review of Rigid.ink ABS filament 1.75mm

well, I was not expecting to find much difference in filament

materials when 1st offered the opportunity to test and review

some sample rolls of filament from Rigid.ink from the UK by

Ed a few weeks ago. I have used a few other manufacturers

filaments like other 3D printer users. not the over priced stuff

or proprietary spools like Makerbot etc though. but Octave

and a couple similar average cost brands and colors. mostly

ABS 1.75mm which is my preferred filaments. I also used the

low end under $20 spools like from Toner carried in

Microcenter stores locally. and a Solidoodle sold brand. most

are very similar in every aspect and 'do the job' mainly have

to watch for clean, dry manufacturing controls to keep within

size specs so not to clog hot ends. (Solidoodle's had some

spots with sawdust specks due to poor filtering when

extruding the spools, and thats a $45 spool). had better cheap

brands.

as the photos show Ridgid.ink is a bit different in many ways,

most are in MHO an improvement over the norm from start to

finish.
  I will start with a disclaimer on my SD2 printer I use still

needing a couple minor tweaks for better infilling and the

Temps may differ from other printers due to Solidoodle

designs.

when I got the sample rolls they came packaged as seen in

photo with stiffener to prevent bending and double zip lock

bags with descant packs for moisture control (a big plus over

some brands).

1st test with Gray,
as for printing, I noticed better adhesion of the extruded

filament not only to my heated glass bed with the typical glue

stick applied, but also layers. plus very smooth layers with a

glossy appearance compared to other brands. not silver but

still grey just smooth and glossy like glass. also noticed when

pulling off ooze from nozzle and again at end of print when

head homed, there was near invisible spider web like silk

(can be seen in finished print pics streaming up off of upper

right front corner of the N scale 1:160th Landing craft door) it

just waved in the light updraft from the heated bed. never had

this with any other ABS or PLA filament. dont know what

chemical compound is used but its not the same as most.

overall summary considering all aspects of desired properties

of ABS filaments for 3D printing from quality control, cost,

print-ability, strength and aesthetics on a 5 star scale with 5

being highest recommendation for purchase. I give it a 5.
also Ed tells me they intend to expand color choices, add new

materials per customer requests etc.
only drawback for me living in the USA is shipping cost from

the UK.

I will update this topic as I test the other samples and note

any differences.

Mitch

the 2 models pictured where both done using the same Gcode with .2mm layer and .31mm support and .15 honeycomb infill