So I’m trying to prep as much as possible for the release of LR4. I have a Bambu Labs X1C printer with AMS. I print ASA almost always as I do a lot of parts for theatre and they need to be strong, heat, and UV resistant. I have 0 issues printing the ASA and assumed it would serve well for the LR. I know PLA has been spec’d by Ryan, but I will be moving the Gantry from location to location and want as much strength and durability as rigidity.
I would spring for a hardened steal hot end and the increased price of a premium filament if it would yield all three wants.
Ryan spec’ed PLA due to its stiffness. Look at the datasheets to compare the stiffness between your select ASA and a PLA. Typically, it is listed as the “Young’s Modulus.” You will find that PLA has a higher Modulus that ASA. Also, typically plain PLA has a higher Modulus than PLA+. Start adding carbon fiber, and things get murky. Unless you plan on running your machine in a hot environment, PLA will serve you well.
I printed both the MPCNC and Lowrider 3 parts in ABS rather than PLA, mainly because I live in the Southern US, and the machines live in my garage, which can get hot enough to warp PLA. I personally did not notice any issues with it. I know that it is overall less stiff, but I never got close to the limit of the machine. I think when it comes time for printing the LR4, I am either going to use ABS or ABS-GF/CF for added rigidity, and because I have never printed a full project with them before so it would be a fun challenge
My understanding is the main characteristic to optimize for in the filament for the lowrider is stiffness. Am I right there? From the data sheets I’ve seen carbon/glass reinforced petg and abs are not as stiff as regular old pla. To get stiffer reinforced nylon or polycarbonate seem to me to be the way to go.
Just for fun I plan on using this super stiff carbon fiber polycarbonate. It’s about 2x as stiff as pla and has high temp tolerance. It’s also very easy to print on my p1s with a .6mm hardened steel hot end and only sorta expensive. You MUST dry it first and print it from the dryer directly though. No chance you could use this in the AMS as it’s very stiff and will snap with tight bends.
Thank you for the link. That may be the solution. I did read in one of the threads that Ryan supposedly is having good results with PET-CF. If that’s true, bambu offers that and a hardened-steel hot end to print it with. Three rolls and the tip would set me back $200ish but could be the best of both worlds… thoughts?
I’m just afraid PLA won’t handle the transporting from school to school that i’ll be doing between November and May…
Honestly pla will probably be plenty strong. I happen to have most of a roll of the pc cf laying around so I’ll probably buy one more roll and do less critical parts in pla.
