I am getting ready to pull the trigger on a Taz 6. When I order the printer I will get filament with it or else it’s like Christmas Morning without batteries right?
So what Filament that is in the included profiles would you recommend for the noob for a nice trouble free first roll?
I am going to be printing out radio controlled airplanes so structural strength is an issue. (example from balsa wood https://goo.gl/photos/WojoMyVXqiU6bEdS6 )
On one hand I hate to ask stupid question but I have been playing with a M3D printer for a month just to get my toes wet. I worry about the right filaments as a roll of white PLA came with the printer and also I bought a roll of silver PLA. I am thinking the only difference is color but they print much differently. The white is WAY better. PLA is PLA? Apparently not?
I also bought a roll of “Tough Ink” as I thought, “Airplanes, strong = TOUGH. This should be exactly what I need!” Um no, “tough” ink is rubbery. I am going to give the whole MSD rig to my wife and the “tough ink” is perfect for printing troll dolls and what not but not so good for airplanes!
So that is why I am asking seemingly dumb questions.
So the goals are: Stiff, strong, trouble free already in the included Cura Version!
There are a bunch of people over on the Flitetest Forums who play with 3D, CNC, Laser and Needle Cutters. This thread is about a very cool design that the author was 3D printing. I believe he was using ABS. http://forum.flitetest.com/showthread.php?9509-3D-Printing
There are a lot of small parts and multirotors being printed, but this is the first plane I have seen.
Lulzbot usually provides enough filament with your new Taz to print one Rocktopus…
ABS is a bit harder to print and I would think about starting with something else and work your way up to ABS.
Thanks for the answers PCH. I follow flight test all the time and I missed out on that! Then there is this guy selling STL files https://3dlabprint.com/index.php?
I mean exotic is cool and all but I did some test pieces on my starter printer and I think the strength to weight ratio of the white PLA that come with the printer was just fine (in fact I was quite impressed) .
I just wish I understood why that roll of PLA was good and the second roll of silver PLA was not as good.
The TAZ 6 actually comes with several different samples of filament, more than a rocktopus worth for sure. There’s the nGen sample that is the same the octopus was printed in as well as a few others.
Ever looked into composite filaments? With model aircraft I would be tempted to try Protopasta’s Carbon Fiber Reinforced PLA. If it turns out anything close to actual carbon fiber it should be lightweight and strong.
Hey Robajohn, I bought a my first printer two months ago (Taz 6) I compulsively test things and with my limited experience the best prints I have gotten were with colorFab nGen; however I have to add that the clear printed much better than the white. I’m not sure why there would be a quality difference but this was my first print with it. I did use S3D and only tweaked the cooling and heating settings. Their bamboo filament prints beautiful as well but make sure the retraction speed isn’t to fast. It broke and I didn’t notice for an hour, it took me about 3 hours to unclog my hotend.
+1 for nGen. I use several different colors of nGen with great results. I have seen only slight print variations in the opaque colors using the same print settings. The different color dyes in filaments do affect flow rate due to their different reactions to heat, but I haven’t had to change any temps using red, green, pink, black, grey, green, or blue nGen. I also like Colorfabb’s XT & HT for higher temperature and strength for certain project requirements.
