About Bison3D 3D Filaments – ABS and PLA.  Bison3D ABS as a polymer can take many forms and can be engineered to have many properties. In general, it is a strong plastic with mild flexibility (compared to PLA). Natural ABS before colorants have been added is usually soft milky beige. The flexibility of ABS makes creating interlocking pieces or pin connected pieces easier to work with. It is easily sanded and machined. Notably, ABS is soluble in Acetone allowing one to weld parts together with a drop or two, or smooth and create high gloss by brushing or dipping full pieces in Acetone. Compared to PLA, it is much easier to recycle ABS.

Its strength, flexibility, machine ability, and higher temperature resistance make it often a preferred plastic by engineers and those with mechanical uses in mind.

bison3D PLA is created from processing any number of plant products including corn, potatoes or sugar-beets. PLA is considered a more “Earth Friendly” plastic compared to petroleum based ABS. Used primarily in food packaging and containers, PLA can be composted at commercial compost facilities. It won’t bio-degrade in your backyard or home compost pile however. It is naturally transparent and can be colored to various degrees of translucency and opacity. Also strong, and more rigid than ABS, it is occasionally more difficult to work with in complicated interlocking assemblies and pin-joints. Printed objects will generally have a glossier look and feel than ABS. With a little more work, PLA can also be sanded and machined. The lower melting temperature of PLA makes it unsuitable for many applications, so it’s not something you want sitting on the back seat of your car during a hot day.

Here are the approximate volume and filament length information for bison3D filaments:

PLA

• Density: 1.25 g/cm^3

• Volume: 0.80 cm^3/g or 800 cm^3/kg

• 1.75 mm filament length for 1 kg spool: ~ 330 meters / ~ 1080 feet (this is our current product)

• 3.00 mm filament length for 1 kg spool: ~ 110 meters / ~ 360 feet

• PLA is derived from sugar gives off a smell similar to a semi-sweet cooking oil….it is considered by many an improvement over hot plastic.

• Less of a warping problem so fine details and sharp corners are better with PLA 

ABS

• Density: 1.04 g/cm^3

• Volume: 0.96 cm^3/g or 960 cm^3/kg

• 1.75 mm filament length for 1 kg spool: ~ 400 meters / ~ 1310 feet (this is our current product)

• 3.00 mm filament length for 1 kg spool: ~ 130 meters / ~ 430 feet

• Ensure proper ventilation, there is often a notable smell of hot plastic which can be irritating to some

• WARPING is a problem, a curling upwards of the surface, in direct contact with the 3D Printer’s print bed – heating the print surface and ensuring it is smooth, flat and clean and also applying  a mixture of ABS/Acetone, or a shot of hairspray beforehand to the print surface can help prevent this