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--- filaments:additives [2025/01/25 18:02] – created tys-user
+++ filaments:additives [2025/01/26 21:44] (current) – tys-user
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 ====== Additives ======
-common fills are glass fiber (allows for color) carbon fiber (cool sounding).
-Also there is Boron Carbide fill, notable for being one of few filaments to wear tungsten carbide nozzles.
-Whatever you pick, pay special attention to whether or not your carbon fiber filled filaments have Carbon Nanotubes (CNTs) inside of them. [[filaments:carbon_nanotubes|More information here]].
+There is often more to a roll of filament than just a pure strand of the polymer mentioned on the box. Sometimes you get important clues on the box, sometimes you have to speculate.
+Additives can be divided into two main categories, heterogeneous and homogeneous. Heterogeneous additives feature most of the non-plastic additives one can find in filaments such as fibers, metals, and other materials. Homogeneous additives are more ubiquitous and feature colorants, multi-polymer mixes, and other compounds that may or may not be advertised by a vendor.
+===== Heterogeneous Additives =====
+==== Carbon/Glass Fiber (-CF/-GF) ====
+Carbon Fibers and Glass Fibers behave very similarly when added to a filament. They strengthen the print like a fiber. Annealing time is usually reduced significantly due to the additional spherulite nucleation sites provided by the fibers.
+These are much easier to print.,
+==== ESD ====
+ESD-Safe filaments are designed to produce //slightly// conductive printed parts. This is often achieved with the usage of [[filaments:carbon_nanotubes|Carbon Nanotubes]].
+===== Homogeneous Additives =====
+==== Colorant ====
+Many filaments can be found in their "natural" color, usually a semi-transparent beige or tan color. Every other color involves the addition of some kind of colorant.
+White filament is often made with the addition of Titanium Dioxide, and has been blamed for a lack of strength. TODO: investigate if this is true/find examples.
+==== Other Polymers ====
+Sometimes you mix polymers together. Sometimes this is advertised with a +, sometimes it is not.
+Filament blends are used to improve or change the base plastic's behavior in a certain way. For example, several kinds of PLA+ make only small sacrifices in printing difficulty in exchange for the increased temperature resistance/durability of mixed plastics such as ABS, PC, or PETG.
+This also applies in the reverse direction. Some ABS variants are sold with a significant amount of PETG or PLA added to lower printing difficulty while maintaining the overall characteristics of ABS.
+Overall, these adulterated filaments make no promises about their ratios, characteristics, or behavior. They vary from vendor to vendor and possibly even from batch to batch. **Do not** expect blended filaments to reach anywhere close to the strength of a filament made from the pure base polymer.
+===== Other =====
+TODO: Boron Carbide, Stone, Glass, Metal (copper, iron), etc.