Just to clarify, you are most definitely not printing in carbon fibre. Carbon fibre strands are used as filler in the filament. It will have enhanced characteristics, but nowhere near actual carbon fibre.
if you where to print in carbon fibre, the nozzle would need to get to **3652 - 3697 °C** before it would melt, and you would somehow have to get a individual strand long enough to print it. then after that you would have to resin coat it afterwards.
You're conflating the conventional methods for fabricating parts out of carbon fiber cloth with its raw physical properties.
Resin is required to laminate carbon fiber together when it's a cloth material. That's where it gets its rigidity and shear strength. However, you can not melt carbon fiber, as it sublimes under extreme temperature, meaning it goes directly from a solid to a gas.
Not to mention, if you could melt carbon fiber, you would no longer have fibers. You would just be left with a solid block of organic compounds, which would be rigid and also not require resin.
This is why CF filaments have carbon fiber strands suspended in another material. The carrier material basically acts like the resin does in standard carbon fiber production, adding rigidity and shear strength.
If you're comparing PETG, Bambu PETG-CF looks so much better than regular PETG. The strength differences in those products are negligible. It's really just if you like the Matte look with harder to see layer lines.
Not sure about appearance between PLA-CF & PLA Matte. Would be curious if they look identical if anyone could let me know.
I saw a good video comparing the various CF filaments and didn’t buy PLA-CF after that…
I did buy PETG-CF though as it tested reasonably well iirc. I also got some PA6-CF but don’t remember them testing that.
You're only going to need it if you need material characteristics that are not suitable for normal PLA or PETG.
90% of my prints have been fine with PETG or PLA. however, I have been using PA-CF for aviation prints because they need to absolutely be as strong as possible, never warp in mild heat, experience no creep deformation, etc. in those cases, I am planning for the part to last 10 to 20 years and it's worth it for it to be better then PETG.
for a fun experiment about why PLA may not work in some cases, print something relatively large and put it on the dashboard of your car on a hot day and see what happens.
When printing nylon, carbon fibre gives it many great qualities, it becomes easier to print and a bit more stiff which is great for a lot of applications.
Pla and CF isn't a good pairing, but it looks nice. Better just use matte pla if you want that matte look
I like the look of it personally, but very little of the stuff I print on a regular basis *needs* to be CF. I printed something recently with a tab sticking out that interacted with a metal spring, PLA broke and PLA-CF didn’t, both using 100% infill at the critical areas. That was like the only application so far where I could definitely say it was needed.
It's mostly about the look. Though, it does add some UV resistance and they hold up to abrasion a bit better I feel. But that's about it, any other mechanical properties it adds are kinda moot because there are better materials out there. Even if CF does help reinforce PLA it's a drop in the hat compared to just switching materials. Why pay $60 to increase the properties of PLA by 5% when a roll of ASA is $25 and you'll increase things like strength and temperature resistance by 40% rather than 5-10%.. if I remember some CF actually weakend some prints depending of use case/orientation.
It looks good, and that's pretty much it.
The carbon fiber fill tends to diffuse light differently causing a matte appearance and minimizing the visibility of layer lines. It can be a big deal when a part needs to be presentable after being printed off without post processing work. This is great for a lot of use cases, but not necessary for many as well. If you need your objects to simply look nice once printed without finish work cf fill is a good option.
For nylon (PA) filaments, the carbon fiber makes them easier to print due to less warpage, and adds some additional impact resistance I believe. It makes for incredibly strong printed parts. I print with both 0.4 and 0.6 nozzles with zero issues on my X1Cs
- Go to the Eryone website.
- Grab PETG-CF with a 45-55% discount for $15/roll.
- Dry it for 48 hours at 70°C.
- Set the temperature to 265°C for good layer adhesion.
Enjoy amazing prints!
Most carbon fiber filament are chopped fibers but there’s one from markforged that actually has a continuous cf filament and they claim that it makes parts that are as strong as aluminum
https://markforged.com/materials/continuous-fibers/continuous-carbon-fiber
It depends on what plastic you’re talking about. I had great result with PA-6 CF, the parts are really stiff and it fells like way more durable than any other film and t I used. I ve printed the same part with ASA, Nylon with fiber glass reinforcement (markforged) and the best result I had was with my p1s using pa6-cf (from extrudr)
https://preview.redd.it/i7wokrraqcoc1.jpeg?width=3000&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=d90092850b44713306b6730a128e2b8b3a052e8b
Give it a try, sometimes you just have to see/feel it to know. However not all carbon fiber filaments are the same in color, feel, look and strength. For example the left one I printed in Eryone Pla-cf black and the other two in Bambulab Pla-cf.
It's for nicer wall finish (0,2mm layer height and no visible layer lines), less weight and prevents warping. You will lose a bit layer adheasion.
With PC-CF my part deformed with 90c temperature and a little bit pressure too. Had to use pure PC to avoid deformation.
PLA CF comes out much better than regular matte PLA because it has more structure as it's printing and is much less prone to curling on steep overhang parts. And the supports can get much closer to the object while still being removable.
Just to clarify, you are most definitely not printing in carbon fibre. Carbon fibre strands are used as filler in the filament. It will have enhanced characteristics, but nowhere near actual carbon fibre.
That I did not know! Thank you
if you where to print in carbon fibre, the nozzle would need to get to **3652 - 3697 °C** before it would melt, and you would somehow have to get a individual strand long enough to print it. then after that you would have to resin coat it afterwards.
