The HD PLA filter from the Fiberlogist is, according to the manufacturer, an innovative material. Fiberlab claims that HD PLA, when heated to 80 degrees Celsius, achieves similar parameters to ABS (which, in addition to good mechanical strength, is also characterized by excellent temperature resistance). In this review we will examine the properties of this “wonderful” PLA and verify that the Fiberlab slogans for your product are correct.
PLA Fiberlogy HD Filamentation
PLA HD Filament is a special PLA that is worth curing. Under the influence of temperature, changes are made in the material – PLA becomes more durable and its resistance to high temperatures increases. The price of HD PLA Fiberlogy is about 125USDbrutto per spool weighing 0.85 kg. It can therefore be said that the price is not low. According to Fiberlab, HD PLA is to be characterised by:
Such annealing changes the properties of the finished print, giving it mechanical strength similar to ABS, while increasing temperature stability up to 140°C.
This quotation from the manufacturer (29.07.2016) was to be verified in some way in this test. However, over the months the information on this page has changed its wording:
When warmed up, the printouts will have better impact strength and increased resistance to higher temperatures.
And to this day (21.02.2017) the above information can be found on the manufacturer’s website. Whether this is better or worse information, I leave it to the reader to judge. In the first record we certainly do not get a precise answer in the context of increased “mechanical strength” (here we are asking for a proof of mechanical strength… but to what? In the second record we do not know whether the temperature stability of the product will be maintained in the environment up to 140 degrees Celsius.
At this point, let us end the discussion on the manufacturer’s promises and proceed to the test.
The Fiberlogy Filamentary Testament
The purpose of the test was to verify the thesis that PLA HD material after heating achieves higher mechanical strength than PLA HD material when not warmed up. Second, the temperature stability of the unheated and heated PLA Fiberlogy HD was compared. During the test, no comparison was made between heated PLA and ABS. The test additionally summarizes the results for printouts made from the PLA Spectrum Filaments filament.
It was assumed that a tensile test would be performed on each of the specimens. A series of HD PLA Fiberlogs has been heated in an electric oven. The samples were gradually heated to 80 degrees Celsius and then kept at this temperature for about 15 minutes.
Tensile strength (home method)
Preparing the test environment required two elements – a machine and a properly made sample. I made the measuring instrument on a chipboard:
At its ends I mounted hooks,
to one of the hooks I attached a hand scale (max 25kg) – it was used to read the tension measurement,
to the other end of the scale I mounted a tensioning screw – rotation of a special nut pushes the ends of the screw together, thanks to which the tension is generated,
I attached the specimen to the screw (using the brackets),
I hooked the other end of the specimen on the other hook.
instrument
The instrument used for the measurement is shown in the picture below:
samples
The samples were printed on a printer using the PLA Fiberlogy HD filament and PLA Spectrum Filaments. Due to the small capacity of the instrument to generate tension, the test specimens had to be small in size and, unfortunately, not made in accordance with the standards. The shape of the sample is shown on the picture below.
Results
The table below shows the results obtained at the time of rupture. The results are given in Niuton.
Spectrum Filaments HD PLA Fiberlogists – Unheated HD PLA Fiberlogists – Hot Breakout force: 170 N Breaking force: 160 N Breaking force: 170 N
Summary
HD PLA hot phiberlogists showed an unspecified increase (about 6%) in breaking force (and by analogy in tensile strength) compared to unheated HD PLA hot phiberlogists. PLA Spectrum Filaments tested the same tensile strength as HD PLA hot-fiberlogists.
Unfortunately, the test had a big measurement error. Starting from the design of the instrument, the use of an inaccurate manual balance and the testing of substandard samples, it must be made clear that the results require verification and retesting on a professional machine.
Tensile strength (professional method)
The next step was to perform tensile tests on a professional testing machine. The specimens were made in accordance with the standard PN-EN ISO 527-1:2012, which defines the conditions for determining mechanical properties in static tension for plastics. In order to perform the test, 6 were performed