3d printing newbie

[Dedicated Reefer]

I’m trying to figure out how to design prints for my Ender 3. I know it’s a budget printer. But it has printed shades for my Kessil 160s. I’m wondering it matters what filament you use. Is there better or worse filament?

 

[The_Paradox]

Ideally you would want to use NylonX or ABS, but that’s not really doable with your current set up without modifications. Look for a cheap spool of PETG on Amazon or some place like that. Should only be around 20 dollars. Not sure I would trust PLA. As far as actual brand… they all print the same to me. Just keep them dry or off-gas them if you think you have a moisture issue.

 

[CWalters]

Buy some Hatchbox petg reasonable price and prints good. I’m opposite of him ^ I feel you get what you pay for with filament. I’m not about the cheap “no name” brands. Less headache from the start

 

[littlefoxx]

I’m trying to figure out how to design prints for my Ender 3. I know it’s a budget printer. But it has printed shades for my Kessil 160s. I’m wondering it matters what filament you use. Is there better or worse filament?

To be honest I bought a pack of filament off amazon when I got my printer. Dont remember the name of it, but it works well for my ender 3

 

[marinesnow]

PETG is reef safe (in water), PLA is good for things outside of the tank. More important for good prints is your settings. As for designing, check out tinkercad. It's an easy to use platform for designing your first parts.

 

[Gtinnel]

I agree with everyone else that for anything that goes in the water petg is the way to go. I personally have only used overture brand petg and it prints fine for me, so I never saw a reason to try a more expensive brand.

 

[cilyjr]

A filament dryer is a good place to spend 60 to 80 bucks if you plan on sticking with 3d printing.
As filament absorbs moisture, it will become more brittle and prone to breaking, also it will cause problems when printing like oozing and defective prints.
I have put both pla and petg in the water, both will work.
Both will become more brittle over time, the PLA will happen faster then the petg.

As stated before, settings in your slicer are key to good prints. Play around with the settings, cura has tons, most hidden by default.
I think the standard ender3 has a Bowden extruder (you'll find settings for both Bowden and direct drive.

Scroll around and see what people are saying about ideal settings for different plastics.
I go to all3dp.com for a lot of information.

 

[jtp7004ft]

This helped me with the Cura settings using PETG.

https://all3dp.com/2/cura-petg-settings-profile/

 

[tharbin]

I would also suggest using PETG. While PLA is slightly easier to print and less expensive it is also not as UV or heat resistant as PETG. PLA is more rigid but I've even used PETG for light mounts with good success. I've used both Hatchbox and MatterHackers Build PETGs with equally good results using Cura's Generic PETG settings.