There is a whole plethora of different filaments out there. Basically, to use a filament material on the CraftBot it must have two general parameters: be 1.75 mm in size and be able to melt under 260 Degrees Celsius. Some of the most common materials used are as follows,
PLA (Best for beginners):
High, but not extreme melting point of: 215°C
Average bed temperature needed for adhesion: 60°C
Has a minimal shrinkage when cooling off, making it ideal for beginners / prototypes.
ABS (Intermediate):
Very High melting point needed for this material: 255-260°C
High bed temperature is required for proper adhesion: 90-110°C
HIPS (Intermediate):
Mostly the same characteristics as the ABS, however its appears to be a lot more tougher in structure than ABS & PLA combined!
Very High melting point needed for this material: 260°C
High bed temperature is required for proper adhesion: 110°C
PLEASE NOTE:
Different manufacturers can have filaments that do not share the same characteristics, thus the values given above might not apply to our filaments.
