SainSmart 1.75mm Black ePA-CF Carbon Fiber Filled Nylon Filament 1KG (2.2lbs) Spool for 3D Printer

This is a great structural material. I have experience using Markforged Onyx, and this is like a budget version of that stuff. I haven't used NylonX, so I don't know how it compares. It would appear that the fiber chop is a little larger in this filament, and the filament diameter is a bit rough and variable because of that, however it still prints fairly smooth for me. I get a bit of oozing with a 0.6mm nozzle, so I would recommend a 0.4 or 0.5 instead and maybe a bit of increased retraction speed and distance. But as long as you get the settings dialed in otherwise, then the layer adhesion is amazing. The carbon fiber also adds rigidity to the otherwise flexible base of nylon. Thin walls will have a little bit of flex, but anything thicker than 4mm is going to be really stiff.Another thing I will say is that you need to be careful around this material as well. Sanding it creates very small dust particles that are hazardous to breathe in. So use a respirator and sand this stuff outside. It's also not great to handle finished parts because the material is a bit irritating (almost like raw fiberglass) and makes your hands itch. With that said, the best way to finish parts printed in this stuff would be to use a primer/filler to get a smooth surface, rather than sanding the print down. Then seal in the material with a top coat of some kind. I've used plasti-dip with pretty good results.

This is the real deal.This review comes after my first time printing with a nylon-carbon fiber filament. I needed something tough to build functional parts that will receive some wear and tear. Nylon mixed with carbon fiber seemed to make sense. Nylon is known for its durability, while the carbon fiber adds rigidity. After my first functional print, I couldn't be happier (see pictures). The parts are hard and rigid without being brittle, and tough and durable without being flexible. This stuff also has decent heat and chemical resistance (I work in a lab, so that's good!). It's also relatively easy and accurate to print with, and it has a good strength to weight ratio. I have nothing to complain about. Manufacturer recommends a 0.6mm hardened steel nozzle, but I used a 0.4mm hardened steel nozzle and had no issues whatsoever.My printer is a QIDI X-one2Nozzle: 0.4mm MK10 style, hardened steel (Do not use a brass nozzle with carbon fiber!).Layer Height: 0.2mmPrinting Temp: 250CBed Temp: 80C first layer / 70C after that (Glue stick works well).Print Speed: 12 mm/s first layer / 30mm/s after that (I have not tried to print faster yet).Travel Speed: 100 mm/sRetraction Distance: 1.5mm (Retraction works well on this filament.)Retraction Speed: 30 mm/sWall Thickness: 1.2mmTop and Bottom Layers: 5 eachInfill: 25% Gyroid (This works very well).I used a brim and line supports with ceiling and no floor, which were actually easier to remove than on most PLA prints.The surface of the parts were surprisingly smooth, even where the supports were removed. No filing was necessary, but steel picks were useful. Post-processing was minimal.The ONLY thing I wish was that the filament were cheaper and that it came in more colors and varieties. But SainSmart is cheaper the competition (for nylon-carbon fiber, PLA-carbon fiber and PETG-carbon fiber don't count). It's hard to complain about the price.I'm happy with this. I think this will be my goto for functional parts.

The SainSmart ePA-CF Carbon Fiber Nylon filament has a sleek, professional look when printed, though it’s not the easiest material to work with. I dried the filament carefully before using it, which helped with print consistency. However, there’s a noticeable odor during printing, so good ventilation is a must.I noticed some over-extrusion on surface layers, so it looks like fine-tuning the extrusion multiplier and measuring filament diameter are needed to get ideal results. While the final prints look excellent, this filament requires a bit of patience and dialing in to really shine. Not a simple “load-and-go” experience, but the results are worth it for projects where aesthetics and strength matter.

To with start with I am printing on a Prusa Mark 3S 60° C print bed and between 260 and 280 C hot end, 40 - 50 mm, print speed at 020 layer height on a .4 steel nozzle, with a custom water cooled hot end. So here is where we are at, the print finish is good the strength of the material is outstanding by far 1 of the strongest materials I printed with, and that includes PLA PETG and poly/CF. And this stuff is by far stronger than all of those with a stiffer modulus. Layer adhesion is excellent and I am printing on a textured print surface with standard gluestick. The only thing I do differently from most is that once I apply the glue stick rather heavily I then wipe it down lightly with a alcohol soaked paper towel to even the coverage and it works perfectly for me. Now having said all that. here's my one issue. No matter what extrusion rate or print temperature I use it guarantees to clog the nozzle at some point with chopped carbon. Pausing the print and using a nozzle cleaning needle to clear the jam and resumption prints like nothing went wrong. But if I don't catch it then I get a unbonded Layer and a ruined print. So I believe the quality control of the chop carbon being put into this filament needs to be looked at. That possibly the carbon is exceeding the tolerance for the chopped fiber sizes which leads to clogging at the nozzle.