New Fiberon filaments by Polymaker

[ChicagoKeri]

There's some wonderful new filaments on the block...   Fiberon by Polymaker!

So far, I've tried two of them... PET-CF17 and PPS-CF10

Both of these filaments are very stiff, temperature resistant and dimensionally stable. They are also considered abrasive filaments, requiring the use of hardened nozzles.   Here's my findings:

 

PET-CF17

Fiberon PET-CF17 is a good choice if you have a standard hotend with a conventional Thermistor, rated up to 300C.  Prints come out well at 270C  though the surface finish wasn't great for me with a 0.6mm nozzle.   The filament is quite brittle and needs a gentle filament path with no sharp bends.   Warping is absolutely not an issue and prints are dimensionally stable and quite strong. The strength and heat resistance can be improved with post-print annealing at the cost of added brittleness.  Like most filaments, PET-CF17 will burn if ignited.... it does not self extinguish either.  This is not a cheap filament, going for about twice that of common filaments. (currently about $25usd for 500grams)

 

PPS-CF10

Fiberon PPS-CF10 is a great choice if you have a high temperature hotend with thermistor / thermocouple / what have you/  rated to at least 350c.   I upgraded to Revo High Temperature PT1000 which is rated to 400C.  As with the PET-CF17, the surface finish was poor at 0.6 but pretty decent at 0.4 with a tiny bit of stringing.... perhaps some settings changes might help.   Again the filament is brittle and easily snapped, maybe slightly less so than PET-CF17.  Again, absolutely no warping and parts are dimensionally stable and quite strong. Post-print annealing can improve strength and temperature resistance (to 250C!).  Breaking a part does not seem to favor layer lines when printed at 330C .   If you drop a part, it sounds metallic!  And, here is why it is my new favorite:  This stuff does not ignite! I cannot get it to even start burning a little with an open flame... it just melts and smokes a bit.  

PPS-CF10 is very strong, has great layer adhesion, great dimensional stability, very high temperature and chemical resistance and all for the low, low cost of roughly quintuple that of common filaments! (currently about $70usd for 500grams).  Sign me up for more because I cannot conceive of printing ANYTHING to do with a 3D printer Hotend or any structural part inside of an enclosed printer out of anything else at all.   Printed parts do seem a bit lighter than ABS parts though I have no direct comparisons handy... yet. Comparisons are upcoming as I'm currently printing out Stealthburner Printhead parts.

 Because I was curious, I tested PPS-CF10 for electrical conductivity,  and it does not conduct even when measured with a capacitor leakage tester rated to 1.6GΩ @27v, (that's 1.6 Giga ohms!) as opposed to a standard ohmmeter's range of 50MΩ at maybe 9v, which likewise reads "infinite" resistance.  

Happy Printing!

 

[ChicagoKeri]

OK, weight results are in... and inconclusive!

A Stealthburner X Carriage with all brass inserts installed:

Generic ABS , 36 grams

Fiberon PPS-CF10, 33 grams

 

A Stealthburner Revo printhead with all brass inserts installed:

Generic ABS, 48 grams

Fiberon PPS-CF10, 54 grams

 

There was apparently some difference in print settings in the otherwise identical parts.  So as a whole, I'd call it a wash.   It's probably not worth the effort to reprint the ABS ones with more up-to-date settings, and certainly not worth the brass inserts.

added:  A test Orca Cube came out at 30.00mm/ X, 30.08mm/ Y and 30.02mm/ Z.  The screw plug is a tight fit but turns all the way in.  Surface finish is good if you like the textured look and feel.

 

Edited April 7 by ChicagoKeri

[Penatr8tor]

Excellent writeup @ChicagoKeri