[Knowledge Base] New article - Introduction to FDM

[alkaios]

Hello everyone,

My name is Alkaios and I just joined the 3D Hubs team, where I am taking over the curation of the Knowledge Base. I am a Mechanical Engineer and a PhD candidate in Additive Manufacturing (I am almost there) and I used to run a Hub in the UK.

We want Knowledge Base to be the go-to source for designer and engineers for high-quality and actionable information related to 3D printing and digital manufacturing.

I have just published my first article: it is an introduction to FDM, where I touch on the most important aspects of the technology that a designer should keep in mind. You can read it here: https://www.3dhubs.com/knowledge-base/introduction-fdm-3d-printing

Introductions to the rest of 3D printing technologies will follow, as we are planning to restructure the KB to make it easier to navigate.

Your feedback is most welcomed! You can live any comments or ideas about the article or the KB in general here, or you can email me at alkaios@3dhubs.com

Have a good day,
Alkaios

[SallyLi]

it’s very useful

[TypeR]

Hi Alkaios,

Just read your article. It is well written and easy to understand.

However, I do not agree with the short description of material properties you have given in the last part of your article.

Not only are your omitting some important characteristics (like low usable temperature for PLA-prints), but you are also giving wrong impressions.

For instance, PLA might be more brittle than ABS, but it actually has a (much) higher (tensile) strength than ABS.

It would be nice if people would stop repeating blindly what they read on the internet and try to get themselves informed. (This is not directly aimed at you, but more speaking in general terms here).

[alkaios]

Hello TypeR,

Thank you for your feedback. This kind of interaction is very useful and please do comment again in the future, so that we can write better articles.

So let’s see explore your comment. Here I found 2 data sheets with mechanical tests of 3d printed parts:
ABS: https://www.innofil3d.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/TDS-Innofil3D-ABS-160609.pdf
PLA: https://www.innofil3d.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/TDS-Innofil3D-PLA-160608.pdf

Also notice that these numbers are much lower than the bulk material: 3D printing with PLA vs. ABS: What's the difference? | Hubs

Indeed you are right that the UTS and elongation at break are very close (and even better for PLA).

PLA though ranks much lower for impact strength.

I’ll update this to take your comment into account and I’ll change the bullet to “- lower impact strength”.

Thank you for you feedback!

Have a good day,
Alkaios

[TypeR]

Hi Alkalos,

Thank you for the reply. Nice to see you are using the Innofil data, their spec sheets are very informative.
If you look at other manufacturers, you will see similar values for the different materials.

If I may make a suggestion, PLA and ABS are pretty standard materials.

However, many manufacturers now have improved versions of materials available.

Innofil alreay has their PRO-filament, which is an improved PLA-version which can be made usable at up to 140 degrees Celsius (higher than ABS). They have just released the ABS Fusion+, an improved ABS version.

Similarly, Formfutura has their TitanX filament which is also an improved version of ABS which prints easier and has better material characteristics.

Might be an idea to add such materials to the available materials data sheet to let more people know these exist.

[alkaios]

We are working on this for a new feature of the website. Dedicated material articles will also be coming out soon.

[TypeR]

Good to hear!

Looking forward to it !!!