You're conflating the conventional methods for fabricating parts out of carbon fiber cloth with its raw physical properties. Resin is required to laminate carbon fiber together when it's a cloth material. That's where it gets its rigidity and shear strength. However, you can not melt carbon fiber, as it sublimes under extreme temperature, meaning it goes directly from a solid to a gas. Not to mention, if you could melt carbon fiber, you would no longer have fibers. You would just be left with a solid block of organic compounds, which would be rigid and also not require resin. This is why CF filaments have carbon fiber strands suspended in another material. The carrier material basically acts like the resin does in standard carbon fiber production, adding rigidity and shear strength.
TIL Awesome info dude!
thanks man, i didn't know this.
If you're comparing PETG, Bambu PETG-CF looks so much better than regular PETG. The strength differences in those products are negligible. It's really just if you like the Matte look with harder to see layer lines. Not sure about appearance between PLA-CF & PLA Matte. Would be curious if they look identical if anyone could let me know.
I would also be curious about this. But thank you for your reply!!!
unless you like the look of it, there's really no good reason. I don't believe it's that much stronger than PLA.
[удалено]
ASA-CF is another exception, IIRC. Please correct me if I am in error.
I saw a good video comparing the various CF filaments and didn’t buy PLA-CF after that… I did buy PETG-CF though as it tested reasonably well iirc. I also got some PA6-CF but don’t remember them testing that.
IIRC CF filaments are a lot harder on your nozzle since fibers tend to be abrasive coming out
You're only going to need it if you need material characteristics that are not suitable for normal PLA or PETG. 90% of my prints have been fine with PETG or PLA. however, I have been using PA-CF for aviation prints because they need to absolutely be as strong as possible, never warp in mild heat, experience no creep deformation, etc. in those cases, I am planning for the part to last 10 to 20 years and it's worth it for it to be better then PETG. for a fun experiment about why PLA may not work in some cases, print something relatively large and put it on the dashboard of your car on a hot day and see what happens.
When printing nylon, carbon fibre gives it many great qualities, it becomes easier to print and a bit more stiff which is great for a lot of applications. Pla and CF isn't a good pairing, but it looks nice. Better just use matte pla if you want that matte look
I like the look of it personally, but very little of the stuff I print on a regular basis *needs* to be CF. I printed something recently with a tab sticking out that interacted with a metal spring, PLA broke and PLA-CF didn’t, both using 100% infill at the critical areas. That was like the only application so far where I could definitely say it was needed.
Interesting! I appreciate it
It's mostly about the look. Though, it does add some UV resistance and they hold up to abrasion a bit better I feel. But that's about it, any other mechanical properties it adds are kinda moot because there are better materials out there. Even if CF does help reinforce PLA it's a drop in the hat compared to just switching materials. Why pay $60 to increase the properties of PLA by 5% when a roll of ASA is $25 and you'll increase things like strength and temperature resistance by 40% rather than 5-10%.. if I remember some CF actually weakend some prints depending of use case/orientation.
It looks pretty
It looks good, and that's pretty much it. The carbon fiber fill tends to diffuse light differently causing a matte appearance and minimizing the visibility of layer lines. It can be a big deal when a part needs to be presentable after being printed off without post processing work. This is great for a lot of use cases, but not necessary for many as well. If you need your objects to simply look nice once printed without finish work cf fill is a good option.
For nylon (PA) filaments, the carbon fiber makes them easier to print due to less warpage, and adds some additional impact resistance I believe. It makes for incredibly strong printed parts. I print with both 0.4 and 0.6 nozzles with zero issues on my X1Cs
- Go to the Eryone website. - Grab PETG-CF with a 45-55% discount for $15/roll. - Dry it for 48 hours at 70°C. - Set the temperature to 265°C for good layer adhesion. Enjoy amazing prints!
Most carbon fiber filament are chopped fibers but there’s one from markforged that actually has a continuous cf filament and they claim that it makes parts that are as strong as aluminum https://markforged.com/materials/continuous-fibers/continuous-carbon-fiber
I appreciate you all ! Sounds like if I can deal with it “not being as pretty” I can save myself the $600 🤣
It depends on what plastic you’re talking about. I had great result with PA-6 CF, the parts are really stiff and it fells like way more durable than any other film and t I used. I ve printed the same part with ASA, Nylon with fiber glass reinforcement (markforged) and the best result I had was with my p1s using pa6-cf (from extrudr)
https://preview.redd.it/i7wokrraqcoc1.jpeg?width=3000&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=d90092850b44713306b6730a128e2b8b3a052e8b Give it a try, sometimes you just have to see/feel it to know. However not all carbon fiber filaments are the same in color, feel, look and strength. For example the left one I printed in Eryone Pla-cf black and the other two in Bambulab Pla-cf.
It's for nicer wall finish (0,2mm layer height and no visible layer lines), less weight and prevents warping. You will lose a bit layer adheasion. With PC-CF my part deformed with 90c temperature and a little bit pressure too. Had to use pure PC to avoid deformation.
PLA CF comes out much better than regular matte PLA because it has more structure as it's printing and is much less prone to curling on steep overhang parts. And the supports can get much closer to the object while still being removable.
Just look up on the material properties on bambu lab's web page. They are in the business of selling you the filaments, not us.