Practical 3D Printing: Filament Materials

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Filament Materials

16.03

00:00	The range of materials that can be 3D printed is likely the biggest factor determining the properties and therefore the uses of the finished parts.
00:08	While we'll often refer to the material as filament, this term is used simply because it's the most common form of the material, but it could of course be in another form like pellets.
00:18	As we discussed in the fundamental knowledge module at the start of this section, the material used in FDM or FFF printing is almost always a thermoplastic polymer that can be melted and re-cured, as opposed to thermosets which can't be remoulded or recycled in the same way.
00:36	With that said, the filament can often be reinforced with small amounts of other materials like carbon fibre, but we'll get into this soon.
00:44	What materials can be printed depends on the printer, more specifically the nozzle temperature.
00:50	Each material will have a specific melting temperature, with some being significantly higher than others.
00:57	So, it makes sense that the printer needs to be able to achieve this nozzle temperature safely, reliably and consistently for the material that we want to use.
01:06	Additionally, some materials like those reinforced with carbon fibre are extremely abrasive, so components like the nozzle and extruder that the material will move through must be capable of withstanding this.
01:18	We'll be covering the most commonly used materials in this module, but as you might have already noticed, there's a very long list of materials that can be printed with FDM, too long to cover in detail.
01:30	With that in mind, we've prepared a filament guide document that you can save and reference for deciding what material you'd like to use for a specific project, or what settings you might need for that specific material.
01:42	It feels wrong to open the discussion with anything other than PLA.
01:46	This is so widely used in FDM and for good reason.
01:51	PLA is widely regarded as the easiest material to 3D print, because it's so forgiving with less than ideal print settings, so it is simple to get good results.
02:01	It requires a relatively low nozzle and bed temperature, and can be printed at high speed, all while being really cheap.
02:08	So, if you're looking for something easy and efficient, you don't need to look any further.
02:13	If the most basic printers can only print one material, it'll most likely be PLA.
02:19	The downside though, is that while PLA is reasonably strong and stiff for its low price, it also lacks toughness; or in other words: it is brittle.
02:28	And it also has poor heat resistance.
02:31	So, for these reasons, it's not often used in final parts that'll be subject to mechanical and thermal stresses, and it's more likely used for prototypes or parts with less demanding uses.
02:42	There are developments of this material like PLA+, Hyper PLA, or Tough PLA, which provide improved mechanical properties like toughness, and also allow for faster print speeds.
02:54	ABS is the other one commonly used for FDM 3D printing, but this requires significantly more temperature to print, and has a reputation for being more of a headache to work with than PLA.
03:06	While ABS isn't quite as strong and stiff as PLA, it is tougher, holding up better to impact, and also heat.
03:14	So, when we require more durability from our part than PLA can provide, but not specifically more strength or stiffness, we'll usually turn to ABS.
03:24	ASA is very similar to ABS.
03:26	Not just in their chemistry, but also in their mechanical performance.
03:30	Compared to ABS, ASA is more expensive and generally less forgiving to print, although with slightly better mechanical properties.
03:40	The main advantage is a good bump up in heat, chemical, and weather resistance, so if you're printing a part that'll be exposed to the elements, then ASA is a good choice.
03:50	PETG or PETG is a similar performing material again, just falling short of PLA on the strength and stiffness, as well as ease of printing.
04:00	It presents similar properties to ABS, while being another step tougher and also more resistant to chemicals.
04:07	One of the key advantages of PETG is how it can be used to print waterproof parts.
04:12	So, if we're making an enclosure or something that could be exposed to water, perhaps on the exterior of a vehicle or in the engine bay, and we want the contents to stay dry, then PETG could be a good option.
04:24	Out of all of the materials that we can print, PLA, ABS, ASA, & PETG are the most commong, and the most basic.
04:33	While they can provide great performance, if we're looking for significantly different properties for specific applications, then we need to consider alternatives.
04:43	This brings us to the next group of materials, belonging to a genre commonly referred to as engineering thermoplastics.
04:50	TPE or thermoplastic elastomers are a perfect example of this, being one of the only groups of 3D printable materials that could be described as flexible, and as you'd guess, elastic or stretchable.
05:03	I use the word group here because TPU, which stands for thermoplastic polyurethane, and TPR, which stands for thermoplastic rubber, fall into the same category.
05:14	This is a little bit confusing, since thermoplastic polyurethane and rubber are technically elastomers.
