3D printing engineering parts: PLA vs ASA vs PC vs PP vs nylon vs tough resin

The printing of each of these can be refined. The idea is to create data to present to the engineering judges and to narrow down the available options. Fin then takes over in further testing and the team move towards the final product.

Personally, out of these options I was impressed by the ASA and tough resin. They didn't require any special setup to print, which kind of makes my Ender 5 build redundant but I'll still try to improve it.

Thanks to Rod Haas for pointing me towards the PTC heaters and providing support on how to get the best out of them.
Thanks to Adriaan Erasmus for sharing his heated chamber setup with me and also giving advice on how to optimise mine.

Take a look around and if you like what you see, please subscribe.

[TeachingTech]

Firstly, apologies for the audio quality in the studio shots. Only one lav mic, so I had to use the camera mic instead :/
Seems like a good time to thank my filament sponsor, X3D. They supply me free filament to use in my videos. I receive no commission or monetary compensation for using or promoting their products. I was already a customer before they were a sponsor because in my opinion they sell great quality filament.

[yootoob]

Those kids are lucky to have such a dedicated teacher like you Michael!!!! Good luck boys!!

[justking]

"It passed with flying colors, so we threw it at the table as hard as we could" engineering at its finest XD

[PeterC]

All I ever use is Fillamentum's ASA. Never fails, dimensionally accurate, clean, strong.

Slight price premium, but not enough to scare me away back to PLA, even for non-engineering prints.

Print on heated glass bed with Aquanet Super Hold and it will never ruin a first layer, yet parts often pop off by themselves when the glass cools.

[AndrewGillard]

I suspect your Nylon was wet. You MUST dry it before printing (and *while* printing, for longer jobs) - you can't just assume that it will be dry straight out of the packaging as it very rarely is, even if it's vacuum sealed with a sachet of dessicant. All of your issues with the Nylon print (maybe except the bed adhesion) are classic signs of damp filament.

[mrclown]

There's more front wing development in this video than Williams has done all season.

[DennisMurphey]

Stubbled onto this video looking for filament tests for my model train parts. What a wonderful crew and effort. Great to see young minds at work on science and of course Anything Auto Race related is very cool. Great video and informative. Thank You, D

[rodin]

Oh to be at school again. And with a teacher like you! Those kids are blessed. Great stuff. I have forwarded the link to a few people!

[properprinting]

Awesome video! I honestly expected a bit more from the prints itself. If you make a video about engineering materials I would like to know how to print them properly. That's what got me here. Still, I wasn't disappointed since the video itself was fun to watch!

[scotthoffmaster]

My wife of 20 years is a gifted and steam teacher! I could tell you had the teaching vibe! We looked into the Co2 cars but the support equipment for just her school would have been too expensive. I was a scout leader for a few years for my son. We did Pine would derby. My son was the only kid with self designed 3d printed wings and fenders on his car!

[TheEdgeofTech]

Nice work! It's awesome that you brought the students in, and they got to be a part of the video! Cheers

[ianbertenshaw]

Wow that was an amazing video ! Not only did i learn about a few filaments i didn't even know existed but i got to see some outstanding young Australians using their engineering skills to solve problems and improve the car .
You have 84.6k suscribers surely if everyone donated 50 cents you would reach your goal ?
C'mon everyone put your hand in your pocket and donate !

[richardboyce]

I agree with other comments, the team are extremely lucky to have you as their teacher, well done mate, and well done team. All the best in November.

[menchelke]

I am glad I found this video. I was going to just do the acrylic panels and call it good. I also had the same idea about using something like a incubator thermostat to control the heat in the enclosure. But I didn't account for needing additional insulation.

[michaelthemekhanical]

I am new to 3D printing and from the information I had for a filament printer it was ASA that turned out to be the best choice for car parts. Thank you for the clarity on that ;)

I also am using PLA for testing and will be planning to make more parts in the near future to as accurate as possible for the vehicles around me, due to the low availability of parts.
For my first prints, I've never had so much success on my first shot, which was oversighted by someone with experience in the operation of 3D printers and CNC machines. I found it great to get the job done and build up a little confidence!

All in all, it costs with PLA about $1.00 to print parts so failures are acceptable to a point.
I can't wait to get my ASA roll :D


Thanks' for your videos, advice and support!
I saw the video about the Ender 3V2 and choose it based on the ability to buy kits and upgrade it! So cool :)

[jaistanley]

All the more reason to work on that high-temp printer Mike! With decent layer adhesion (from higher nozzle and chamber temps) I'd put my money on polycarbonate being the best material (all round). Great work, and I have huge respect for the work you're doing to inspire and educate the team.

[spikekent]

Great to hear X3D are sponsoring your videos, thanks guys. Nothing wrong with sponsorship, we know your views and opinions are honest, personally I trust you implicitly.
Very interesting testing, I've never printed with ASA yet, think I should start giving it a try for structural designs. All the best for the competition and I'm looking forward to seeing more videos on it.

[rwetmore]

Boy, I wish I had these kinds of tools available when I was a kid. Plus, another vote for “why no PETG?” It’s going to be stronger than PLA and as easy to print.

[DeltaOps]

i print exclusively with Polymaker ASA and Im able to print huuuge half kilo parts with 0 warping with my non heated enclosure, and its great.

[noelwade]

Good luck to the whole team! Thanks for sharing your findings, and I hope you are all able to make it to the finals!