print parts intended for heavy duty or outside use. For instance, my friend is printing railing mounts for a deck he purchased a while back, since the company is no longer in business to sell parts. I offered to print a couple of mounts, so now he has a good source. The other filament sold in Canada that we tried didn’t have very good PETG. I printed parts for him with this PETG and was pleased with how they turned out. PETG is stringy, so you have to play with retraction setting for every roll, or do a bit of post print clean up.

Comparing it to the last brand, you can see a difference. (3D Printing Canada on top) Also not noticeable in the image is that 3D Printing Canada prints are a bit shinier.

Conclusion

While I was hesitant to review printer filaments, I am very glad that I did. The biggest issue with reviewing filaments is that it can be hard to ascertain what is the fault of the filament and what is the fault of the printer, or even slicer settings. 3D Printing Canada has gained a new customer in me! Additionally, their prices for premium filaments is very fair. I hope you give them a try. I look forward to testing their PLA and PLA+  filaments.

Happy Printing!