Question 1

What is filament

Accepted Answer

What is filament?
Filament is the material that a 3D printer uses to print what you have downloaded or designed.
You can think of it as the "ink" of a 3D printer. Filament is often delivered in the form of long thin strands of plastic.
These strands are wound onto a spool.
Thickness
Filament comes in 2 standard sizes, 1.75mm and 2.85mm, with the most commonly used size for consumer 3D printers being 1.75mm.
Materials
Filaments come in an enormous variety of plastic materials, think PLA, PET, ABS, ASA, PA, TPU, etc.
The differences between all materials come down to how strong they are, how easy they are to print, and whether they work on your printer.
But for most consumers, PLA, PET or ABS are the most commonly used.
Most common type
Really the most logical choice as a beginner is to start with PLA, it is cheap, user-friendly to print and available in virtually all colors.
The downside is that it is not very strong.
PETG
PETG is stronger than PLA and more resistant to heat and moisture, but harder to print. If you want something stronger, PETG is your choice.
ABS
ABS is strong and heat-resistant, but the most difficult compared to PLA and PETG to print. It shrinks during cooling, meaning your printer often needs extra settings and an enclosed housing.
Filament Storage
How do you actually store filament? Filament absorbs moisture, which can lead to poor print quality. Ideally you store your filament dry!
There are various solutions for this, such as filament dryers.
Brand / Quality
With cheap filament we have noticed that we get varying quality, prints tend to fail more often, which certainly does not help someone who is just getting started.
This is the reason that at easy3dprint we choose for Formfutura, this filament works really well.

Question 2

How to change filament

Accepted Answer

How do you change filament?
Changing filament is something you will do regularly, for example when you want to print in a new color, or when you're loading for the very first time.
What you need
Your printer of course!
Your new filament spool
A small pair of pliers, sometimes these come included with your printer.
1. Cut your filament.
Cut your filament close to the extruder, often your filament runs through what's called a bowden tube. You can slide this upward away from the extruder.
The extruder is the print head, the spot where the filament goes in via the bowden tube is where you can cut it.
!Cut your filament
!Filament is cut
2. Roll your filament back.
You can now manually roll the filament spool backwards, which pulls the filament back through the bowden tube.
3. Place your new spool
Make sure it can unroll in the same direction as your previous spool.
Or if you're placing one for the first time, make sure the filament can easily enter the bowden tube.
If the tip of your filament is crooked or kinked, cut it off — it can cause the filament to run a bit rough through the bowden tube.
!New filament
Important — make sure the filament can unwind freely.
4. Heating up your printer
Sometimes printers need to be warm before you can remove old filament.
Usually this means the nozzle needs to heat up to around 200 to 220°C (depending on your filament).
This makes sure the filament inside your printer melts and can flow out.
Some printers have a dedicated button for changing filament, this lets the printer know it needs to heat up to 200/220 degrees, and it also makes the extruder start feeding filament on its own.
On some printers you may need to manually press "load filament" or "extrude" to get things going.
!Load filament
5. Feed in the new filament
Once filament starts running through your extruder, slowly push your new filament into the extruder. You'll feel it when the extruder gear grabs onto your filament.
Don't push any further — it should start feeding on its own from here.
6. New filament
When your extruder starts outputting filament, the color should change to the new filament you've loaded. That's how you know everything went well!
!Changing filament

Question 3

Why use a Glue Stick for 3D Printing?

Accepted Answer

Why use a Glue Stick for 3D Printing?
A glue stick helps your 3D print stick better to the print bed. 
A print bed is the surface where your object is printed on. Basically, the plate.
Sometimes your 3D print can come loose or warp a bit during 3D printing. Especially with larger objects with PLA it could make a big difference.
If your first layer isn't sticking well, or your print comes loose during 3D printing, it could be worth trying to 3D print with a glue stick.
It's usually recommended when you have a glass bed or PEI bed. Though in our experience, PEI actually sticks pretty well on its own.
How do you apply it?
Make sure the bed is clean and cooled down. Apply a thin layer with the glue stick over the print surface, and let it dry briefly before starting your 3D print.
When you're done printing and the bed has cooled down, you could remove your 3D print. The glue should let go on its own.
How do you clean the bed?
A little warm water and a cloth is enough, glue stick dissolves easily in water.
Which glue stick?
Pretty much any glue stick works, and you don't need a special 3D printing glue.
Though official 3D printing glue does make cleaning your bed a bit easier.

Materials & Filament

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