Review on 🌪️ Proto-Pasta HTP21705-CFL Light Gray Composite Carbon Fiber HTPLA: Cutting-Edge Carbon Fiber Infused HTPLA for Enhanced Strength and Versatility by Sean Young

Where to start? What about the packaging: Having a plastic bag was nice, having this non-vacuum sealed bag wasn't, especially when the silica gel bag is half the size of what comes with the other filaments I buy. While the cardboard spool is technically much more recyclable than the regular plastic spool, it feels like something that was made for an elementary school art project and would be a hassle to repurpose for another use (I have the old plastic spools for storage for the parts and tools, lighting coils and more). But the most important thing to me, which gives away the hypocrisy in the ad, is the 20ft shrink wrap used to hold the thread on the spool. Was it too much to ask to poke a hole or two in the end of the thread? be threaded instead of negating all of the brownie's eco points gained by using a cheap reel? Maybe it's because the filament is terribly brittle and doesn't hold up normally, or maybe it's just that nobody thought of including a reusable filament clip (designs of these abound on various popular websites). After all the hassle with the packaging, I quickly found that the claim that it prints like PLA wasn't entirely true. First, I couldn't get through a simple metering cube without clogging the 0.4mm hardened steel nozzle, and the nozzle clogging caused the gears on my direct drive extruder to cut into the filament and clog itself. After a thorough cleaning and switching to a 0.6mm nozzle (brass, not steel) I found that I still had to increase the nozzle temperature by 10°C compared to other PLAs or it still wouldn't flow properly. . And this material seems to be much less tolerant of layer height changes compared to regular PLA, as I've had a few crashes where the filament stuck to the nozzle more than the base (including today's nasty case where the filament stuck to was halfway through). to press). hit my hot end, not the bed). Finally, I took out two calibration cubes and heat treated one of them. Dimensional changes after heat treating seem to match what is stated in the datasheet, although I haven't really had a chance to test the improved heat resistance (I suspect it will be ok). if i can get good parts first. My first real print with this material is a new part of the cooling fan duct, the first part of which looked great when it got off the bed, but split in two along the layer line when I held it in my hands (did nothing but the quality of the part to be checked without compressing it and without pulling on the support materials). I threaded a second version with some modifications but can use this thread for simple non-functional decorative items. This isn't my first experience with sour proto-paste; The first time (with a copper-filled PLA sampler) I chalked up the issues as a newbie to 3D printing, a Bowden extruder, and bit off more than I could chew. The fact that I'm still having major issues with one manufacturer, while all the other manufacturers and materials I've tried combined caused only one problem with a sloppy spool, prompted me to look elsewhere for future carbon fiber filaments. I will update this review when I can get everything working properly which I will keep trying due to the cost of this reel but I don't expect it to prove to be a good investment.