What is PolySonic™ PLA and PLA Pro?
These materials are designed to print fast! PolySonic™ PLA has very similar properties as PolyLite™ PLA, and PolySonic PLA Pro has very similar properties to PolyLite™ PLA Pro - they were just designed with high flow and fast printing in mind.
PolySonic™ PLA and PLA Pro can print at much faster speeds without the need to worry about under extrusion or lost of shine in your print.
What is a High Speed filament?
A material is considered "High Speed" if it fulfills the following 3 criteria at a set printing temperature:
1) Flowability: It can extrude consistently at 24mm3/s on popular extrusion system. (equivalent to 300mm/s at 0.2mm layer height with a 0.4mm nozzle)
2) Formability: At 24mm3/s, it maintains similar surface quality, overhang and bridging as printed at lower speed.
3) Functionality: At 24mm3/s, it maintains at least 80% of its overall mechanical properties when printing at lower speed. (mainly: layer adhesion, tensile strength and impact strength)
PolySonic™ PLA at 230˚C
1) Maximum flow*: 24mm3/s** (tested on a customized extrusion platform equipped with an E3D volcano hotend, 0.4mm nozzle with Hemera XS extruder)
2) Confirmed similar quality Polymaker Scientist when printed at 4mm3/s and 24mm3/s
3) Layer Adhesion at 4mm3/s-24mm3/s: 33.6-31.9 MPa (Maintain 95%)
Tensile Strength at 4mm3/s-24mm3/s: 41.2-39.3 (Maintain 95%)
Impact strength at 4mm3/s-24mm3/s: 22.7-19.4 kJ/m2 (Maintain 85%)
* Maximum Flow: Flow at which the measured flow is decreasing below 95% of the requested flow.
**
For 0.2mm layer height with 0.4mm nozzle: 24mm3/s -> 300mm/s
For 0.1mm layer height with 0.4mm nozzle: 24mm3/s -> 600mm/s
What are the advantages of using a High Speed filament?
1) Surface Quality at high speed:
When printing at high speed, the nozzle will actually experience a wide variety of speed going from 0mm/s to the max speed set on the slicer. The higher the max speed, the wider the range of different speeds. The issue is with the printing temperature being the same, the extrusion temperature will vary dramatically leaving difference surface finishes on the print (from glossy to matte because of a phenomenon called: Shark Skin), High Speed filament reduces these differences by displaying similar surface finish in a wide range of flow rates.
Additionally, high speed filament will extrude much more consistently within the speed range providing a smooth surface whereas regular filament will display holes, artifacts and layers with different thicknesses.
2) Mechanical Properties at high speed:
High Speed filament will display far greater overall mechanical properties when printed at higher speed than regular filament because of the more consistent extrusion and the optimized cooling/melting rate of the polymer.
3) Higher Throughput:
Thanks to 1) and 2), you are able to output the same quality part at a much higher pace from your 3D printer. This advantage is ideal for businesses using 3D printing to produce their products.
What is the difference between PolyLite™ PLA, PolyMax™ PLA and PolyLite™ PLA Pro?
Short answer:
PolyLite™ PLA is a very rigid material with very low impact resistance.
PolyMax™ PLA is an extremely ductile material with high impact resistance and durability.
PolyLite™ PLA Pro is the best of both worlds combining excellent rigidity and high impact strength.
Long answer in our live experiment here.
Will the spools work in an AMS?
Yes! We have redesigned the edges of our spools so all Polymaker products will now spin great in the AMS.
Is this material food safe?
Unfortunately we do not have any data whether this material is food safe. As of now, no 3D printing material on the market is FDA food safe compliant. This is because in order to be certified as food safe, the actual object needs to be certified and not the base material. The shape, bed used, environment the object was made, and much more goes into getting a food safety certificate. As of now there is no real certification that the FDA offers for 3D printing.
Do you sell refills?
We are sorry but we do not sell refills at this time
Is this material recyclable?
Unfortunately there is no great answer for recycling PLA at this time. Our cardboard spools are biodegradable but there is no great way to recycle PLA at this time.
