3d Tank Printing Filament

[Steelhammer]

Before I order up the PLA for my first model tank print, does it matter which color I choose ? I normally use car primer and then acrylics to decorate.

The plans mention PLA - would that be ok for the tracks as well or should I buy a more appropriate filament for the wear/stress of the tracks ?

[ColemanCollector]

PLA doesn't do well with heat (deform), is pretty brittle and can deform over time. You might want to consider PETG or optimally, ABS.

Mike.

[Steelhammer]

PLA doesn't do well with heat (deform), is pretty brittle and can deform over time. You might want to consider PETG or optimally, ABS.

Mike.

Thanks for your comment Mike, much appreciated. Is PLA ok for the hull and turret or would you advise against that as well as the tracks ?

[Tiger6]

Voting for ASA if your printer will support it - less toxic fumes, and less shrinkage than ABS

[Art Hogus]

I love ASA, and it would be my filament of choice if not for the price (twice the cost of ABS). ABS is the main choice, but it is a capricious material to print with.
Both ASA and ABS, if tuned properly, give you nice details and a good quality surface (especially with ironing. It is easy to sand, glue, and paint.

PETG is another common material I use, particularly for details that are under load. The quality of the small details is not as good as for ASA/ABS. It is harder to sand and paint. Can be glued to itself or ABS/ASA.

The last one is Nylon, I use it for gearboxes, cogwheels, etc.

It seems like filament printability depends on filament colour/additives, even within the same plastic and brand.

There is a limited choice of brands in NZ.
I like Bambulab ABS, especially the white & black ones. Silver Bambu ABS is hard to print, but you've got a nice, steel-looking finish.
Bambu PETG was good, but it has been replaced now with PETG HF, and I didn't test it.
eSUN - Stay away from any ABS filaments from this brand. eSUN ABS is terrible to print with, really poor layer adhesion, and it's fragile.
eSUN ASA is good, no problems here.
eSUn PERTG-Basic, I love the gray one, good details, easier to send and paint than Bambu PETG, but trickier to glue.
eSUN TPU-95A - no problem there, but I used it only for road wheels.

It seems we've got a good range of Polymaker available now for a good price. Once I run out of stashed filaments, I'll try it. It would be interesting to test high high-temperature PLA from them.

[tankme]

I was using Polymaker ASA and I just wasn't getting great layer adhesion on my Bambu X1C with it completely sealed up which is why I went back to ABS. Personally I have very little issues with ABS warping, but I use the Biqu Glacier plate and sometimes I'll use some of that Vision Minor Nano Polymer stuff if something really doesn't want to stick. The surface finish of ASA is definitely better than ABS.