Alternative to PTFE?

[jameswood 8]

So in Australia, the new distributors for Ultimaker want $40.90 (€36.82) for a PTFE spacer.

Considering that this is now considered a consumable, I'm pretty annoyed to have to pay the cost of a kilo of filament each time it fails.

Are there any alternatives I should explore?

Thanks for any ideas... and for letting me vent. Robbery!

[ultiarjan 1,221]

that sounds to me like they made an error in there pricing.... did you ask them?

but anyhow here's an alternative:

http://3dsolex.com/representatives

[jameswood 8]

Ask them? No, I got angry and ranted on the internet!

Good... good point. Hrm. Time for this grumpy old man to go to bed. Thanks for the suggestion, I'll take it up with them tomorrow. I'm reasonably confident that there's no (accidental) error, though.

Also, I may have just taken a gamble...

[Dim3nsioneer 557]

[...]

but anyhow here's an alternative:

http://3dsolex.com/representatives

It's maybe more than an alternative. Check out their new Teflon coupler (the TFT). It can withstand 255°C and together with the I2K coupler 300°C continously (nope, I did not make a mistake with the numbers; this is what 3dSolex claims...)

[ultiarjan 1,221]

Yeah that sounds good, I'll try one for sure...

[ultiarjan 1,221]

Also, I may have just taken a gamble...

My advice, stay away from the Chinese teflons..... if you do want to use them make sure they fit perfectly.... when there a bit tight in the hot-end-isolator there's not enough pressure on them and you'll get leaks...

[jameswood 8]

@Dim3nsioneer - I thought about that, but with shipping to Australia they're even more expensive. But possibly worth it for the increased robustness.

@ultiarjan - I thought it could be interesting to see how good/bad they were while my old spacer was still hanging on, but I think it finally gave up last night. Might need to bite the bullet and order one locally to get it here faster!

What kills me is that Ultimaker EU now give these spacers away for free with the high-temp filaments... but without the filament, the cost is so high (and the Australian reseller doesn't yet stock the high-temp filaments, so no deals there).

[jameswood 8]

My advice, stay away from the Chinese teflons..... if you do want to use them make sure they fit perfectly.... when there a bit tight in the hot-end-isolator there's not enough pressure on them and you'll get leaks...

So far so good... the Chinese teflon appears to be outperforming the official one. At a fraction of the cost. Time for another gamble!

[gr5 2,004]

Standard teflon isolators (e.g. from china) tend to last something (very roughly!) like 500 hours of printing at 240C but the newer teflon from 3dsolex and Ultimaker will never degrade due to temperature if kept under 255C. They typically only degrade due to grinding wear which is minor but still an issue.

[Labern 773]

I have some that are slightly cheaper found Here

Same as the 255c 3Dsolex ones

Edited March 13, 2016 by Guest