Filament Reviews

TedroT

New member
Has anyone tried the AIO Robotics line of PLA and/or PETG? Or, perhaps, Inland filament from Micro Center? Reviews of the AIO line on Amazon are mostly in the 4.5 to 5 star range and it's quite inexpensive. The orange PLA is said to be an almost exact color match to the orange ABS that Prusa uses in production of their printer, an important consideration for me. (I was notified that my printer shipped today. Yay!) The inland line would be of interest to me because the local Micro Center has lots of it in stock and it's very inexpensive. $14.99 for a full kilo of PLA and $18.99 for PETG. Reviews are mostly positive but not always dependable so if anyone has personal history with either line I'd appreciate a yea or nay. Note that AIO sells their PLA in 500g spools at $12.99 a pop and you can buy a bundle of 12 different colors for $129.00, a very good price if you want to go crazy. Thanks for any input!
 

makattack

Winter is coming
Moderator
Mentor
I saw this thread a while back, knowing people have questions about materials and printer settings. A student at the University I work at, who I helped get into the air with his first quad (3D printing was his first hobby turned business and now he's getting into mini quads) just started a website for people to share their material and printer settings:

http://extrudingknowledge.com/print-settings/

Looks useful on my first glance, but then, I haven't got a printer that would be good for anything other than PLA.
 

richb2599

Active member
I just noticed this thread. I do use the AIO planes and have had great results so far. I'm real new to 3d printing but so far my Anet A8 works great. I've used the red and the black AIO and will order it again.
 

jhitesma

Some guy in the desert
Mentor
Just an update on the MakerGeeks box I was subscribed to.

I ended up canceling on 4/25 after receiving the April box. I was already charged on 4/17 for the May box which I assumed I would still receive...but I never got a ship notice and forgot about it. Then this Sunday I was reviewing charges on the card I had used for the subscription and saw that I was still being charged. I had been charged on May 17th and again on June 17th but hadn't got a box since April. I contacted MakerGeeks and after 36 hours didn't hear back - so contacted them again on Tuesday and quickly got a response back apologizing saying they'd take care of it. And a few minutes later I got another notice of a $29.95 refund - which today I confirmed showed up on my account.

When I contacted them I thought I had only been charged for 2 months I didn't receive...but when they only refunded one of the two I drew their attention to I decided I should do a more careful accounting:


charged 11/7/16 - shipped 11/12/16 - received 11/22
charged 11/17/16 - shipped 12/13/16 - received 12/20
charged 12/17/16 - shipped 1/16/17 - received 1/24
charged 1/17/16 - shipped 2/10/17 - received 2/18
charged 2/17/16 - shipped 3/13/17 - received 3/22
charged 3/17/16 - shipped 4/14/17 - received 4/25
charged 4/17/16 -
4/25 - CANCELED
charged 5/17/16 -
charged 6/17/16 - Refunded 6/27


That was when I realized I had actually been charged for 3 boxes I didn't receive. The last box I got was the April box which Included a beautiful Crystal blue PLA I've yet to open, and a full roll of the Crystal green PLA (Which I already had a 2/3 spool of from December - so another repeated color.) The tool for April was a project - a small wind generator:

20170427_180046.jpg

My daugher got a kick out of it...but it's beyond silly. That blue thing on there is a USB volt/amp meter that wasn't part of the package, I had it on hand already and was using it to see how the generator would work. Holding it out the window of our truck at speeds above 35mph it almost makes enough to trickle charge a cell phone. I can get it to just barely make enough power to start to register on the meter by blowing on it...but I come pretty close to passing out from blowing that hard ;)

I did some googling and it appears that May box included a rather fetching orange PLA and a spool of clear Raptor that would have been great for printing a plane with - the tool/project was apparently some LED throwies...meh.

The June box was apparently yellow and red filament (I'm assuming PLA, but haven't watched the vids close enough to say) and a glue stick and mousepad with specs about MG's filaments on it as the tool.

July of course hasn't shipped yet so don't know what that will/would be.

