1 Topic by wilheldp

  • wilheldp
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  • Registered: 2013-03-16
  • Posts: 85

Topic: "Best" Filament?

I realize this is a subjective topic, but I was wondering what the best all-around filament is.  Octave is a little cheaper than some and lots of people have good luck with it, but I think the random bad batch and clogging problems are enough to make me not want to take a risk on it.  I haven't heard many bad things about the filament sold by MakerBot, but it seems needlessly expensive.  I'd be willing to pay a little more upfront to make sure that I'm not sacrificing quality and risking a bad batch.  But I don't seem to see any reviews raving about a particular filament in the $45 range, which I would expect if I was paying a premium for it.

2 Reply by fredhag (edited by fredhag 2013-03-23 22:56:16)

  • fredhag
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  • From: Richmond, VA
  • Registered: 2012-08-31
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Re: "Best" Filament?

Not only is it touchy, but you'll need a database for all the opinions.

For ABS, I've only used MBI, Jet, Octave, MakerGear, and RepRapWorld.  Makergear's worked fine but none of it came on a spool in 2011 that I bought, and their glow in the dark ABS didn't.  RepRapWorld didn't seem to be as vibrant colors.  Octave sent me a wrong color once but shipped me the new one without requiring the old one back so I appreciate their customer service, but their fluorescent isn't vibrant.  Jet was pretty good, but I had to vary the running temperature moreso with their different colors.  MBI has given me the best all-around output quality, but they charge a premium.

Cheers,
Fred
Fredrick C. Hagemeister
http://blog.richmond.edu/ti3d

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