RoboSavvy - Black ABS Filament (2.85mm 1kg)

High quality ABS filament for use with 2.88mm extruders.

RoboSavvy ABS is sourced from a plastic manufacturer with more than 20 years of experience in plastic extrusion guaranteeing that you get the best quality of 3D printing filament for your printer.

ABS is a strong and durable plastic commonly used in industrial and consumer products. This is the material that LEGOs are made of.

Due to the ABS own tendency to shrink when cooling, it can be slightly more challenging to print with ABS when compared to PLA. Before purchasing ABS reels, please confirm that your 3D Printer is compatible with ABS.

ABS Filament: What are the Benefits?

As a thermoplastic polymer, it can melt and cool without altering its chemical properties. That makes it an interesting 3D printer filament. There are some companies like Zortrax, which have dedicated 3D printers for the material.

Great mechanical properties: The material is known to be strong, tough and durable. It is also forgiving to scratches, offers good resistance to heat and everyday chemicals. It can endure heat, pressure and stress like no other home 3D printer material, making it a great choice for „wear and tear“ prints. You can try this out yourself: If you move a strain of ABS filament, will distort and bend before breaking. PLA breaks much more easily.

Great results: It’s quite forgiving, as long as you print with the right settings and a proper temperature management. You can even achieve overhangs of around 45 degrees. If the print succeeds, the results are very convincing.

Easy to process: Most makers like the material because you can process its surfaces with acetone, glue parts and even file off some material. Lastly, it can be easily painted with acrylic colors.

One of the most common print quality issues with ABS is warping. As the plastic cools from its extrusion temperature down to the room temperature, this change in temperature causes the plastic to shrink and contract. This can be particularly troublesome for the first layer, as this change in size can frequently cause the part to separate from the bed, ruining the print. You can minimize this effect using a proper build surface heated to 110º C. The build platform will transfer some of its heat to the first few layers of your part, which will prevent them from shrinking and separating from the bed. It is also common to set the extruder temperature about 10 to 20 degrees higher for the first few layers of your print, which can also help reduce the risk of separation. Simplify3D gives you complete control over your bed and extruder temperatures, so you easily set the desired values on a per-layer basis using the Temperature tab of your process settings. While these changes can help with the bottom layers of your print, taller parts may have issues as the layers get further away from the bed. When printing larger parts, consider adding an enclosure around your printer to maintain a higher temperature around your print. The enclosure can also prevent wind drafts that could rapidly cool the part during printing. If you’ve followed these steps, but you’re still having trouble with warping and separation, our Print Quality Guide has an entire section dedicated to warping which can give you even more information on the topic: How to Prevent Warping.

When printing large parts, or thin delicate parts, you may find that you still have trouble getting these parts to properly adhere to the bed. In these cases, adding a brim or a raft to your print can be a great way to anchor these part to the build platform and prevent warping. A brim will add several rings of plastic around your model on the first few layers, creating extra surface area to hold down the edges of your part. Using a raft will actually print an entirely new plastic structure underneath your print, which can be removed after the print is completed. The rafts in Simplify3D were heavily optimized for Version 4.0 allowing them to print faster and use more material, but you may still find that a brim is faster for larger parts. If you want to learn more about these options, we have an in-depth article that explains all of the differences between rafts, skirts, and brims to help you get started.

Printing with ABS is known to produce a strong odor with fumes that could potentially be harmful if inhaled in large quantities. Avoid confined spaces and place your printer in a well-ventilated area to avoid these issues. Newer 3D printers may include a separate air-filtration system or HEPA filter that can deal with these fumes right from the source. If you printer doesn’t include these features or you’re limited in where you can place it, consider opening a window or using a flexible air duct from your local hardware store to help route the fumes outside.

Hardware Requirements

Bed	Temperature: 95-110 °C, Heated Bed Required, Enclosure Recommended
Build Surface	Kapton tape, ABS Slurry, Painter's Tape
Extruder	Temperature: 220-250 °C, No special hot-end required
Cooling	Part Cooling, Fan Not Required