First 3D Printer (if I may, uh.. Kind of urgent!)

[Zucca]

ABS is also actually post-processable. Good luck sanding PLA, it's awful.

As far as polymers go, the bulk of my FDM printing is done in polycarbonate in a heated chamber. Moderately priced, excellent mechanical properties, good dimensional accuracy. Absolutely needs a heated chamber though (same as ABS) or you'll not get good results.

As far as FDM materials go, for me:
* ABS for castings masters or similar parts that need to be post processed (and SLA isn't suitable)
* PC for general purpose usage
* PA6-CF (or PA12-CF/GF depending on specific requirements) for mechanically strong parts
* PVDF for chemically resistant parts

Respect, I can't imagine how much time you invested to figure all the above out.

Do you think I can do PC with an E3D V6 hotend upgraded to copper plated block and Pt1000/PT100?

[CatalinaWOW]

Odors and reactions to various filaments are something very personal.  I have not noticed any odor or reaction to any of the common filament materials, but more than one person I know reacts to one or more of them.

Medical concern has been raised about all of them, but I don't think there is enough data to make any definitive comments.  It would certainly be good practice to arrange for good ventilation, just as you would for soldering fumes, paint fumes and sanding dust.

[xrunner]

Honestly, I've never noticed any odor from PLA whether melted or hard. I get right up to the print head sometimes to check how it's printing - never smelled any odor whatsoever. 

Edit: Additional data - I use Atomic filament, if it matters.

[KaneTW]

ABS is also actually post-processable. Good luck sanding PLA, it's awful.

As far as polymers go, the bulk of my FDM printing is done in polycarbonate in a heated chamber. Moderately priced, excellent mechanical properties, good dimensional accuracy. Absolutely needs a heated chamber though (same as ABS) or you'll not get good results.

As far as FDM materials go, for me:
* ABS for castings masters or similar parts that need to be post processed (and SLA isn't suitable)
* PC for general purpose usage
* PA6-CF (or PA12-CF/GF depending on specific requirements) for mechanically strong parts
* PVDF for chemically resistant parts

Respect, I can't imagine how much time you invested to figure all the above out.

Do you think I can do PC with an E3D V6 hotend upgraded to copper plated block and Pt1000/PT100?

I have no particular experience with E3D-style hotends and PC. It looks like it could work, though. I run my hotend at around 275C so you don't need super high temps.

My heatbreak is watercooled so the temperature gradient is a bit sharper than in consumer printers. I don't think it's a big problem for PC though as it has a moderately high Tg.

[Zucca]

Thanks Kane.

Now I would like to see a pic of your setup.
How many printers you have?

[KaneTW]

Just two. A Form 3 and an Intamsys Pro 410 HT.

The Form 3 is excellent, but has the usual limitations of SLA and expensive materials.
The Intamsys is ok. It's good and works well, but there's some things (esp material handling and waste heat) that are a bit suboptimal. It was the best cost/performance for reliably printing high temp filaments at the time though, and all the mechanical parts are pretty solid. If it was a 10k device it'd be an excellent deal.

I had a Raise3D Pro2 Plus before the Intamsys for a couple months as a trial and it was an awful mess.

That being said, you can get good results with cheaper machines. It'll just require more time investment.

[Zucca]

Holy shhhh...  I knew you had big guns in your hand.... Congrats nice horses.