ABS is a commonly used plastic material for the manufacture of small to medium-sized products such as gears, wheels and housings. It is the first choice of many consumer-level 3D printer users for small industrial 3D printing due to its excellent mechanical properties, high resistance to environmental factors such as moisture, and good chemical stability.
â–² 3D printing with ABS filament
3D printing with ABS filament offers a wide range of possibilities in terms of applications. It can be difficult for new users to know where to start with ABS 3D printing. This article is specially written for people who are new to 3D printing and using ABS filament. We discuss seven different products that show the unique possibilities of ABS filament in 3D printing. This will help readers understand the possible applications of ABS in this exciting field.
3D printed carabiner
The carabiner is a simple but very useful tool for quickly and reversibly attaching various components, especially in case of safety-related emergencies. Carabiner is the first thing I recommend printing with ABS filament. The reason is that it is simple, functional and a very useful part. It is also a load-bearing part, so it will also help you understand your ABS filament in terms of strength and durability.
Picture 1 3D printed carabiner
It can also be 3D printed with PLA and nylon, PLA is too brittle to handle the external load design for the carabiner, while nylon proves to be too expensive for such a simple part. ABS is therefore not only the best, but also the most economical solution for a carabiner. Get a good understanding of PLA and ABS filament, what’s the difference?
3D printed buckle
Snap-fit ​​parts like belt buckles are one of the most interesting applications of 3D printing. Because these parts must be made of flexible plastic and must be as light as possible. 3D printing allows you to design your own unique and interesting buckle, while ABS filament will help you manufacture your desired buckle in the most cost-effective way. Other materials such as PETG and nylon also offer similar properties, but they are much more difficult to 3D print and too expensive for such a simple product. A detailed comparison to help you clearly know the difference between PETG and PLA filament.
Figure 2 3D printed buckle
3D printed hook
These are the most useful and the simplest products in our homes. They can be used to hang coats, key chains, hats, pots, kitchen pans and all sorts of other things. Usually their design is simple, but they can be unique, interesting and specially designed according to your demand.
Figure 3 3D printed hook
Like carabiners, these hooks can also be printed with PLA, but PLA is biodegradable and is highly affected by the moisture present in the atmosphere. So a hook 3D printed with PLA material will not provide a durable and long-lasting solution. Hook printed with ABS will not only bear more load, but also will have a much longer shelf life compared to hook printed by PLA.
3D printed bicycle helmet
A bicycle helmet is an incredible piece of personal safety equipment. Thanks to 3D printing, these helmets can now be easily customized and manufactured to your liking. There are certain standards and safety requirements that a helmet must meet before it is recommended for use.
All these safety requirements and standards are also implied during the 3D printing of the helmet. ABS filament for 3D printing has enough strength, toughness, abrasion resistance and impact resistance to 3D print a bicycle helmet.
Figure 4 3D printed bicycle helmet
In 3D printing, not only the material determines the properties of a product. It is the design and the printer settings, in combination with the material properties, that determine the final product properties. So the ABS can be used to 3D print bicycle helmets, but proper research is needed to 3D print a fully functional, safe and reliable bicycle helmet.
3D printed DIY machine vice
Do it yourself machine to help you with your DIY projects. A machine vise is a tool used to hold an object so that workers can easily work on it. There are some specific material requirements for 3D printing the machine vice. These include strength, abrasion resistance, impact resistance and chemical stability.
Figure 5 3D printed machine vice
Among all the 3D printing materials available in the market, ABS is the most reliable and cost-effective solution for 3D printing the machine voice. PLA is for protection for such applications and nylon is too difficult to print and too expensive for such a DIY tool.
To get the best results from your ABS material, it is recommended to field print the machine vise by more than 50%, this will give you the required strength and durability.
3D printed Easter cats
Easter cats are beautiful, unique and an interesting way to store small items. You can 3D print Easter cats in multiple colors and use them together to create a beautiful collection. Easter cats cannot be 3D printed with PLA material, as they must be snapped open and closed to store items. PLA is a material that does not support the rapid opening or closing of objects.
Figure 6 3D printed Easter cats
ABS material is the only solution available to print Easter cats, as ABS is a strong, somewhat flexible and cost-effective material. So the 3D printed Easter cats with ABS will not only produce cheap products, but also products that can be easily snapped open and closed.
3D printed drone sight
Drones are equipped with cameras to capture mesmerizing videos, but the sunlight can cause problems when recording videos. To solve these problems, most drones now have sights. These devices are custom designed and 3D printed to meet a number of specific requirements.
Figure 7 3D printed drone sight
These drones are mostly used in outdoor environments and usually have to deal with various atmospheric factors such as sunlight and moisture and also external factors such as vibrations. PLA material can easily manufacture these drone visors, but their outdoor application limits the use of PLA material as PLA material is highly affected by atmospheric moisture and vibration.
Conclusion on 3D printing with ABS filament
ABS is one of the first 3D printing materials and it was the first 3D printing material used for industrial 3D printing of products. ABS filament is known for its excellent mechanical properties and chemical stability, but at the same time it is also difficult to print and produces a foul odor during printing.
One of the best things about ABS filament is that it is flexible. This allows the user to print various industrial products such as helmets, hooks, snap-fit ​​parts, machine vices, easter cats and drone visors. All of these products require good mechanical properties and excellent chemical resistance as these products usually end up in outdoor environments and are counteracted by environmental factors such as humidity.
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