Where to buy filament for your 3D printer online
Best answer: The best place to pick up some filament worldwide is Amazon. The worldwide market has access to many brands and types of filament with great prices, a logistics network for economical shipping, and an unmatched return policy.
Some different filaments
There are multiple types of filaments we use with 3D printing, and most of them can be found almost anywhere. Each of the best filaments is good for different tasks, but in this piece, we’ll be looking at the four most common filaments you’re likely to buy:
- PLA — Starter material king
- PETG — Optically beautiful
- ABS — Hardcore but harder to print
- TPU / Flex — Bendable and stretchable
PLA is the most used 3D printing filament for a reason; it’s easy to print with low temperatures of around 200 degrees Celsius on the hotend, and either does not need a heated bed at all or can print at around 60 degrees Celsius on the cold end. PLA has many modified counterparts. Some making your prints silky in appearance while others make it more impact-resistant.
Next up is PETG, which is a slightly harder material to print but has much stronger interlayer adhesion properties (it sticks to itself better). It can also be almost perfectly transparent, making lovely glass-like objects or vases.
ABS and TPU / Flex are outliers here. ABS is a less popular filament than it once was, but it has high-temperature resistance of around 100 degrees Celsius, can be carved with a knife easily, and can even be smoothed using acetone vapors, but it needs hotter temperatures, a much hotter bed, and even a breeze in your room can ruin a print. TPU or Flex are hard to print because they’re, you know, flexible. Have you ever tried to push wet spaghetti through a straw? It bunches up and sticks. However, once you figure it out, you can create awesome things like tires, gaskets for home use, or, in my case, custom watch straps!
Where to buy worldwide: Amazon
Source: Windows Central
As mentioned before, Amazon Basics is a good place to start for inexpensive filament, but Amazon also has a slightly more upmarket brand called Eono. I’ve tried its PETG and Silk PLA, and I have been happier with the quality than expected, given the price.
The only problem with looking for filament on Amazon is just the sheer breadth of suppliers, many of which look similar or have very few items in the shops. As with most things on Amazon, check the reviews before you purchase anything.
Where to buy in the U.S.: Matterhackers
Source: Windows Central
MatterHackers lets you drill down to what types of filament (PLA, PETG, ABS) as well as the diameter (1.75/2.85/3.00mm) and by brand, so if you had a great experience with eSun, you could look specifically at 1.75mm eSUN Silk PLA if you really wanted to.
Where to buy in the U.K.: 3DFilaprint
Source: Windows Central
One of the great things about 3DFilaprint is that it also sells filament samples. If you aren’t sure if you’ll like the color or if you only need a small amount, buying these inexpensive or novel filament samples can be a great way to broaden your brand or material selection, and at just a few quid, why not buy a few?
Where to buy in Canada: Filaments.ca
Source: Windows Central
Like every other website listed, you can also buy 3D printers from Filaments.ca and photopolymer resin for resin printers, but as you can tell by the site name, its bread and butter product is filaments, and boy does it deliver.
You can use any of the marketplaces no matter where you are, but I feel that the shipping charges from Canada to the U.K. might be a bit much for a roll of Filament that I can get from a U.K. distributor or Amazon.
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