The hype around consumer 3D printing has all but worn off, but that doesn’t mean that desktop 3D printing has gone away. In fact, it’s becoming increasingly capable, not just in terms of the printers themselves, but in terms of the materials that they can handle. These 10 filaments from various manufacturers demonstrate that low-cost 3D printers can do some pretty amazing things.
PolySmooth
Polymaker is an interesting player in the 3D printing materials market as it began as a filament start-up that was launched via Kickstarter, but, with $3 million in funding from Legend Star, a venture capitalist subsidiary of Lenovo’s parent company Legend Holdings, the company was reborn as an important player in the 3D printing scene.
After manufacturing a series of well-received filaments, Polymaker developed the PolySher, a machine designed to smooth out alcohol-based prints to the point that they are aesthetically indistinguishable from mass-produced parts. PolySmooth is meant to have the mechanical properties of ABS with the printability of PLA, and, while it is currently sold-out on the Polymaker shop, the reviews so far attest to those qualities. The material can be used to produce living hinges and threaded screws. Read More…
