In this video, we're going to explore
the 9 most popular advanced filament types that you can print with in your
at-home 3D printer to understand their differences, their ideal applications,
and why you might want to check them out. Let's get after it. Previously, I put out a video on the
top 5 most common 3D printer filaments that you need to know about and
what types of applications are best suited for each type of filament. Now you guys loved that video,
and the only criticisms I received were that people were hoping I
would go into the more advanced, engineering-grade filaments like Nylon,
polycarbonate, and carbon composites. These types of filaments are becoming
more and more popular due to the increased popularity of enclosed consumer grade
3D printers and hardened extruders and nozzles that are actually capable
of printing these types of materials. With that said at the outset of this
video I admittedly had pretty limited experiences with most of these different
types of filaments, and so I set out on a journey, printing all different
types of parts with different types of filaments, researching the differences,
reading various technical data sheets, and consulting directly with the experts. Shout out to my friends over at
Kexcelled, a leader in creating some crazy composite materials like carbon
fiber peek and more, for actually putting their lead engineers on a Zoom call with
me and filling in my gaps in knowledge. So, without further adieu, here
it is: The nine advanced filament types that you need to know about. To top this list off, let's
start with plain old Nylon. Generally speaking, Nylon is
an incredibly durable material. It features higher heat resistance
than most commodity plastics such as ABS or PETG, and it really excels in
toughness, aka durability, and strength, particularly interlayer adhesion. Additionally, it offers more ductility
than other plastics, meaning that it has a lot more give, or flex, like
PETG, particularly in thin parts. This is a large contributor
to its toughness. Nylon also exhibits great chemical
resistance, making it a great choice when your part will be
exposed to oil or solvents. Additionally, Nylon is actually
quite affordable when compared to other heat resistant plastics
out there, such as PEEK. The downsides, however, are that
it can be pretty tricky to print. First of all, Nylons are highly
hygroscopic, and they need to be printed directly from a
filament dryer for best results. Second, this material is
highly prone to warping, so an enclosure is an absolute must. By the way, in 3D printing, there are
two different types of Nylons that are commonly used: PA-6 and PA-12. In case you're wondering, the names
indicate the number of carbon atoms in the repeating units, which in
turn dictate different behavioral properties of the material. PA-12, like this for example, has a
lower moisture absorption rate, making it more stable in various environmental
conditions, both during and after printing, as well as higher flexibility. But PA-6, conversely, has higher
strength and stiffness, but then it's also more easily affected by
moisture, it has a higher melting point, which makes it trickier to print. This is why when it comes to plain
old Nylons without the carbon fiber stuff we're going to get into, PA-12 is
generally more popular for 3D printing. Okay, so that's a list of characteristics,
but I know that that's probably confusing and not too helpful, so
throughout this video, as with my previous one, I'm going to give you
a list of examples and applications that Nylon is best suited for. In the case of just plain Nylon,
these include anything that needs to withstand high heat, applications
where the part will be repeatedly abused, bumped, violated, vibrated,
or impacted, and applications where you actually want that high ductility. So the list of specific examples
includes plastic gears, automotive parts, flexible living hinges, workshop
tools, gaskets and things like that. If you've ever used Nylon in the past, I
would love to know in the comments below, what did you actually print with it? To continue our exploration of the
advanced 3D printing materials without carbon Let's open up this box of
polycarbonate, often abbreviated as PC. Recognized for its exceptional clarity and
its robustness, PC stands out as one of the toughest thermoplastics on the planet. When compared to your standard commodity
plastics like ABS or PLA, PC, like Nylon, offers superior heat resistance, making
it a prime choice for applications that demand that high thermal stability. Its strength is really commendable, and
its inner layer adhesion is, once again, often dramatically superior, which makes
really robust and cohesive parts when you're doing something like 3D printing. One of the most distinguishing
