Which filament brand to buy?

Bavilo · 2017-02-19T16:28:02.000Z

Hi everyone,

I have recently ordered a Prusa i3 mk2 (Still waiting for it to arrive) and we have a Zortrax M200 at work so I was able to gather some experience with 3D Printing.

When my Prusa arrives I want to build up some knowledge about filaments.

Which filament brands would you guys recommend?

I have seen that eSun gets good scores and others say that it`s brittle…

It would be nice to hear which filaments you guys are using and how the results are!

Thanks!

Andrew_247 · 2017-02-19T18:40:31.000Z

Hatchbox generally receives the highest praise, but lately I’ve been using $5 200g spools from Proto Paradigm with great success. Lots of colors, including four sample packs with six colors each.

Bavilo · 2017-02-19T18:59:41.000Z

I have to mention that I live in Germany and ProtoParadigm is nothing that I can find here

Bavilo · 2017-02-19T19:03:18.000Z

I have to mention that I live in Germany and ProtoParadigm is nothing that I can find here

SolarCell007 · 2017-02-19T20:48:17.000Z

Hi Bavilo!

I’ve been using SainSmart filament aside from the filament that came with my Makergear m2. It’s been working like a charm, and I leave it out in the air still hooked up to my printer when not in use (I know that’s really not recommended, especially with PLA, but so far so good for ~2 weeks at a time in a dry room).

Zapaer · 2017-02-20T10:05:56.000Z

It might be worth it for you to check out some local 3D printing shops in your city/region. If you can find one, it’s better to get filament through them as they will (most of the time) have tested the filaments. Also it might be cheaper than paying for shipping and faster too.

I know that Colorfabb has a few resellers in Germany: http://colorfabb.com/storelocator/.

But they are more of a premium quality filament provider. Their filaments are superb but a bit pricey.

Also this website might be of use to you: http://3dsuppliers.org/index.php?title=Main\_Page.

Finally, try samples before you buy more than 1kg of any filament. Not all PLA/ABS filament is the same, different suppliers use different blends (additives) which may change the quality and behavior of the filament and may not work very well on your printer.

Zapaer · 2017-02-20T10:09:51.000Z

For general filament info check this out: 3D Printing Temperatures & Printing Guidelines – Filaments.ca

It gives you recommended print settings for different filaments. You may have to tweak them depending on your printer.

For the properties of different filaments you can visit this site: http://nicklievendag.com/filament-guide/.

Also Google/3D Hubs forums are your friend!

Bavilo · 2017-02-20T10:41:59.000Z

Thanks!

There aren’t any local 3D Printing shops near me. I would have to drive over an hour.

But as far as I can see Hatchbox and SainSmart should work fairly well? I would definitely give them a try.

Tech3design · 2017-02-20T13:41:32.000Z

I’ve been using OrbPolymer and FormFutura recently on both my Prusa i3 MK2 and my Lulzbot Mini and TAZ6 and really, really like the stuff. More specifically the PLA and PETG from Orb and the Apollox and TitanX from FF.

Joerg_4 · 2017-02-20T14:16:23.000Z

Hi @Bavilo

here are my favorite brands:

ColorFabb: PLA/PHA seems to be a little stronger than standard PLA. Easy to handle. Cheapest shipping.

Fillamentum: Nicer colors compared to Colorfabb. Easy printable.

Formfutura: Their HD Glass is better printable than ColoFabbs XT (just my personal opinion)

All brands are easy to obtain in Germany.

hth

Joerg

EcclecticDude · 2017-02-20T14:19:30.000Z

I use Meltink3d filaments for ABS and PLA. I’ve always gotten quality prints from their stuff, in addition you can buy 90% of what they have from Amazon.

Perry_1 · 2017-02-20T14:30:25.000Z

+1 for sainsmart!

wirlybird · 2017-02-20T18:33:32.000Z

I am using primarily Hatchbox PLA on my MK2 and the results are good.

Bavilo · 2017-02-20T18:36:09.000Z

Have you had any experience with Hatchbox ABS?

wirlybird · 2017-02-20T20:34:35.000Z

Yes, but not on the MK2. Hatchbox ABS seems to be stable and not to finicky.

Koobenhoff · 2017-02-21T16:40:15.000Z

After reading some of the responses, I feel there is one vendor that is being left out for US-based makers. Makergeeks.com sells a huge selection of reasonably priced filaments. I fell in love with their Raptor PLA from the first time I ran it through my MK2. I have also used their cheaper PLA and their ABS. I have only experienced a small amount of issues, and all were resolved by a change in printer settings.

Hatchbox ABS is second best in my list.

Happy Printing!

-The Koob

maria_sanchez · 2017-02-22T09:59:21.000Z

Hi, I’ve been using Colorfabb and Smartfil Materials. I discovered that Smartfil filaments also works very well with Zortrax M200. I can print cheaper and results are amazing

Bavilo · 2017-02-22T11:27:57.000Z

Thanks for the replies so far!

So we got:

Makergeeks

Hatchbox

SainSmart

ColorFabb

Fillamentum

Formfutura

OrbPolymer

Proto Paradigm

Smartfil

Side note: I would probably print ABS a lot, followed by PLA.

Bavilo · 2017-03-27T11:01:06.000Z

After finally receiving my Prusa i3 MK2S kit and getting tired of the included silver PLA. I wanted to go ahead and buy some new PLA, ABS and PETG. Turns out it is really hard to find any supplier!

I wanted to start with Hatchbox PLA and ABS but on Amazon they don’t even offer Black and White in 1.75mm. Same with SainSmart…

now eSun on the other hand is widely available on Amazon. Can anyone recommend eSun?

Is there a way to get Hatchbox and Sainsmart elsewhere in germany?

Thanks!

Joerg_4 · 2017-03-27T11:17:45.000Z

Hi @Bavilo

it’s not that hard to find a supplier

As you are located in Germany I can suggest the following:

- ColorFabb (my number 1 supplier). Top of the notch filament + free shipping to Germany. Check out their Economy PLA as well, it performed perfectly on my printers.

- eSun (never used it): amazon or filamentworld.de

- Sainsmart (only used their TPU): amazon or ebay

- Fillamentum (my nuber 2 supplier, super nice colors): order directly or at filamentworld.de

hope this helps