05:20	However, some suppliers of these filaments will still market TPE, TPU, and TPR as three separate products.
05:28	TPU filaments are more durable and dense, as well as being stiffer, stronger, and tougher.
05:34	TPE or TPR, on the other hand, will usually be lighter and more flexible, but not as hard wearing.
05:41	The first three letters are also usually followed by something like 90A or 98A for example, which describes the sure hardness.
05:49	This is a measure of the resistance of the surface to deformation, and that's not to be confused with stiffness.
05:56	Simply put, a lower number here is softer, and a higher number is harder.
06:01	Regardless, these types of filaments are great for parts that need to flex, but also for shock absorption and vibration dampening.
06:09	Moving on, if you're interested in cars, then you've probably seen the plastic intake manifolds commonly used on modern production vehicles.
06:17	While these are mostly injection molded parts, rather than 3D printed, they're often made mostly from nylon, also known as PA, or polyamide, which is something that we can 3D print with much of the same properties.
06:31	Before we go any further though, we should mention that FDM 3D printing nylon is not the same as the SLS or MJF nylon, which we'll discuss later in the course.
06:42	So, if you see 3D printed nylon advertised somewhere, make sure you understand what process it's been produced with, as the results can be significantly different.
06:52	Regardless, FDM 3D printing using nylon filament, while being on the more difficult to print end of the spectrum, can produce a very strong and tough part, with impact resistance and relatively low cost.
07:05	Most notably though, nylon has extremely good heat and abrasion resistance, so it'll usually hold up in abusive environments like the engine bay, within reason of course.
07:16	There are many different grades of nylon, like PA or nylon 6, 66, 11, 12 and 46, all with slightly different properties.
07:27	For example, nylon 6 is strong and tough at a good price point, whereas nylon 66 has better mechanical properties and heat resistance, but at a higher price point.
07:39	Nylon 12, on the other hand, is known for its flexibility.
07:42	So, even though each grade has the same foundational properties, we can choose between the different grades for our different application.
07:50	With that said, we'll most likely see nylon 6 filament on the market due to its price point.
07:56	PC or polycarbonate arguably fits in in the first group of materials we discuss that include PLA, PETG, ABS and ASA, although it does provide a good step up from these materials in strength, stiffness and heat resistance.
08:11	It can also be translucent, and so it's often used for its optical properties, like plastic covers for components with lights for example.
08:20	Another step up past the engineering thermoplastics, we have a group of materials which in the 3D printing industry are commonly referred to as high performance thermoplastics.
08:30	As you'd expect, there's no free lunch here, and these materials are usually more expensive to purchase and also require more from the printer as well.
08:39	So, some of these materials aren't printable with most consumer grade machines.
08:44	It should also be mentioned that these terms are somewhat open to interpretation in regard to what's considered high performance.
08:51	For FDM 3D printing, this group is dominated by the AEK family of materials.
08:57	This includes PE-EK, PE-KK, PPSU and PEI, which is commonly called by its brand name Ultem.
09:07	We won't go into what these letters stand for in each case, or the chemistry either, because that's just not our focus.
09:13	What you do need to know is that these materials boast incredible strength for their weight, with extremely high heat and chemical resistance, among other impressive properties, justifying their usage across a wide range of a wide range of different industries.
09:29	In automotive application, the heat resistance allows us to use these for engine supporting components, like intakes for example, even in high performance and race use.
09:40	The downside of this heat resistance is the high nozzle temperature required to print the material, which is over 300 degrees Celsius.
09:48	Again, this puts them out of the range for most printers in the consumer market.
09:52	And even if you can't personally print these materials yourself, it's still worth knowing about them, as many 3D printing services are offering them.
10:01	The final group of materials we'll discuss are composites, and I hesitate to label these in the high performance category, as there's such a wide variety of properties.
10:10	But, just so we're all on the same page, composite materials are made up of two or more constituent materials that usually have dissimilar properties.
10:19	The intention is to create a material that combines the positive attributes of each material, finding a middle ground and achieving the best of both worlds, or simply allowing it to do something that each individual material is not capable of.
10:34	3D printable Fiber Reinforced Polymers, or FRP, are an example of this, as the reinforcing fibres are added to the polymer matrix to modify the properties.
10:44	There are many different combinations of all different thermoplastics reinforced with glass or carbon fibre, like PLA-CF, PET-G-CF, or PA-6-CF, to name a few.