features of PC though is its impressive impact resistance. In terms of rigidity vs ductility,
PC is somewhere between ABS and PLA on the more rigid side, and
Nylon on the more ductile side. So while it's still pretty rigid
and can therefore shatter, it's still able to absorb significant
shocks without breaking. This resilience, combined with its
very, very high transparency, is why it's frequently used in things like
bulletproof glass and eyewear lenses, though obviously not 3D printed ones. Additionally, while specialty filaments
like PEEK might outperform PC in terms of certain extreme conditions, PC remains
a much more budget-friendly option for many applications that require that high
performance, but not at the absolute peak. Get it? PEEK? However, 3D printing with PC
is not for the faint of heart. Similar to Nylons, PC is
quite hygroscopic, which can significantly impact print quality. Although its moisture absorption is
generally lower than that of Nylons, it's still advisable to store PC filaments in
a dry environment, and consider using a filament dryer while you're printing them. Additionally, PC is notorious
for its tendency to warp, especially in larger prints. Now, there are some PC blends out
there, like the one made by Prusament or Kexcelled's PC K7, which aim to
combat this, but as I'll say a few times throughout this video, a tiger doesn't
change its stripes, and even these easier to print blends are, at the end of the
day, PC, and they'll behave like it. Therefore, using an enclosed
printer and ensuring a heated bed is essential for optimal results, and
even then, you might need to heat the chamber and or use bed adhesion
products out there to reduce warping. When considering which applications
are best suited for PC, think of scenarios demanding strength,
clarity, and heat resistance. So ideal use cases include projects
with lighting elements, for example, light housings, fixtures,
or cases for electronics with LEDs that you want to shine through. PC is also great for things like
drone parts, containers that you want to be clear, such as bins
or buckets, tanks for liquids. It's even suitable for
prototypes for functional testing under strenuous conditions. Its durability and clarity make it a
favorite for many in the 3D printing community, so if you've had the
opportunity to work with polycarbonate in your 3D printing endeavors, I
would love it if you shared your experience in the comments below. And also love to know what creative
applications that you've discovered for this versatile material. Continuing our journey into the
realm of specialized 3D printing materials, let's discuss PLA-CF,
which is essentially polylactic acid or PLA, reinforced with carbon fiber. At its core, plain PLA is, as you
probably know, a biodegradable thermoplastic derived from renewable
resources like cornstarch or sugar cane. It's a favorite among 3D printing
enthusiasts due to its incredible strength and rigidity combined with its extreme
ease of printing and minimal warping. Believe it or not, PLA is actually so
strong that fellow YouTuber Clough42 actually discovered that it is
superior to PA-CF, which I don't think anybody expected, in some instances. However, when infused with carbon
fibers, like these various different colored versions are, PLA undergoes
a transformation that enhances some of its mechanical properties, while
simultaneously reducing others. First, the addition of carbon
fibers actually increases the stiffness and strength of PLA. Kind of. You see, I need to go on a small
tangent here because this is our first carbon fiber filament and
increased strength is something that is touted on all of these different
carbon fiber reinforced filaments, but It's a little bit misleading. Yes, depending on the quality
of the filament and the printing conditions, you may achieve increased
strength in the axial direction, and some PLA-CF formulations
will use surface treated carbon fiber, and as a result, interlayer
adhesion isn't impacted a lot. That's, for example,
Kexcelled's own PLA K6CF. But, frankly speaking, because
the carbon fibers are basically a contaminant in the material, you
will also generally experience decreased strength in between layers. This was corroborated not only by
the experts at Kexcelled, but also Stefan from CNC Kitchen, who has
done more testing of more filament strength than anyone in this community. So when companies advertise the strength
of carbon fiber filaments, they are generally explaining this nuanced point. To wit, when I spoke with Kexcelled's
engineers, they really wanted me to emphasize to you guys that because PLA is
already so incredibly strong and rigid, they consider PLA-CF like these to be
kind of a gimmick, whose primary benefit is actually more aesthetic than anything. This is not only because of the beautiful
