Field notes.
Settings, comparisons and write-ups from the Lab and from Studio jobs. Each one opens with the short answer, so you can take it and go.
- Buying · 2
- Materials · 4
- Process · 1
- Settings · 2
Out of the grade you need? What swaps for what, and what it costs you
One material substitutes for another only if it clears four filters in order: service temperature, load type, environment, and finally whether your printer can run it. PETG substitutes for PLA in most cases; ASA substitutes for ABS almost completely; PA6-GF substitutes for PA-CF when you need more heat. The reverse direction of each pair usually does not hold.
- Substituting upward in performance is nearly always mechanically safe, and nearly always harder to print.
- Check in order: heat, load type, environment, printer capability. Skipping the first filter breaks parts.
- Changing material means changing the whole profile. Reusing the old one is the fastest way to blame the wrong thing.
Carbon or glass fibre? What the fibre does, and what it costs you
Fibre-filled 3D printing filament explained: what chopped fibre does inside the material, why stiffness rises while toughness falls, nozzle wear, and PLA-CF, PETG-CF, PA-CF and PA6-GF compared.
Filament types, read from composition up to properties
A guide to FDM filament and resin families: what the base polymer does, what the additives do, and why composition predicts heat resistance, toughness and print behaviour.
Archive
Everything, newest first.
How to dry filament, and how to tell when it is wet
Drying temperatures and times for PLA, PETG, ABS, TPU, nylon and PC, how to recognise a wet spool while printing, and how to store filament so it stays dry.
PLA, PETG or ABS? Start with what the part has to survive
A practical comparison of PLA, PETG and ABS for FDM printing: strength, heat resistance, UV, print difficulty and the failure each one actually has.
How to read a filament data sheet
What tensile strength, elongation, HDT and Izod impact really tell you about a printed part, which numbers are measured on moulded samples, and the questions a data sheet should answer.
Which print settings actually make a part stronger?
Wall count, orientation, temperature and layer height ranked by how much they change the strength of an FDM part — with the settings that make almost no difference.
Carbon fibre nylon: what it is good at, and what it is not
What carbon fibre adds to nylon, what it takes away, the hardware you need, and how to decide between PA-CF, PA12 and PA6-GF for a functional part.
How to print TPU without the tangles
Shore hardness explained, direct drive versus Bowden, retraction and speed settings for flexible filament, and how to design a printed TPU gasket that actually seals.