Brand is important.

[Insanity]

I have tried several brands of filament on the cheap end. So with that being said I have bought a few spools of bad filament and no matter my settings the results were dismal. It just so happens that when this covid kicked off my prefered hatchbox and overture were out of stock in black PETG. I prefer black for many reasons but mostly my customers want black parts. So I ordered some cc3d PETG filament on amazon and let me tell you something its straight trash in my book. String city I tried every setting I know of to eliminate stringing and nothing changed. With hatchbox and overture my hardware and settings produce great products so its most definitely junk filament. Could I received a bad batch sure I could have but I will not test that theory. So it is important to purchase the best quality filament you can afford, as the cheap stuff may cost you more in the end one way or another.

[AGEnthused2]

I’ve used cc3d white PETG with great success, I had no reject prints, I think there are bad batches. So far I’ve only had one brand of filament that ended up being bad, but it was bad at the end of the spool, it was too tightly wound. So far I haven’t been burned by sticking to filament with over 4 star reviews on amazon.

[MexiGunner84]

I agree with both of your comments. First, all brands have bad batches at some point or another. However, some brands have a higher recurrence of bad batches than others. What I refuse to do is pay an exorbitant amount of money for "premium filament" that in my experience yields equal results as the aforementioned Hatchbox or the cheaper 3d solutech brand.

To counteract a potential bad batch, I throw the spool into a dehydrator so that I can guarantee the lowest moisture content before printing. I generally leave it overnight if a job is not urgent. But in a pinch, I will dry the spool for at least 3-hours.

Taking this approach has resulted in less failed prints and virtually eliminated "string city" .

Also, some filaments like to print at hotter temps than suggested by the manufacturer. For example, with just about any PLA, I increase the suggested nozzle temp by 10°C. With Petg I only increase 5°C then go from there. For ABS, I leave it be. ABS already prints hot enough to not cause any issues.

Also, the build quality of the printer, nozzle, extruder matters when printing customer-ready prints.

Just my 2 cents.

[AGEnthused2]

I’ve had great success with solutech too, I’m in a dry high desert, so humidity hasn’t been an issue.
I run my Quidi tech printer tech next to an incubator and haven’t noticed any issues with stringing. I hope quail like ABS fumes because that’s what they are getting.

[Sbak]

Filament looks wet, I print all my filaments directly out of a food dehydrator. Even cheap petg, nylon and pc blends print well when dried. Adjust extrusion for every single new roll of filament regardless whether it is cheap or not and even bad batches will come out nice. Only problem which the cheap stuff is getting a roll with a thick spot hidden in the middle. It can cause jams, but other than that decent quality prints

[Insanity]

One reason I like using overture is that the consistency between spools is consistent. I suppose I should backpedal here and restate that picking a brand and sticking with it is important. I dont have to adjust anything to get great quality day to months later with it hanging out in the open. I put on a hard steel nozzle got &^^& prints put a brass one back on and back to what I like to see. Seeing that I am doing a production run for a customer I don't want to waste a lot of time and filament figuring it out so its put up for now. I got the steel one just because.

[Sbak]

Use steel one for abrasive prints only, carbon fiber, glass and any glow in the dark type stuff. It is more temperature sensitive than the brass ones

[Insanity]

I noticed I was not getting good layer adhesion.

[Rob M]

yes, its hit or miss with all the new variants.. Used some sunlu stuff recently , it was horrible at everythng ( adhesion , strength , everything ) .. i bought 2 , returned one and threw the other away.. First time ive ever returned filament in 4 yrs of printing..Funny thing is , when they came out with PLA + , all the old pla seemed to dissapear and the prices artificially skyrocketed..  ALL pla went from averaging 19 on amazon to averaging 25 per kilo.. But there was nothing wrong with the old pla, just my opinion.

[WhatUPSbox?]

That is a cool dehydrator set up. How do you use it? Do you run it on a regular schedule, or do you run it for some time before a print?

[Sbak]

That is a cool dehydrator set up. How do you use it? Do you run it on a regular schedule, or do you run it for some time before a print?

I keep non active spools in a sealable dry box with desiccant, then move them over to the dehydrator when I want to use them. I run the dehydrator for some time before I want to print, nylon gets at least 12hrs dry time, pc gets min 6 hours, and petg at least 3 hours before printing. I print directly from the dyhydrator with it running for the duration of the print.
You will be amazed at how much moisture it absorbs and how great your prints turn out.


I can post my stl files for the turn table and guides if anyone is interested

[Insanity]

For a test you can bake your spools in the oven but a dedicated dehydrator like that is the cats knees. I know Microcenter has a unit I have had my eye on for some time and its not too terribly expensive. Just for me I have not really demanded that extra level of perfection.

It looks like this I have seen it in the store every time I have walked in just never needed it. It may be the same I dont recall the price in store but I think it was around $60 or so.

[WhatUPSbox?]

What temperature do you use for the dehydrator? For PLA does the filament get deformed? Any problems feeding or you don't use it for PLA.

[WhatUPSbox?]

Has anyone tried one of these mini dehumidifiers inside their drybox as a convenient way of managing the desiccant?

[Sbak]

What temperature do you use for the dehydrator? For PLA does the filament get deformed? Any problems feeding or you don't use it for PLA.

Sitting in the cab of the truck watching it rain 😒, I'll be out of town for awhile so i won't be able to give any temps until I get home and don't have any of them memorized. I wrote them on the top of my dehydrator cause I always forget. I rarely to never print with pla so can't give any experience in that one. I did just buy a cheap dehydrator off Amazon, maybe 40 bucks? And cut out the middle racks to fit the spools and stuff. You can dry out desiccsnt beads in the dehydrator once they get wet and reuse them basically forever

[joer]

@Insanity  You should give Prusa's stuff a try.  That company seems to have their act together.  They own almost all of the ecosystem for their printers.  They even use their own PETG for their printers.  It kinda reminds me of Apple.  Black PETG from Prusa is almost 80 bucks at the big "A".  It is $28.49 on Prusa's site and three day shipping is around $13 for two rolls.  I ordered four rolls of PLA on Friday and got it today.  Yeah..folks are breaking their doors down now for printers and material so they're a little slow shipping.  They must have some deal going with FedEx for cheap shipping.  I'm guessing they ship palatalized loads to the US.     

[MexiGunner84]

Best place for a dehydrator is offer up or Facebook marketplace. Got mine for $5. Also, it helps to buy one of those dehydrator packs that plug into wall to "recharge".

[Insanity]

Next time I have to order filament I will consider ordering from them. The price per spool isnt too hateful vs the overture I get from Amazon.