So...still waiting to hear back from them about the other 2 charges. Fingers crossed that they'll respond quickly again and refund the charges on those. I'd be willing to accept filament instead of a refund...but it's been over 110f every day for the past few weeks and the PLA parts I have in my truck for stress testing have been soft and squishy every day. We've even had a few days that hit or topped 120f! Since the shipping from MG seems to take a bit over a week each time the idea of filament sitting in a brown UPS truck (or even a white USPS truck) for 7-9 days seems like a great way to get pre-annealed filament that will be brittle and not great to print with :p (A big part of why I canceled, along with the repeated color choices and the lackluster tool/project inclusions.)
 

jhitesma

Some guy in the desert
Mentor
Quick follow up regarding my situation with MakerGeeks - Checked my e-mail this morning and found a couple of refund notices and an e-mail reply apologizing again for the confusion.

So glad to say they appear to have made it right!

I also understand that they've changed their back end since starting the GeekBox as their old system wasn't really setup for handling subscriptions. So hopefully the new system will help them prevent this kind of thing happening again. I'm still quite happy with their filament, just heard a lot of reports of this kind of confusion regarding order processing on anything other than their grab bags.
 

dkj4linux

Elite member
Just a brief report...

I mentioned in my needle cutter thread a few days ago that I had gotten a couple of 1kg rolls of Sunlu PLA from Amazon. It claims to be more dimensionally accurate at +/- 0.02mm and was less than $17 a roll. At the time I posted to my thread, they were even offering 1.3kg rolls for $16.55! That offering seems to have since gone away but they still are offering 1kg rolls of PLA for $17.99. I won't hesitate to order more in the future.

Anyway, I have now gone through about 1/2 kg of the white PLA and can report that I really like it. I'm using it with my nice Prusa I3 MK2S printer and printing at 215*C and bed at 55*C. I've printed several sets of herringbone gears, several rollers and flat endplates for a prototype -- get this! -- pea sheller I'm working on... and couldn't be more pleased with the quality of the prints I'm getting :D

20170630_105801.jpg

Don't need no steenkin' flying contraptions 'round here... with all those peas to shell! ;)

-- David
 

dkj4linux

Elite member
Sunlu PLA update...

I just put a couple more rolls of the Sunlu PLA on order... 1kg rolls for $17.99 and free shipping for >$25 order.

https://www.amazon.com/SUNLU-Filament-Dimensional-Accuracy-Printing/dp/B01MYWPECE/ref=pd_sim_328_1?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=B01MYWPECE&pd_rd_r=Z9WN4473T48E9TG9KSTC&pd_rd_w=QEbUQ&pd_rd_wg=wZQ0S&psc=1&refRID=Z9WN4473T48E9TG9KSTC

Reading through the most recent comments, it appears maybe some over-exuberant "marketeer" at Sunlu thought advertising 1.3kg rolls for the price of 1kg sounded like a good idea. But it turns out that is the actual *shipping* weight for 1kg rolls of PLA from most any manufacturer and folks who ordered it say it was the standard 1kg of filament on the standard spool. Most seem reasonably happy with the filament and price but not happy with the misleading advertising.

There seems to be no sign of that misleading advertising now AFAICT and Sunlu, in every other aspect, appears to be trying very hard to present themselves as an up-front, first-rate outfit offering a very high-quality product. Based on my experience so far with their white PLA (I've gone through about 3/4 of a roll now), I'm entirely happy with their product and am willing, for now, to give them the benefit of the doubt. A Hatchbox fan normally, this will probably be my new go-to filament, barring something unforeseen.

20170701_193540.jpg

20170701_193610.jpg

-- David
 
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DharanFlyer

Active member
My Anet A8 arrives on Friday. I got a free roll of product with it (don't know what yet) and a few sample rolls (again, no brand or type listed), but for $180 for the printer, autoleveling kit, and above rolls thought it was a good deal.

Ordering some extra stuff today that I have seen recommended (heat sinks, new belts, etc) and want to get a roll of a good filament to learn and practice with. Is there a suggestion? I am leaning toward the Maker Geeks PETG that jhitsesma reviewed so positively.

