Finding PLA 2.85mm filament...

[greg-eckstedt 0]

Hey everyone I am new to the community and recently received my new Ultimaker 2. So far it has worked great. Few issues in the beginning with getting it to properly feed the filament and stick to the plate but few tweaks fixed all that.

Now I have gone through over 30 pages of these forums and my question hasn't really been answered yet. It has been discussed but I still dont feel certain on what I should do next for my upcoming purchase

My Question:

I have read over and over that the UM2 takes 2.85 and it is highly recommended to purchase that. I understand this fully. But most of the sites people have recommended to purchase from dont even have a 2.85 option, they offer 3mm. I would love to buy locally if possible just cause i dont wanna wait and pay shipping. I have a Frys electronics near by but they only sell 3mm. People on the forum have been saying that 3mm is actually not 3mm most of the time and should work in the UM2.

I live in California in the Bay Area if anyone knows local stores haha

I am just hoping to get some clarification before i buy something that is possibly could cause my a headache and have the filament get stuck in the tube.

an example of a product i saw was this:

http://www.frys.com/product/8126725?site=sr:SEARCH:MAIN_RSLT_PG

it says 3.0mm: 2.95 +/-0.1mm

Thank you for any help or guidance you can supply me!

 

 

[DidierKlein 729]

Hi and welcome to the forum,

To me good filament is almost more important than the printer itself

UM2 will work with 3mm filament, but it will have more problems (added friction in the bowden mostly).

As you said most resellers sell 3mm filaments, some of them are really 3mm with the kind of tolerance you mention, and others are more 2.85mm filaments.

There are several brands that are true 2.85mm: Ultimaker of course, Colorfabb, Faberdashery, Diamond Age (i think), etc...

I can't point you to a local store obviously i think in the Us Printed Solid is a good web store in the us, they have colorfabb there:

http://www.printedsolid.com/shop/3mm/colorfabb-plapha-2-85mm/

 

[Labern 774]

Some websites state 3mm filament but its actually 2.85mm, you just need to ask or read the fine print to find out. The one you are looking at has potential problems as it could end up being 3.05mm. which might work but not ideal.

I would stick to the correct size and use brands like the ones Didier Klein mentioned.

 

[skint 61]

Also send out emails and ask for a small sample. Grab your calipers and measure it, I do this all the time when I order new stuff, Colorfabb, Faberdashery is pretty bang on at 2.85 all the time.

 

[DidierKlein 729]

This link might help you also (or confuse you as there are a lot of brands):

http://3dsuppliers.org/index.php?title=Main_Page#3mm_diameter_filament