matte textured finishes that the carbon adds, but also because as with all the
carbon composites on this list, adding carbon fibers actually improves its
dimensional stability by reducing warping and making parts come out much cleaner. Though again, PLA doesn't really
suffer from printability or warping... so... I mean... Sure, adding carbon fibers can
make this material stronger and more rigid in some specific senses. But it's still PLA. It's not an engineering-grade
material, and so it will still retain the downsides of PLA, including
absolutely zero tolerance for heat. What's more, carbon fibers can
actually take some of the bad characteristics of PLA, like
brittleness, and make them worse. And while PLA-CF, and really all of the
CF composites on this list, print even better than their pure counterparts,
they're also incredibly abrasive. This means that whenever you print
with any carbon composite filament, you will need to ensure that you
print with a hardened steel or ruby or diamond nozzle ideally. You'll also need to ensure that you
have all metal gears, and you're going to experience accelerated
wear on any bowden tubes or anything in the path of the filament. In terms of applications, PLA-CF is ideal
for components that need a balance of strength and lightweight construction. Hold it. Point the camera at me. Point the camera at me. Let's try to break it. It's, it's, it's hard for you? I literally can't break it. Why? It's too strong. Why? I can't break it. Think of drone frames, RC car
components, and even lightweight tooling. I even like to use it for mounting
brackets, so long as they don't need to flex or take any impact. It's also great for saving money on
prototypes because it will exhibit similar dimensional behavior to
PA-CF, but it costs considerably less. For those of you who have ventured into
printing all these different PLA-CF colors, how'd you find the experience? And do you share in the
conclusion that this material is a little bit of a gimmick? Please share your experience below. I'd love to hear it. Continuing our exploration into
the carbon fortified filaments, let's next turn to PETG-CF. At first, PETG-CF had me
kind of scratching my head. I mean, practically the only redeeming
quality that I find about PETG is that it is ductile and flexes. So wouldn't adding carbon fibers
take away that one redeeming quality? But as it turns out, these fibers
elevate the inherent qualities of PETG, adding increased stiffness,
strength, and even additional heat resistance to the material. Whereas PETG is quite ductile, as we said,
with a certain amount of flex and give, PETG's CF is considerably more rigid. The result is a filament that can take
a considerable amount of abuse, even more than standard PETG in some cases. Now like PETG, this filament
exhibits superior resistance to both ultraviolet light and chemicals. But PETG-CF is generally more affordable
and much easier to print than other filaments with similar performance. And if all that weren't enough,
parts made of PETG-CF enjoy improved printability and dimensional accuracy. Moreover, the carbon fibers grant
the printed objects a unique matte and textured finish, which normally
cannot be achieved with PETG. I don't know about you, but I
generally prefer to print just about everything in matte. Now really, there are only three major
downsides or trade offs to PETG-CF. First, it requires abrasion
resistant hardware such as nozzles. Second, like all PETG, it's
hydroscopic, though nowhere near as much as, say, a Nylon. Despite all its impressive
performance, I do want to note that it's still nowhere near as heat
resistant as Nylon, PC, or even ABS. Though, again, PET-CF just might be. So where does that leave us in
terms of applications for PETG-CF? Well, it really, really stands out in
scenarios that demand a balance between durability, cost, and lightweight design. It's an excellent choice for parts
that undergo moderate stress, like custom enclosures, protective gear,
or even certain robotics components that are going to take a beating. This material's unique finish also
lends a touch of sophistication to prototypes or even end use parts. Like PLA-CF, it could also be great
for saving money on prototypes that will eventually be printed in a more
expensive carbon composite material. But above all else, PETG-CF shines
at being easy to print, without a filament dryer or a heated enclosure. And so really the best applications
are going to be the same as I'm gonna mention in the PA-CF or ABS-CF sections, but, if in your situation, you don't
have the hardware or the budget to do it in those respective materials. Actually, side note, while I was
taking out all of these filaments to record this video, I discovered that I
also have some PET-CF, which does not have the glycol addition and actually