Anyone think that is a good choice, or is there a better one? No specific print in mind yet just going to be calibrating, testing, and fooling around with it a bit until I can get all the suggested upgrades to the machine done before I start going after specific prints.
 

kevinc35

Member
I'm seriously thinking about using this to reprint the new center section for my MPCNC. I'm going to do some tests on annealing parts first to see how that goes and how well they can keep their dimensions - then I'll make a decision. But so far...I'm VERY impressed by this stuff.


I'm going to be starting on a MPCNC build soon. Whats your experience been so far with the parts? Thanks for all the info on the Filament I just got my Anet A8 up and running a couple days ago and am working on printing some parts for it that say it will help strengthen it.
 

TedroT

New member
AIO Robotics PLA

I just noticed this thread. I do use the AIO planes and have had great results so far. I'm real new to 3d printing but so far my Anet A8 works great. I've used the red and the black AIO and will order it again.

I've been away from this forum for a while now but I will add my 2 cents regarding PLA. On the advice of Joel Telling (3D Printing Nerd) I have stuck with printing only PLA so far. My Prusa i3 MK2S kit arrived on April 17th and I was printing a couple of days later. I ordered a few 500g spools of AIO PLA in order to have a little color variety to play with and, frankly, because it is relatively inexpensive. The reviews on Amazon were mostly 5 star so I decided to take a chance. My experience has been excellent with their product, so much so that I ordered their bundle of 12 ($129.00 on Amazon). I've printed pretty much all of them and couldn't be more pleased. Of course it could also be the printer, using Prusa's default PLA settings in SLIC3R, but I've had very few print failures, none of which were due to the filament.

I also recently tried a couple of spools of Inland PLA from MicroCenter. A friend wanted a Baby Groot and I had no brown filament so I made a quick trip south to Overland Park, KS and got some. $14.99 per kg caused some anxiety on my part (how good can it be at that price point?) but my misgivings were unfounded. Including the kilo of Prusa silver filament that came with the kit, I've yet to have a bad experience with anything I've tried. Angus, the Maker's Muse on YouTube, recently said that, in his opinion, most filament produced today will print just fine with a little tweaking here and there. My limited experience to date has supported that claim. The brown Benchy is Inland PLA; the others are AIO Robotics and the photos don't do them justice.
 

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LitterBug

Techno Nut
Moderator
XYZ Davinci update: Have printed almost a whole kg of Inland black ABS over the last two months at 220C . Good layer adhesion and overall good printing results. Sticks to PEI covered print bed very well @ 85C.

Inland TPU Natural
Just picked up a Monoprice Select Mini V2 on a Cyber Monday deal to enable printing a host of other materials my XYZ currently can't handle. Initial sample PLA printed test Cat flawless and also printed a small guide for the extruder to keep flexible filament from jumping out before the boden tube. Managed to print a few things with Inland TPU @ 220C and no heat on the print bed. This stuff is UBER sticky and is next to impossible to get off the bed. The good news is, it sticks to iself, so it didn't get damaged when struggling to get it off the bed.
 

JimCR120

Got Lobstah?
Site Moderator
I will sleep much more peacefully tonight with new filament now received.:cool:
IMG_1820.JPG IMG_1821.JPG
Suffering from acute 3D withdrawal after discovering slow feeding filament does not last forever I hastened to order 3 more spools from 3 separate vendors desiring to get something here fast and not put all my eggs in one unknown basket. Fortunately for me my son had my back. He was the one who gifted me the printer and he had enough wisdom to order some filament to follow up with. His order of 4 rolls arrived first.

I can't claim to know much about filament yet. All 4 Benchy's above were printed with the same parameters. I changed nothing within the Cura 3.0.4 software between prints, only the filament. They are Hatchbox PLA white and another black, "Flexible" blue, and Sainsmart wood. They all came through Amazon. My highly untrained eye is very pleased, especially with my multicolor print.

