Welcome to the SeeMeCNC Community

I have my first printer kit shipping out, and I'd like to start with the best quality ABS and PLA as I can. Can you guys point me to a quality, trouble free brand of plastic to start out with?

Thanks

-David

I've used a lot of filaments and most have been very good. A good reputable source is UltiMachines. I've always been happy with their material.

Ultimachine is the only place I still buy PLA and ABS from.
The consistency of diameter is MUCH better than any other filament I've tried.

Side note at one point partly out of disgust, I looked at having some filament manufactured (here in the US) the manufacturer quoted me the same +/- 0.05 that Ultimachine use for specs, but in practice over any run of filament the Ultimachine stuff was much more consistent than the spec, where the samples were just about inside the tolerances quoted and would easily hit both the extremes in any given meter.

I've bought from a number of manufacturers, I've thrown away rolls of Chinese sourced filament as unusable, and although it still ends up being cheaper overall it just isn't worth the time loss for me to mess around with bad filament and ruined prints.

The Ultimachine black PLA prints like melted licorice! I can almost smell licorice when I'm using it. Good stuff!

Thanks...

-David

Another vote for the ultimachine stuff here. I even like their polycarb alot.

The seemecnc stuff is really top shelf as well.

mhackney wrote:The Ultimachine black PLA prints like melted licorice! I can almost smell licorice when I'm using it. Good stuff!

huffing melting plastic is bad...mmmkayyyy

So I got my kit (haven't opened the box yet), and I also got a roll each of PLA and ABS from Ultimachine. I was expecting them to be on spools, but they are just loose plastic in rolls. Does the printer itself come with a spool to use, or is that something I just need to order separate?

Thanks

-David

Odd, all of the Ultimachines filament I've ordered has come on spools. What amount did you get?

No, the machine does not come with an empty spool.

whaleboy wrote:So I got my kit (haven't opened the box yet), and I also got a roll each of PLA and ABS from Ultimachine. I was expecting them to be on spools, but they are just loose plastic in rolls. Does the printer itself come with a spool to use, or is that something I just need to order separate?

Thanks

-David

Check this out, I have spent hours untangling those rolls before I learned about this:
https://ultimachine.com/content/using-s ... d-filament

[img]https://ultimachine.com/sites/default/f ... review.jpg[/img]

Ha! An interesting idea. I went back to the site and when I ordered I only noticed the 1lb and 5lb sizes, so I got 1 lb. I now see they list 1kg rolls as well, with "on spool" in the description. Seems to me that should be assumed and the 1lb should read "Un-spooled" in the description. After doing some checking, apparently the unspooled rolls can be a pain to deal with. I would have happily bought the 1kg sizes had I known. Oh well. I'll see if I can find some empty spools or rig something. Apparently a lot of folks get these loose rolls tangled up often. I don't know why they sell unspooled on the first place...

-David

Yeah, they should be more consistent with their units. I think the reason they sell them unspoiled is because the spools they have are a huge waste of plastic. I saw some made of cardboard a while back, it would be nice if the 1lb stuff came on that.

I'll never buy unspooled filament again, I end up wasting way to much of it.

Haven't tried the sky hook idea however.

I have had nothing but great results from MatterHackers Pro filament, both ABS and PLA.

For this side of the pond, I've used 3Dfilaprint PLA, heard good reports about Spectrum but I haven't tried it.

Sonrisa3D wrote:I have had nothing but great results from MatterHackers Pro filament, both ABS and PLA.

MatterHackers is probably the PLA I've used. Just a bit pricey.

I have never ordered from MatterHackers, do they offer free shipping?
Does anyone know where their homebase is?

Eaglezsoar wrote:I have never ordered from MatterHackers, do they offer free shipping?
Does anyone know where their homebase is?

says fast free shipping in US.

https://www.matterhackers.com/store/3d- ... 20Filament

21098 Bake Pkwy #106, Lake Forest, CA 92630

joecnc2006 wrote:

Eaglezsoar wrote:I have never ordered from MatterHackers, do they offer free shipping?
Does anyone know where their homebase is?

says fast free shipping in US.

https://www.matterhackers.com/store/3d- ... 20Filament

21098 Bake Pkwy #106, Lake Forest, CA 92630

Thanks Joe, I think it's time for me to start buying from a reputable source instead of buying what is cheapest on Amazon.
From the remarks made here I shouldn't go wrong with MatterHackers.

I've tried filament from Makergeeks, JustPLA.com, SeeMeCNC and Filament Central. Out of all of them Filament Central is my favorite. It's the cheapest and yields the best quality prints. I print primarily in white PLA and ABS so I cannot vouch for other FC colors. I will say that the gunmetal grey from JustPLA.com is excellent material too. It's one of my favorites as well. However, I got a really crappy roll of black ABS from JustPLA. It was loaded with moisture. Oddly, I've gotten a few good prints from it but the majority of them have been junk. I'll have to bake the roll if I want to continue using it.

http://www.filamentcentral.com