Quality vs Price
Do you really save money with cheap filament?
When users look to buy filaments they tend to forget that when simply price becomes THE factor when selecting filament, they make a potentially costly tradeoff. Remember the old saying, “you get what you pay for” and this particularly applies to 3D printing filaments.
Buying cheap filament, the user runs the risk of inconsistent tolerances, colors, spool winding, and also of filler materials. Any of these can cost the user to have a failed print. We understand that getting a great price is hard to pass on but too many times the back end costs outweigh the upfront savings; by a lot.
The most common reasons cheap filament can cost you more:
Re-Printing Costs
Re-Printing = More Time + More Materials
Cheap filament can cause many problems: poor printing, broken filament, windings that bind, and more. These problems require you to start over with your print. That means more time and more materials. Remember: Time = Money. Those savings you reaped with the purchase are now gone.
Unjamming Costs Unjamming = More Time
Cheap filament inevitably jams 3D printers and that takes time to clean the hot end and associated parts. The time to do this is lost and unbillable if the print was a commercial project. Sometimes the jam cannot be corrected, and then new parts are needed. A jam also means a lost print.
Repairs Costs
Repairs = More Time + New Parts
If the jam cannot be cleared, or if the cheap filament caused other related problems, then new parts will need to be acquired. A jam can require the entire extruder assembly to be replaced. Now the printer is ‘hard down’ until replacement parts are received and the printer can be repaired, tested, and brought back online.
Troubleshooting Costs
Evaluating the true cause = Even More Time
The time and energy spent looking for the cause of the failed print has cost many a 3D printing maker money in support, parts, and reputation. Only to find out, after the fact, that it was the cheap filament causing the problem all along. Now that cheap filament doesn’t seem like such a bargain, after all!
Do you really save money?
We are the largest US manufacturer of high quality 3D printing filaments with an unparalleled selection of materials, colors, and sizes. All Keene Village Plastics 3D printer filaments are manufactured in Barberton, Ohio, USA with top quality raw materials and 3-Axis laser-controlled precision providing the highest class of products for the 3D printing industry.