Fliament for outdoors

[terrymcc]

I purchased my M2 in 2013 and was very active for several years with PLA. The M2 has been an incredible little tool; very well made and essentially no issues. I have been away from it now for several months and configuration is a bit fuzzy in my mind. All my previous printing was in PLA.

I need to make some parts for outdoor use. Back in the day, that meant ABS. Is that still a good choice for outdoor use? If so, can some one point me to or share a "tuned up" configuration file for this filament? I just want to print the parts, not do a bunch of testing

Thanks

[Jules]

ABS would work, or there are several new ones that would be good, without the splitting and cracking problems that ABS has.

PETG is a popular choice - there's a writeup on how to print it in the Filaments section. There's also ePC filament. (You can find several discussions of settings for various filaments on insta's "Filaments that Work with M2" thread.)

[zemlin]

I would use ABS or PETG.
ABS is trickier to build, but I have managed to get pretty good at it once I started using a PEI build platform.
PETG is a nice material that also takes some practice. I get good results printing on Kapton/Glass. PETG has more flex than PLA or ABS.

[terrymcc]

Thanks for the feedback.

I'll look into the PETG. These are fairly large parts. 4" x 4" x 1" approximately.

Jules, I've been out of the loop for a while. What is "insta"?

[Jules]

Oh, sorry Terry, he's the moderator....

Here's the link to the thread:

viewtopic.php?f=11&t=1951

[terrymcc]

thanks

[Phil]

ASA is supposed to be UV resistant, unlike PLA or ABS, so maybe it is worth a look. I have not printed with it, so I cannot recommend it or not.
http://www.3dxtech.com/asa-filament/

[jimc]

i have some parts for my irrigation system that i printed in petg 3 seasons ago. i was just looking at them today since they are out in the elements all the time. still as sturdy as the day i printed them. with something 4x4 i would definitely stay away from abs. thats going to warp alot.

[terrymcc]

Thanks a lot.... I've ordered some PETG

[willnewton]

I have PLA stuff that has been sitting outside for a few years with no problem. Some of it used as planters.

PLA is not all that biodegrable as claimed.