PP filament has very special properties that can be brought to bear with the necessary knowledge. With this article we want to help you to use PP Filament properly and professionally in 3D printing.
What is PP Filament?
Thermoplastics belong to the group of polymers – polypropylene (PP) is one of them. This is a partial crystalline from the family of polyolefins. The fact that PP is excellently suited for molded plastic parts is also shown by the fact that more than 25 million tons are produced with it every year.
Advantages of PP filaments
For the plastic injection molding industry or 3D printing, the material has several advantages. For example, PP filament is considered to be very tough yet flexible. It is also food safe, very lightweight and has excellent chemical resistance. It also has good resistance to heat and has very good electrical insulation. Special emphasis should be placed on the excellent possibility of using the product in connection with food. The material complies with EU standards as well as US food safety rules.
What can be printed with PP
In principle, PP is suitable for many applications in 3D printing. However, it is especially popular for printing products that come into contact with food. Since not all filaments are food safe, PP is particularly popular here due to its special advantages. It is therefore not surprising that plates and cups are often printed with PP.
However, due to PP’s light weight, this filament is also interesting for other applications and a plethora of everyday objects. For decorative objects and toys, PP is therefore very well suited. PP is equally popular for the production of bags. But also car parts or textile parts and jewelry are made from PP filaments.
In addition, many other applications are possible, which usually result from the special advantages of PP.
Challenges when printing with PP filaments
Nevertheless, the use of PP in 3D printing is still hesitant compared to other materials (for example, compared to ABS or PLA filaments). In particular, this is due to the special requirements of the material in 3D printing. Temperature of the extruder and the print bed must be very well controlled, as only then can very good printing results be achieved. Therefore, this material is one of the more demanding raw materials in 3D printing.
You can buy high quality PP filaments here in our PP Filaments shop.