I was wondering whether there is somewhere a dataset collecting the mechanical properties of different filaments.

Some filament vendors provide some mechanical properties data about their filament, others don’t. On the few comparison I was able to make, I noticed big differences among the same filament type, such as PLA+.

For example, regarding the Flexural Modulus, one brand of PLA+ could report 4175Mpa, while another one reports 1973Mpa. Clearly, the second offers a much higher Elongation at Break. This means that depending on the application, it could make sense to select one brand of filament with respect to another (of the same type).

I would expect this type of mechanical properties to be easy to fetch, but a lot of vendors provide only how accurate the diameter of their filaments is.

(edit: typo)

  • @[email protected]English
    5•10 months ago

    I think such a dataset would be very useful. I’m just getting in to 3D printing and have spent a little bit of time hunting for this type of information already. I’ve had to stick to star ratings on vendor sites so far.

    • What are the physical properties it would be useful to track?
    • How are they measured/which standard is being followed?
    • How do they relate to practical matters like ideal extruder temperature and velocities for particular properties or effects?

    (Edit: typo)

    • @[email protected]OPEnglish
      5•10 months ago

      Currently, there are some vendors that provide a lot of information about some of their filaments. I cannot say anything about how accurate or trustworthy they are, though. Unfortunately, as reported here by other users, it looks like the market if filled by “cunning” sellers who are not transparent regarding how they asses the properties of their filaments. Anyway, as far as the physical properties to track are concerned, one of the most extensive table I found reported:

      • Density [g/cm³]
      • Elongation at Break [%]
      • Tensile Strength [Mpa]
      • Flexural Strength [Mpa]
      • Flexural Modulus [Mpa]
      • Young’s Modulus [Mpa],
      • Izod Impact Strength [KJ/m²]
      • Melting Point [°C],
      • Melt Index [g/10min]
      • Heat Deflection Temperature [°C]

      I could think that with those you can have some idea about how good the material will be for mechanical parts.

      There are other properties which are sometimes advertised as “chemical resistance” which are often left without a reference.

      Apart from the data you can get from the sellers, I found a table that, even if not providing a thorough analysis of the filaments in terms of the properties listed before, it looks like an attempt to gather together data to help user chose the right filament for their application: Prusa Research - Material Table