has higher heat resistance than the PETG-CF, lower susceptibility to
water absorption, and really actually competes pretty evenly with PAHT-CF. I'm not going to talk to too much about
PET-CF versus PETG-CF, but just know that this material is a little bit
better at all the things that PETG-CF does, with a lot fewer of the downsides. So worth checking these out
and I will link to a comparison of them in the description. Now for those of you who have dabbled
in either PETG-CF or PET-CF, I would love to know what your thoughts were. Are you converted into becoming a
believer, or do you still think that PETG-CF is just a second rate option for
people who can't print or afford PA-CF? I'd really love to hear
your thoughts below. As I just mentioned, one of the great
things about PETG-CF is that you can print it on an affordable open printer. For example, I printed these PETG-CF parts
on the Sovol SV07 Plus, which just happens to be the sponsor of today's video. Unlike a lot of budget-friendly 3D
printers in their price range, the Sovol SV07 Plus has a full metal
heat break, a powerful volcano hot end, a planetary extruder, and other
features which make it capable of printing up to 300 degrees Celsius. That means that if you enclose it, for
example by putting it in a cabinet, or just creating a lack enclosure
like many people do, and then you pick up some abrasion resistant
nozzles, you can actually print nearly all of the materials on this list. You heard that right. A $349 printer that with a few
small upgrades is capable of printing carbon fiber Nylon. Plus, because Sovel's SV07 and SV07
Plus run full open source versions of Klipper, they print fast, and they don't
hold you back from tweaking, modifying, upgrading, and customizing the machine. So in addition to visiting the link
in the description and using my coupon code to save 10 to 20 dollars
at checkout, do make sure to check out the recent video I did with my
top 10 Klipper upgrades and plugins. Wait a second, did I just plug one
of my own videos in an ad spot? Why yes I did, but Sovol also
sponsored that, so it's totally fine. Let's just get back to
the video, shall we? Up next, let's talk about probably the
most popular and talked about carbon composite out there for 3D printing
right now, carbon fiber Nylon, such as PA-CF or PAHT-CF like this one. These come in different flavors
ranging from PA-6 based versions to PA-12 versions, high heat
versions and standard ones. But like I mentioned in our discussions of
PA-6 versus PA-12, these all have slightly different characteristics, often depending
on the brand and application purchase. But generally, they share the same
overarching differences when carbon fibers are added to regular Nylon. You'll recall from that earlier discussion
that we talked about Nylon's high ductility and flexibility, and that it is
ideal for situations where that ductility rather than rigidity are desired. But adding carbon fibers to it has a
similar purpose as adding them to PETG. It allows you to enjoy the
durability and heat resistance of a Nylon without the ductility. In other words, if what you
want is rigidity and high heat resistance, that's where PA-CF or
even PAHT-CF make a lot of sense. Here again, there's a give and take. Yes, adding carbon fibers does gain
rigidity, but you lose some of that impact resistance and therefore durability. This is because carbon fiber parts
can take more force before they deform, but once they do start to
deform, they'll fail catastrophically instead of simply deforming. This means that for any part where you
wouldn't want a catastrophic failure, such as something holding weight up high, it
would be better to just use pure Nylon. Conversely, if you want something
to be affixed somewhere in a very, very rigid way without a millimeter
of give, then you need CF Nylon. Now I've also mentioned a few times
how adding carbon fibers improves both printability and heat resistance,
and this is true of all the materials on this list compared to their plain
counterparts, but in the case of Nylon, this is especially pronounced. As I mentioned before, Nylon,
like polycarbonate, can be a serious pain in the butt to print. And adding carbon fibers actually makes it
significantly easier by reducing warping and improving dimensional accuracy. In fact, if you're unable to print Nylon
even on your enclosed printer, you might just find that you can print PA-CF. Even more interestingly, the addition
of carbon fiber to Nylon, like I said before, can add temperature resistance. But in the case of Nylon, it can add 10 to
20 degrees Celsius to its heat resistance, making it truly the best consumer-grade
alternative to something like PEEK. As for specific use cases, I've used it
for caster wheel mounts that need to be rigid yet durable, and it's generally