10:56	The primary intention here is to increase the stiffness of the material, and we'll often see a slight bump up in the strength, as well as an increase in the heat resistance in some cases.
11:07	It's worth noting that this can sometimes also make the material more brittle.
11:12	The downside, apart from the expense, is that the glass or carbon fibre reinforced filaments are extremely abrasive, meaning they can wear out the components of the printer very quickly.
11:23	So, to print them, we need to make sure that the components of the printer are completely dry, and that the components, like the nozzle and extruder, are up to the task before we risk any damage.
11:31	What's critical to understand, though, is the form of reinforcement.
11:35	Ideally, the reinforcement will consist of short-chopped fibres which are aligned with the filament direction during the manufacturing of the filament.
11:44	This way, they will help increase the mechanical properties.
11:47	With that said, remember how 3D printed parts have different properties in different directions, aka they aren't isotropic.
11:55	This reinforcement doesn't particularly help with the strength and stiffness when the layers are loaded in tension.
12:02	Like most our materials, different grades are available, with the consumer grades being more basic and cheap, with typically shorter and thinner reinforcement fibres.
12:12	The industrial grade will usually have thicker fibres, and the aerospace grade will usually have longer, thinner fibres which lead to lighter but stronger and stiffer parts.
12:22	These are accompanied by increasing price points, and we'll usually only see the likes of aerospace grade carbon fibres used in the higher performance materials like PAEK.
12:33	Milled carbon fibre is the alternative option, but we need to be wary.
12:37	This is essentially carbon fibre powder, and it often doesn't increase the mechanical properties of the material, and it's actually more likely to hurt the strength and stiffness significantly.
12:48	In some cases, these are just used so the supplier can market the material as carbon fibre.
12:54	But they do make the appearance of the part nice and smooth with a matte finish, and this shouldn't be ignored.
13:01	Before wrapping up on the materials, there are a few more points that I want to make.
13:05	The first being that there's an endless list of materials with other properties depending on the application.
13:10	For example, materials developed solely for aesthetic purposes using glow-in-the -dark filaments.
13:16	Other filaments have been developed specifically to be used as support material like HIPS or PVA, which are soluble and therefore can be washed from the finished part, rather than broken away.
13:28	This helps improve the surface finish of these areas.
13:31	In the end, it's just not practical to cover all the possible materials.
13:35	So, we've focused on what's commonly used and useful for motorsport applications.
13:40	But, you will come across other materials, and now you'll be more equipped to understand their properties.
13:46	It's also important to understand that everything we've discussed in this module have been generalisations, and there is plenty of variations in material properties between different products.
13:56	PLA from one supplier will be similar, but not the same as that from another supplier.
14:02	The price, quality, consistency and properties among other factors will all vary to some degree.
14:08	There's also a good range of suppliers for the materials, like Esun or Filamentum, or those that also manufacture printers, like Bamboo Lab, Prusa or Creality, the list goes on.
14:20	We've covered a lot in this module, so let's recap the key points to remember.
14:24	The basic and most commonly used 3D printing materials are PLA, ABS, ASA and PETG.
14:30	While PLA is generally considered the easiest to print, each of these materials offer different properties in terms of mechanical performance and durability.
14:39	So, it's just a matter of selecting what's best for your application.
14:44	Engineering thermoplastics are the next step up and generally have a specific standout property, like the range of TPEs with their great flexibility, lending themselves to shock absorption and vibration dampening.
14:56	Another commonly used material is nylon or P8 in its different grades, which generally features good strength and heat resistance, and that means it can also be used in more demanding environments like the engine bay.
15:09	Another step up is a group of materials commonly called high performance thermoplastics in the 3D printing space.
15:15	These include the PAEK family and have an excellent strength to weight ratio and great heat resistance among other useful properties.
15:24	Finally, we have composite materials, which are essentially thermoplastics reinforced with glass or carbon fibre to increase the stiffness of the part, as well as slight gains in other properties as well.
15:35	There's different grades of carbon fibre filaments, but what we need to understand is that milled carbon fibre usually hurts the mechanical properties at the expense of aesthetics, which isn't necessarily always a bad thing.
15:48	Of course, there's a long list of other filaments out there, each with their uses as well as significant differences between each supplier.
15:55	The best way to understand these is always with hands on experience.