Hello everyone!

I was asked to print someone a case which would be placed in a bathroom and my question is:

What would be the best filament option for it? (We have PLA and PETG currently.)

Some general questions relating to this:

  • How long does PLA last indoors?
  • How does PETG & PLA in particular handle humidity after being printed?

Thank you guys in advance!

  • FuglyDuckEnglish
    8•10 months ago

    Pla can get brittle if exposed to a ton of moisture, so if it’s expected to flex, another option should be preferred- ASA, comes to mind.

    But if there no real load on this box…. Pla or petg would be fine.

    I a rack-hanger thing for my shaving stuff that has held up admirably for years.

    • @[email protected]English
      1•10 months ago

      I’ve had pla plant identification sticks outside for 3+ years in the sun, rain, and snow. One with a clear spray one without. Neither has deformed barely at all. Agreed, if it has no load it should be perfectly fine.

      • FuglyDuckEnglish
        1•10 months ago

        I’d be more concerned about heat on PLA than anything else. Black PLA, or inside a car… makes prints all droopy and sad.

  • WFHEnglish
    7•10 months ago

    PETG is almost the same material water bottles are made from. I’ve made a soap holder that gets, by definition, constantly wet in PETG and it’s absolutely fine.

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

    Both materials will last a long time indoors. Moisture will not cause issues with either material after printing.

  • @[email protected]English
    4•10 months ago

    I have printed ABS things that I use for scuba diving and freediving. It’s like 4 years since I first printed them and they have been hours and hours in the sea.

    ABS is great … but then I bought some ASA. It’s even greater since it’s UV proof.

    ABS is hard to print due to retractation. I have to use glue. I have less issue with ASA, it’s easy to print, I don’t know if it’s due to the different brands.

    ABS and ASA are making nasty fumes when printing. Be careful.

    Finally, the last advice is to get one nozzle dedicated for ABS/ASA. The issue is that it needs to be printed at high temperature. Way higher than PLA. If you try to change the filament, the nozzle is either too cold to melt and purge ABS/ASA properly, or too hot and the PLA will be carbonized inside the nozzle. The nozzle will be clogged one way or the other. The solution is to dedicate one nozzle for PLA/PETG and one for ASA/ABS. It can be painfull to recalibrate the Z-offset on older printers.

  • @[email protected]English
    4•10 months ago

    PLA’s dirty secret is that it will not breakdown under normal conditions. I have a PLA soap dish and its exactly the same as.it was the day i printed it.