this post was submitted on 02 Oct 2023
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3DPrinting

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Cost effective filament for low volume printing? IE: getting smaller amounts of filament? (lemmy.world)
submitted 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) by Majawat@lemmy.world to c/3dprinting@lemmy.world
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I don't print a ton, just an object here and there: like board game upgrades, etc.

As a result, buying 1kg spools, especially in many different colors, is both expensive up-front and takes up a lot of storage space.

For example:

  • In the board game Root there are up-to 9 factions with their own color scheme for the most part: upgrades.
  • I usually use eSun PLA+ at $25/kg
  • Not counting other pieces/colors, that's $225 in filament upfront. But only needing like ~500g total.
  • Sure, I'd have the rest of that filament for future projects, but now I've got to store all that for an indeterminant time that I have another project with that color.

Are there any manufacturers that sell affordable, low-volume amounts of filament? Maybe half kg or even 250g? I'm in the United States if that matters.

Closest I've found is Sunlu filament, but that's only sold in bundles (what happens when I run out of a color and need just another 250g?) and I have some concerns over the quality and business practices I've seen online.

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[–] LastYearsPumpkin@feddit.ch 7 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Not really answering your question, but have you considered painting the parts that are printed?

$225 is a ton, but you could always buy a single roll of $20 and a hobby acrylic painting kit.

9 cans of spray paint is also an option, you'd probably be upwards of $100 for that, but you're still half the cost of filament.

[–] Majawat@lemmy.world 3 points 1 year ago

There are some things I do paint as a result of my struggles lol

But sometimes I don't want that aesthetic or that painting so many tiny things doesn't sound appealing from a labor perspective, etc. But yes, it's always a valid option!