Greenboy3D is developing a 3D printing extruder that works with pellets instead of plastic filament. In a recent YouTube video, the maker presents his development and explains the advantages of pellet 3D printing.
According to Greenboy3D, one of the main reasons for switching to pellets is the significantly lower material costs. Plastic pellets are on average five to ten times cheaper than comparable filaments. The cost of a kilogram of PLA pellets is only around 5 euros, while a kilogram of PLA filament costs around 25 euros.
“The reasons for these enormous price differences lie in the simpler manufacturing processes and the mass production of plastic pellets for the global plastics industry,” explains Greenboy3D.
Another advantage of the pellets is the enormous variety of materials. In addition to common 3D printing plastics such as PLA, ABS and nylon, numerous technical plastics such as fiber-reinforced high-performance polymers are available, which are practically unavailable as filament.
However, 3D printing with pellets also has disadvantages. According to Greenboy3D, the print quality does not quite reach the level of filaments. The components are also somewhat less stable.
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