3 Likes
Yikes!!!
@vicious1 Yikes is exactly right. !!!
It should be noted that while he is mentioning the bad for PLA-CF and PETG-CF, that he also states in the video
“So while this is true for PLA and PETG, there are actually other materials out there that benefit greatly from carbon fiber and reinforcement. PA carbon fiber reinforced, PEEK carbon fiber reinforced, PET, PP, all of those materials are a completely different story.”
So I don’t think this video necessarily changes anything like this statement from the docs
PLA is recommended for ultimate rigidity. Other filaments with great rigidity and added heat resistance are PET-GF/CF and PC-GF/CF.
Just don’t want people to read the headline of the video and assume all CF/GF filaments are automatically a scam, or that they wasted money on premium parts that were recommended or sold around here.
I think he said he would follow up with more tests to show where it does have benefits.
7 Likes
It’s the only video from this guy that I’ve ever seen, but it looks like a guy showing off access to fancy equipment, but lacking any serious rigidity in testing methodology.
Scam seems like an exagerrated claim for a material often sold for its surface texture/appearance.
This article from All3DP references a Polymaker rep talking about how they use milled carbon fibre, instead of the chopped carbon fibre you’d use for strength, for the appearance aspect of their CF-PLA.
Luke Taylor at filament maker PolyMaker told All3DP: “You are right in thinking that in the majority of cases carbon fibers are added to polymers to enhance the strength and stiffness of a material, so starting with a strong base material is an obvious choice as you are boosting the properties of an already strong material.” PolyMaker offers 13 PLAs, including CF-PLA, premium PLA, light-weight PLA, and high-speed PLA.
However, in PolyMaker’s view, carbon fiber is added to PLA mainly for aesthetic reasons, not mechanical.
“The matte black surface finish PLA-CF is a unique finish that has the ability to completely hide layer lines at 0.2 mm layer height because the surface texture absorbs light,” says Taylor.
PolyMaker’s CF-PLA, like many others, uses milled, or ground-up, carbon fiber and not the chopped carbon fiber that you’d find in typical CF-nylon materials. “We choose the milled fibers over the chopped specifically for its surface finish properties.”
2 Likes
Ground up carbon fiber, yummy! Nathan Builds Robots ruined CF for me. That, plus my distrust of companies that put profits ahead of Customer health…
Inhaled lung embedded GF dissolves after only a year (sayz reddit studies), so will try that for structural filaments I’m not planning to cut, sand, touch, or lick.
3 Likes
@Michael_Melancon thanks for the good clarification! My thoughts exactly.
Oph, I wont be bothering reprinting parts with petg-cf thinking im getting stronger parts anymore thats good info thanks for sharing
1 Like
Time for a reminder that fine wood dust of the kind you can’t see but ends up on the surface of your equipment the next day, is potentially more harmful.
Just keep wearing those HEPA masks when ever you are making or cleaning!
1 Like
Not all materials are the same, some bond just fine with CF. He mentions this near the end. The PET-cf we recommend is mentioned as a good one. I would still treat it with caution, though, no licking the parts after printing. I would love to see if there are any loose surface pins to worry about.
2 Likes
Lol no licking the parts here. i went with replacements using petg-cf thinking stronger… turns out i paid more for less. Ya i caught the end bit too basically seems like cf is good for everything but pla and petg
I have the extra parts to check this but no microscope
Updated testing Co-Extrusion Carbon Fiber FDM Filament Investigated |Co-Extrusion Carbon Fiber FDM Filament Investigated | Hackaday
1 Like