Now I understand this thread is about reviewing so if there is some better test to do or description I can offer I am willing to contribute but will need some guidance.
 

LitterBug

Techno Nut
Moderator
Inland TPU Natural update:
Been playing with this TPU on a Monoprice Select Mini V2. My best heat/speed settings are Extrusion factor 1.2, 220C, at 600mm/min. Lower speed causes bubbling/hazyness in the print, much higher and the filament does not extrude fast enough to keep up so it underextrudes and jams up in the extruder. "might" be able to print a little faster with more heat... but the quality I'm getting at these settings is the best I've achieved so far.

Here is a sample print of a double wall, open ended cube used as a protector for an OpenLager (openlog, blackbox logger, etc)
Screenshot from 2017-12-19 12-45-47.png

Cheers!
LitterBug
 
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JimCR120

Got Lobstah?
Site Moderator
Clear TPU, hmm. Interesting. What application are you considering?

I'm knocking things out with PLA just fine. Haven't come across any I don't like (having tried Hatchbox, Hyperion, & eSun. I have yet to monkey with any temps, just infil and leyer height mostly. I did get a clear PLA because it seemed like a good idea. I want to get a TPU but haven't decided on a good general purpose color yet. I have a light blue filament but am unsure what it is. It's a but more flexible than PLA but not as much as TPU. I need to ask my son who oredered it what it is.

I have one that seems extra brittle. I don't know the brand but it's a wood filament. When I get a lull in what I want to print I'll try this some more, probably going for higher infix. Any insight on this is appreciated.
 

LitterBug

Techno Nut
Moderator
Clear TPU, because it was the only color (or lack thereof) they had at the local MicroCenter. Just wanted the ability to print flexible parts.

Are there any marking at all on the mystery spool for temperature recommendations? Looks like many "wood" filaments are PLA based so there isn't a need for high heat. Saw some recommendations to not let it sit hot in the hotend for too long or it can burn/carbonize. Looks like it could be interesting stuff to play with.

Cheers!
LitterBug
 

dgrigor02

Member
I have standardized on Inland PLA, cheap ( $14.99 for 1kg ) does well for my purposes, I just make utility type items not any figurines. I can get locally from nearby microcenter. I also keep an eye for open box pla on the microcenter website for my city and have gotten several spools for as low as $11.96 and they weren't even used just the shrink wrap off of them.

As long as the bed is nice a level in all corners I don't have any issues with adhesion to the bed @55c. Usually print at 205c.
 
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RAGII

Member
I thought I would share a recent experience with Maker Geeks PETG.

A few days ago I posted about having an issue with a loud clicking sound that ended up being my filament jammed in the feeder. I cleared that up and tried several other prints all failing with filament jams. I changed numerous printer settings trying to figure it out. I finally looked at the filament itself and discovered that there were several areas of thick sections and thin sections. I could easily detect it by running my fingers over it. Shoot, what do I do now?

I sent Maker Geeks an e-mail at 6:00 p.m. on the issue but was concerned as I got the filament in mid-January and they state a 30 day return window. I got a response back a 5:30 a.m. the following day apologizing for the issue and stating they were sending out a replacement spool as soon as possible.

Now in my opinion that is great customer service.
 
The first roll of PLA I bought was 3D Solutech Real Blue PLA and I was very happy with it, so I've bought more rolls and colors of 3D Solutech PLA. The price is quite good ($17-$20 per roll on Amazon depending on color) and I've been getting very good results with it. I also have a roll of 3D Solutech Transparent Blue PETG which also works very well. 3D Solutech also claims that their raw material is grown in the USA. I'm using the filament on a heavily-modified Anet A8.
 

jaredstrees

Well-known member
Great info here. I have only used AIO Robotics PLA so far in several colors. They have all printed well. The Green I received from them (through amazon) is a lot more brittle that the others. It will print, but I am concerned that it may break and fail the print. I'd order PLA from them again, though. The ability to spend less $ and get more colors is appealing to me. I also don't print enough (yet) that full rolls make sense.