this post was submitted on 29 Jan 2024
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Hello everyone!

I was asked to print someone a case which would be placed in a bathroom and my question is:

What would be the best filament option for it? (We have PLA and PETG currently.)

Some general questions relating to this:

  • How long does PLA last indoors?
  • How does PETG & PLA in particular handle humidity after being printed?

Thank you guys in advance!

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[–] [email protected] 4 points 9 months ago

I have printed ABS things that I use for scuba diving and freediving. It's like 4 years since I first printed them and they have been hours and hours in the sea.

ABS is great ... but then I bought some ASA. It's even greater since it's UV proof.

ABS is hard to print due to retractation. I have to use glue. I have less issue with ASA, it's easy to print, I don't know if it's due to the different brands.

ABS and ASA are making nasty fumes when printing. Be careful.

Finally, the last advice is to get one nozzle dedicated for ABS/ASA. The issue is that it needs to be printed at high temperature. Way higher than PLA. If you try to change the filament, the nozzle is either too cold to melt and purge ABS/ASA properly, or too hot and the PLA will be carbonized inside the nozzle. The nozzle will be clogged one way or the other. The solution is to dedicate one nozzle for PLA/PETG and one for ASA/ABS. It can be painfull to recalibrate the Z-offset on older printers.