this post was submitted on 02 Oct 2023
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Cost effective filament for low volume printing? IE: getting smaller amounts of filament? (self.3dprinting)
submitted 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) by Majawat to c/3dprinting
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I don't print a ton, just an object here and there: like board game upgrades, etc.

As a result, buying 1kg spools, especially in many different colors, is both expensive up-front and takes up a lot of storage space.

For example:

  • In the board game Root there are up-to 9 factions with their own color scheme for the most part: upgrades.
  • I usually use eSun PLA+ at $25/kg
  • Not counting other pieces/colors, that's $225 in filament upfront. But only needing like ~500g total.
  • Sure, I'd have the rest of that filament for future projects, but now I've got to store all that for an indeterminant time that I have another project with that color.

Are there any manufacturers that sell affordable, low-volume amounts of filament? Maybe half kg or even 250g? I'm in the United States if that matters.

Closest I've found is Sunlu filament, but that's only sold in bundles (what happens when I run out of a color and need just another 250g?) and I have some concerns over the quality and business practices I've seen online.

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[–] Majawat 4 points 1 year ago (2 children)

I have done this before once, though I do find that each 'spool' of color is a bit too small especially a bowden setup as there's a good amount of waste there.

Which does work for some projects, but then not terribly viable for medium sized projects especially if I need just a bit more. I need a Goldilocks solution! lol

I might have to look more into buying more multi-bags though, nice idea!

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago

This is the route I ultimately took and it has worked out well for me. Most of the multi-packs I found had individual rolls that were too short to really be practical. I considered buying two packs, but with a lot of brands there will be some variability between two rolls of the same color which means you can't switch mid-print. I ultimately found a pack with rolls that were twice the typical length and that has worked out well. The one I bought was Mika 3d brand on Amazon.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago

If you get a runout sensor, you can print the tiny bits and then the printer will wait for you to refill it.