Which brands of ABS are best suited for FDM ?

[improto3D]

There are some issues when using ABS for rapid prototyping or rapid manufacturing via fused deposition modelling.
ABS does not stick to any cold surface (requires a heated bed), it warps from the bed (requires extra material as anchor) and it cracks during cooling (requires a heated chamber or at least an enclosure).

I imagine that there are many brands of ABS, which ones can be extruded and among those which ones are known to give the best results in FDM ?

 

[Demon3]

ABS grades vary widely within the same manufacturer and more so between different manufacturers. I worked at BASF on ABS and related plastics. They make their ABS impact modifier by emulsion polymerization so you get smaller rubber particles and you have a lot residual surfactant which can hinder fusion of the powder in FDM. Dow for example make the impact modifier using a different process giving much larger impact modifier particles and, I think, less surfactant so you could hope for better fusion during FDM.

The short answer is that there are huge differences but I can't tell you right away which is the best one to use. Contact the manufacturers. You can improve the adhesion (ability to stick to a surface) using additives.

Chris DeArmitt

Expert consulting & training

http://www.phantomplastics.com

 

[ornerynorsk]

Depending on what FDM machine you are using, you may be locked into the proprietary material that the OEM supplies.

It is better to have enough ideas for some of them to be wrong, than to be always right by having no ideas at all.