really good in applications around your workshop where you need rigidity under heat. This may include mounting brackets
for inside an enclosure, or tools that need to remain rigid even when
used around, say, a heat gun, or an open flame, or a soldering iron. Though, as Stefan from CNC Kitchen
found out, it is definitely not good for printing Voron parts. So, we've made it through some of the more
popular carbon fiber filaments, let's now talk about one that doesn't get nearly
as much attention, and that's ABS-CF. Here, once again, a tiger
doesn't change its stripes. This is still ABS with all
the pros and cons of ABS. But here, once again, adding carbon
actually makes it more printable. Which, if you've ever printed
ABS, is a welcome addition. Now we've already talked a lot about
the differences between carbon fiber reinforced filaments and their plain
counterparts, and you can basically sum it up as improving rigidity, axial
strength, and printability at the expense of affordability and layer adhesion. So let's jump straight into why
you might choose, say, ABS-CF over any of the other carbon composites
that I've already talked about. First of all, right out of the
gate, ABS being a commodity plastic is going to be significantly
cheaper than something like Nylon. Meaning that its carbon
composite version will be too. Second, though PA-CF is fairly
easy to print, ABS-CF is going to be even easier in most cases. It is far less hygroscopic than
PETG-CF or PA-CF, and it warps much less than the latter. Though, it does still require an
enclosure, especially because of the fumes, unlike something like PETG-CF. What's more, ABS, as a base plastic,
is just incredibly durable and an all around great polymer, which explains
why it is the obvious choice for most consumer goods, from toys to
tools to electronics, really anything outside of disposable packaging. Similarly, I'd say that ABS-CF is a
really great all around compromise. It doesn't excel at any one thing,
but it nicely blends affordability, printability, durability, strength,
moderate heat resistance, and rigidity. In other words, if you have an
enclosed printer but you don't want to deal with PA-CF for its
price, ABS-CF is a great option. Also, like PA-CF or PET or PETG-CF,
it is great for things like automotive parts under moderate heat, tools,
indoor brackets that need to be incredibly rigid, such as for camera
equipment, robotic arms, really anything that needs a lot of rigidity. Just note that unlike PETG-CF,
ABS-CF does not do well when exposed to ultraviolet light or chemicals. Once again, if you've used ABS-CF
in the past, I would love to know in the comments below what exactly
you used it for and whether or not you agree with my assessments. Alright, we're almost done, but
before we go, I do want to mention just one last advanced filament,
and that is ABS-GF, or glass fiber. As the name suggests, this filament swaps
carbon fibers out for glass fibers, which are somewhat more economical, and have
slightly different mechanical properties. Whereas adding carbon can improve
axial strength and rigidity, glass fibers can instead
add tensile strength. Whereas carbon fibers improve heat and
even electrical conductivity aiding in things like heat dissipation, glass
fibers do not, meaning that they may even be preferable in environments
involving electronics or electricity. There are a lot of other nuance
differences in areas like abrasion, but ultimately the main takeaway
here is going to be price. If you can justify it, or if
it's for the final product, ABS-CF will generally be better. But ABS-GF is still great for adding a
bit of tensile strength over standard ABS without breaking the bank, or
just prototyping parts that will later be reprinted in ABS carbon fiber. Some examples of parts include
electronics housings, tool cases, tools, or handles, which take advantage
of its enhanced tensile strength. Now, I'd once again be curious
to know in the comments if any of you have ever even tried ABS-GF,
and so, what did you use it for? So there you have it, the nine top
advanced and high performance filaments that you can print with a consumer 3D
printer, as well as how to best take advantage of their individual strengths. Pun very much intended. I also want to give a huge thanks not
only to Sovol for sponsoring this video, but also to the folks over at Kexcelled
for taking the time to fact check me and educate me on some of the lesser known
and finer points of these filaments. If you enjoyed this video please do
take a moment to like and subscribe because it really helps ensure that
other people will see it, and it's a good signal to me that you would like
for me to make more content just like it. Oh, and thanks to my Patreon supporters
and YouTube members for your support. That's all for this week, but I'll
see all of you on The Next Layer.
