ABS or ASA??

[RobyOne]

Hi all, I am wondering if anyone of you have had experience either with ABS and ASA in order to compare both filament and which one you would suggest to print all the parts for your Voron printer. Also the brand is important as I noticed big differencies between different brands.

The objective is to give a starting point to whoever want to build the Voron itself from zero, as I am planning to do at the moment.

Cheers!

[ahough]

I ordered my main parts kit on Etsy in ABS, and the parts have been fantastic. The parts are regularly being used for prints in a 60-65 degree enclosure and are holding up great.

Saying that, I haven't actually printed any ABS. I've only been printing ASA, and I love it. I made the frame for my chamber heater, camera housing, wire covers, hinges, and venting system out of ASA. These parts have also held up really well in the heated enclosure. I wanted the window vent to be UV resistant since it will be exposed to outside weather, so I definitely wanted ASA there.

I can find ABS at better prices, but I was really captured by the better temperature resistance and UV protection that ASA gives. I think both are great materials, and it will likely depend if you want the extra UV protection or need a little more heat resistance.

I'm using Polymaker's Polylite ASA, and I'm not sure the brand of ABS used by the Etsy shop. 

Honestly, I don't think you can go wrong either way.

[OneStepAhead]

If you need UV resistance, choose ASA. Otherwise ABS is more affordable a lot more color choices. 

[YeetusDeletus2077]

I used abs for my 2.4 build and i am currently reprinting some parts out of ASA to use in the 2.4 R2 update

 

[Buurman]

Ordered the parts in ASA for my 2.4 build, mostly because of the matt finish, I love matt finishes for printer parts.

I am located in Europe... so...

I order a neon yellow ASA and send it to the guy who is making the parts in turkey, I coudnt resist since the color is awesome.

Not cheap, but its just for the accent color, the rest is matt black. https://www.extrudr.com/en/products/catalogue/asa-durapro-neon-gelb-175-mm-075-kg_2983/

Dont know yet how it prints, but ordered one for myself too to print mods later.

Edited April 20, 2022 by Buurman

[SVDB]

ASA is A LOT easier to print when all you have to start is a non-enclosed printer.

[OneStepAhead]

I had absolutely no issues printing KvP or eSun or Paramount ABS on my unclosed printer. I personally would not buy ASA unless I needed UV resistance.  ASA also shrinks more, so you need to account for that with printing. Its a bit more rigid too I believe. Not all ABS is created equal, there is significant differences between brands. 

 

All of those brands are matte finish ABS too. Paramount less so, but still matte compared to PETG.

Edited April 21, 2022 by OneStepAhead

[Buurman]

Left ABS and right ASA of the same brand, of course, this is just one brand and it will always differ, but in this case I chose the ASA for my build.

I think it looks much better (again, for this brand) seems also more accurate, but that can be a printer setting.

[RobyOne]

I found Fillamentum as a really good ABS once found the proper settings so I printed all the parts with that ABS.

I am reading some users had melted issue with parts near the hot end, so I also purchased CarbonX ASA+CF for those parts in case I'll face some melting isues, but also because I really like the carboon look for Stealthburner parts .

I took some photos and I guess in the next days I'll open a post as logger for my build, what a journey!

[Buurman]

5 minutes ago, RobyOne said:

I found Fillamentum as a really good ABS once found the proper settings so I printed all the parts with that ABS.

I am reading some users had melted issue with parts near the hot end, so I also purchased CarbonX ASA+CF for those parts in case I'll face some melting isues, but also because I really like the carboon look for Stealthburner parts .

I took some photos and I guess in the next days I'll open a post as logger for my build, what a journey!

If you have experience with CARBON printing, then you know what to do... I love the look, but not worth the trouble for me, printed carbon a lot, but it eats up your nozzle, and hardened nozzles just dont print that great (is my experience).

[Wannabe]

I printed my entire V2.4 & V2.4r2 parts with Polylite ABS with excellent results on an Ender 3 Pro/E3D V6/Enclosed machine.

I generally print anything that is used outside with ASA, inside ABS. I personally don't see the point of ASA for indoor use considering the extra cost for ASA.

 Possibly a little off topic but, a few observations/experiences I have made and or follow regarding printed parts for outdoor use.

1) ASA is a better choice for outdoor use because of its UV resistant (limited) qualities, but don't consider ASA totally UV resistant.

2) For longevity of a printed part used outside consider coating the part with a Clearcoat spray (Matte, Semi-Gloss, Gloss).

     Applying a clearcoat will do a couple of things 1) Increase the UV resistance 2) Further aid in sealing the part from mositure entry

It may be argued but very unlikely that your printed part will be totally fused between every layer no matter what your settings are, so mositure will enter eventually.

If you live in a 4 season region as I do, residual moisture at any level that may have collected will freeze, expand and force  layers/perimeters to evenually delaminate.

 

 

 

 

[smirk]

@Wannabe really useful information about ASA external usage. I knew about its UV resistance but had never thought about the clearcoat route.

[ChicagoKeri]

It seems that the pigment in Black ABS offers pretty decent UV resistance.... this is probably why nearly all ABS parts in cars are black.

I prefer working with ABS. It just seems to print more easily and the parts seem a bit tougher.

ABS does have the unfortunate characteristic of becoming brittle with age as any 40 year old ABS plastic such as computer cases or small appliances will attest.   Perhaps ASA has better long term stability... I suppose we'll find out in 40 years or so!

[mvdveer]

Just started printing ASA as a trial for an upcoming Switchwire build. Does it print easier than ABS? Personally I do not think so, as all my printers are in heat enclosures and warping is not much of an issue. ASA white I find prints more difficult than ABS white. I have also tried ASA275 which prints at lower bed and nozzle temperatures but am definitely NOT a fan of these filaments. 

I will be reverting back to ABS. Brands - eSun ABS+, ABS Max and Aurarum ABS, ABS+ (local manufacturer of filament here in Melbourne, Australia)

Stick to what you know works and works well for you and your application.

[ChicagoKeri]

A Voron Cube of Inland-branded eSun ABS, printed nearly perfectly on a Prusa MK3S.

Alas, my V0.1 cannot print anywhere near as nice as the Prusa.

. 

[mvdveer]

6 minutes ago, ChicagoKeri said:

A Voron Cube of Inland-branded eSun ABS, printed nearly perfectly on a Prusa MK3S

Well tuned machine

[smirk]

On 8/25/2022 at 12:43 AM, ChicagoKeri said:

eSun ABS,

Beautiful cube, I do like eSun ABS as well, my kazoo ws printed in eSun ABS+ in a remarkedly similar olour!