3D Printing Fans choice- 3D Printing material ABS
According to Proto3000,” ABS or Acrylonitrile butadiene styrene is one of the most common 3D printing thermoplastics. It boasts formidable impact resistance and toughness making it perfect for prototyping and concept modeling. Because it’s more flexible than PLA, ABS is great for mechanical designs or ones that have interlocking or pin-connected pieces. Comparatively, ABS also has a longer lifespan, is more impact resistant, and has a more matte look and finish.
MakerBot ABS Filament has a high melting point, so it’s suitable for machine or car parts. It is soluble in acetone, so you can “weld” parts together with just a drop or two or smooth surfaces and create a high gloss by brushing or dipping full ABS pieces in acetone.
For best results, be sure to use ABS with a heated build tray and Kapton Tape. Also, to avoid any health concerns make sure to only 3D print with ABS in a well ventilated area.”
According to Maker’s Muse, “ABS plastic has been used for FDM 3D Printing for ages… but is it time to move on? Let’s test some brands out, as well as some alternatives.”
From comments,
Liberty4Ever
2 years ago
I just checked Amazon and Polymaker PC Max is $159 for 3 kg. The Yoyi ABS I’ve been using is $18 per kilogram. At least for now I think I’ll stick with ABS.
Mechanically
2 years ago
There is no better or worse material… just the material that can do what you need for the price you’re willing to pay. Peace ✌
confusedone97
2 years ago
Abs is still the best for my uses. Acetone smoothing and welding are the backbone of my 3dp business
gabriel rodriguez
2 years ago (edited)
ABS is amazing! I use it to make models, parts, etc. Then I smooth it with acetone and if done right it barely even loses any detail. Then I make a mold with it to use with other materials. For example, pour wax in the mold and then do lost wax casting.
Peter Schmidt
1 year ago (edited)
For those of you harping on about “I use ABS and I think it’s great! You’re just doing it wrong!” that’s exactly his point. Despite what you think, ABS is in fact relatively difficult to work with, especially for hobbyists (who Angus primarily caters to). ABS is picky about the environment, so when you’ve got a hobbyist with a relatively cheap printer in the open air, you’re going to have a bad time. If you aren’t used to compensating for shrinkage, you’re going to have a bad time. If you work with ABS and you’re fine with it, that’s probably because you have a printer that was intended to print it effectively. You shouldn’t be asking if ABS is right for you because of course it is. But for anyone who is wondering “should I use ABS?” the fact you have to ask suggests that the answer is probably “no”. If you actually need it, you wouldn’t have to ask.
You could argue it’s slightly narrow-minded of him to say it’s outdated, but the fact of the matter is, he’s kind of right. Pretty much anything ABS can do, another filament can do better. It’s toughness and heat resistance are good for its price, but depending how much those things matter to you, the extra cost of an alternative filament might be a worthy investment. In another perspective, if those things don’t matter that much to you, then you could save money on a cheaper filament.
Short to Ground
2 years ago
I ABSolutely love ABS. It gives you a smooth finish, it’s more forgiven, the supports are easy to take off, more flexible. But it’s weak, you need to compensate with more walls and it smells, you can’t stay on a room with abs.
keco185
2 years ago
Strangely enough, I’ve had more warping issues with PETG than with ABS on my Prusa i3 MK2
David Light
2 years ago
Can’t agree with Angus enough. We crank out massive amounts of prints on our medical surgical model farm. We have currently 6 printers running 24/7.
WE tried ABS for a long time to try to print full length legs and skulls and the warping and separation wan’t worth the effort
We shifted to PLA for 99% of the prints and then to high heat PLA for the times we want to insure travel for the models in hot trucks or cars.
Yannick Cotten
2 years ago
Should you 3D print in ABS ? well every materials have their pros and cons. The choice of the material depends on which application the part will be used for. It’s totally different whether the part is just aesthetic/artistic or functionnal.
I usually print in ABS rather than PLA because I mostly print functionnal parts (mechanical parts), and aesthetic parts can be smoothed in aceton vapor bath.
And as far as I know other high temperature material like nylon or polycarbonate still suffer the same issues as ABS.
MucaroBoricua
1 month ago
ABS is irreplaceable.
It’s the only filament I know of that welds to each other with a simple solvent, acetone.
That gives me great flexibility in my designs.
I could split a model in a bunch of little pieces to minimize the use of supports and then assemble the pieces with just a lick of acetone.
x9x9x9x9x9
2 years ago
I recently started playing with ABS and have been enjoying it. I thought it printed nicely.
Arman Arakelyan
5 months ago (edited)
My cheapest one is under 9 dollars abs and I LOVE IT!!!no problems in 2019.
Joel Reid
9 months ago (edited)
I print in ABS primarily because I can acetone smooth.
Supertyp
2 years ago
What kind of filament except ABS can you smooth with acetone or other easy to handle solvent?
RJ_Make
2 years ago
Interesting video, I also agree ABS is becoming ‘out dated’ as we move to the future. HOWEVER the cost of these new materials vs the difficulty of printing with ABS successfully far out weighs the use of the newer materials IMO. I some cases these new materials are 4-6x higher in costs.
R-Obert K.
2 years ago (edited)
I have a stratasys machine and ABS
prints like butter on it!
dontlikemath -.-
dontlikemath -.-
1 year ago
I like the mechanical properties and the fact that you can smooth every brand of ABS.
3D printing with ABS plastic (Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene)
