Polymaker Polymax

[nilrog]

Has anyone tried using Polymaker Polymax? I did not find much info in Ultimakers forum about it.
It is supposed to be "ABS-like" although it is PLA. So I was thinking of using it for some stuff where "normal" PLA is a bit too brittle.

I have used it a bit...in fact all the black things I have posted here recently have been printed with this filament. And in general...it's nice...the pieces looks fine...it comes of the build plate easily...you can even use the "acetone finishing" on the printed models

But, i'm not that impressed with the "strength" of the pieces when you try to bend them. You can bend the pieces more easily than with "normal" PLA...but I still feel like the pieces start to break way too easily. Compared to this test i'm no way near the same result (although their test is not the most scientific...).

I just found this, which is mainly about PolyPlus...but it also mentions PolyMax...and the temperatures mentioned there are higher than what I have used so far. So far I have only printed using 200C...so i'm planning on trying higher temps to see if that makes a difference.
https://www.bcn3dtechnologies.com/en/fo ... t-working/

[drayson]

A sample is in my box and on my ToDo list, but up to now I was not able to give it a try...
With which settings have you printed it?

[nilrog]

Hmm, I was sure I had answered this...

My prints so far have been sliced with, afaik, default PLA-settings in Cura 15.04.4...layer height 0.1, speed 50mm/s, 200C nozzle, 60C bed.

Regular objects are fine with these settings, and they pop off the build plate easily when it has cooled down. My doubts are for things that might be subject to some bending force. I have not had time to do any more experiments with it

Here are two Pokémon figures that I have printed for my kids. No post-processing and the tail of Pikachu is still there

Printed on a stock UMO+.

And if I were to play with Acetone a bit they would be even smoother

(and yes, the images were not taken in that orientation... )

[LePaul]

Can you sand that material? I am curious about post processing some of these various materials. I know PLA and nGen can be....

[nilrog]

Not the most scientific test...but here is a quick and dirty one. The pieces were printed with 0.1 or 0.15 mm layers (can't remember exactly) and bad bearings so the surface is not the smoothest.

This is straight out of the printer:

This one is sanded lightly:

And this one was brushed with acetone:

So this filament is very easy to post-process both with sandpaper and acetone. And imo very easy to print with.

[nilrog]

After emptying a spool of Colorfabb PLA I started using the black Polymax again.

Although it prints fine it's a bit trickier to stick to the bed during printing. It tends to warp a bit, especially for objects with larger footprint. So I need to figure out some better way to try to fix that.

I have mostly printed on a heated bed...60C...and tried both the glue stick that came with the printer and some hairspray.

But on the plus size the prints detaches really easy soon after the prints are finished. There is also a bit more odor from Polymax compared to Colorfabb PLA...but not so much that it is disturbing or worrying.

[nilrog]

Returned back to Polymax after some adventures with Colorfabb XT.

Before when I tried using dilluted glue and/or gluestick I noticed two things:

• The first layer almost alwayes had "bubbles"...just like it is described in this post (on UM forum). Lowering the temp caused the parts to not stick. So it was either non-sticking prints or bubbles on the first layer.
• The parts tends to show signs of slight warping.

Maybe some of this is due to me being new to this and I need to experiment more with temps...I also tried hairspray but that was not an improvment with the brand I tried at least. But when I discovered that I could get Colorfabb XT to stick to plain glass by raising the bed temp I thought I would try that experiment here too.

And so far, except for some small parts, printing on plain glass with a bed temp of 62C (machine value, not measured value) the parts does not warp and sticks to the bed. That said...for some smaller parts...like 10x6 mm it seems like there are still some issues...or I didn't clean the glass good enough on that spot. Time will tell as I continue printing with this filament.

[nilrog]

Switched to my yellow roll of Polymax to print a Pokémon figure for my son...turns out that the yellow color is somewhat translucent

The bottom is 4 layers thick...layer height is 0.12 mm...so the bottom is ~0.5 mm thick...yet you can easily see the support structure.

[FerGazz]

Hi @nilrog
thank you for the infos, I will try one of those Polymax... the yellow one is on the way.
Did I make a good choice? Say yes, say yes, please hahaha... just kidding

edit: Any update about this material/color?

I also got a pack of Polymaker samples (random colors) just to test.

Cheers

[LePaul]

I haven't tried their other material offerings...yet!

[nilrog]

I haven't used anymore of it than the two spools I bought and printed with above. So I can't say that it is better or worse than any other PLA...but I do imagine that it is a bit "flexier" than regular PLA.

Good news is that the two Pokemon figures I posted earlier are still intact after 1.5 years in the hands of two young kids...even the tail of Pikachu

[FerGazz]

hahaha... kids are always a good tester, so it seems like a good/resistant stuff!
I will test it later with PLA stock settings... if necessary I will tweek a bit my S3D profile.

@LePaul , You tried Polymax too? I wanna see that flex, I'm testing Fillamentum 98A (semi-flex) and it's working good by now but I only print small/medium and easy stuffs, with not too much retractions. I got some good tips with 3DMN (noob) to keep same speed at the entire print, even the z-speed (that was new to me). By the way I upgraded my UM2 with slippery bowden tube, Meduza's feeder and 3d Solex Kit: race nozzles, heated block...

[LePaul]

@LePaul , You tried Polymax too? I wanna see that flex, I'm testing Fillamentum 98A (semi-flex) and it's working good by now but I only print small/medium and easy stuffs, with not too much retractions. I got some good tips with 3DMN (noob) to keep same speed at the entire print, even the z-speed (that was new to me). By the way I upgraded my UM2 with slippery bowden tube, Meduza's feeder and 3d Solex Kit: race nozzles, heated block...

I haven't tried their other offerings at this time. I would like to.
My Ultimaker 2+ is stock. I just replaced the coupler and bowden tube as both were looking pretty nasty after two years of regular use. I have resisted the temptation to make too many alterations since I like that the Cura profiles largely work well when I use Ultimaker brand filaments.

(p.s. Here's the most recent video I made and you can see just how crispy that coupler was...and how much junk was stuck in the Bowden)

[LePaul]

Didn't mean to hijack the thread with that...

BUT...yes, I would like to try that brand since so many are having good results with it.

(I'm using a lot of Zyltech PETG in my 1.75mm machines and really, really impressed with it. On my Ultimaker, I am trying to dial in ColorFabb HT and not having a lot of fun. I'm starting to question why I buy these expensive CF filaments, use their suggested settings and wind up with such a terrible experience.)