Feiyang Group (Honest Joy) contacted 3D-PT recently to review their production line of 3D printing filaments.
Honest Joy sent me a generous sample of 14 different colors and types of filament to test. This sample had a mix of colorful PLA’s, HIPS, and Nylons.
Color Change PLA’s
Honest Joy currently sells filaments in 1.75 mm diameter only. Fortunately my Lulzbot can chew through smaller filaments.
All Honest Joy’s PLA’s have great vibrant colors, including opaque and translucent hues.
In addition to the traditional colors, they also provide samples of thermochromic filaments that change color when heated. This is a rare color blend for any 3D printing filament, so I was eager to test it out.
Thermochrmic materials change color based on the ambient temperature. Honest Joy sent me a sample that changed color from dark green to yellow green. It slowly changes color in the hand, which is a cool effect for a fidget or toy.
When I printed it at 200 C on a 60 C plate, it printed a solid yellow color. As it cooled to the ambient room temperature of 20 C it turned a solid dark green. I printed a marble fidget spinner with this material and took it out to several Autism conferences for testing. The public loved the color change effect of the PLA material, and I only wish I had ordered more color changing samples to 3D print.
In a future article I’ll write about how 3D printing can be used for the upcoming solar eclipse. To prepare for the eclipse I found that NASA had released a series of 3D printable pinhole viewers made in the shape of each US state. I had fun 3D printing these viewers in the samples from Honest Joy in purple and mint. By changing the colors of the print, I could produce clean contrasting details in the text heavy print, even though the 0.6 mm nozzle on my printer does not lend itself to fine detail. The purple background and mint surface print produced a nice color contrast for this test print.
All the PLA’s I tested printed smoothly with no issues. While I have seen 3D printers bash Chinese made filaments online, I have yet to have an issue with any of the Chinese manufacturers I have tested.
They also sent samples of conductive PLA that I plan to review at a later time.
Honest Joy Nylon
Nylon 3D printing filament is the bane of 3D printers everywhere. This filament is very hydroscopic and is know for being difficult to 3D print with.
When it arrived, the sample labeled clear nylon was cloudy. I tried printing a sample chip but after 2 failed attempts the best I got was a rough, warped chip. I heard a lot of popping and bubbling as it was printing, so I know the sample was too damp to print. After this failure, I put the Nylon samples in a sealed container with enough desiccant to dry out a room, and I’ll have to return to printing it when the sample is dry.
I think the nylon has potential, but like all nylon filaments it requires extra care in storage.
Honest Joy HIPS
HIPS is becoming more popular as a 3D printing filament. I printed my sample at 240 C hotend and 110 C bed temperatures, and the results were mixed.
The test started with silver HIPS, and out of the package I noticed that the HIPS was more flexible and bendy than other HIPS that I have worked with. Silver seems to be a problematic color for all filament makers, as I have had issues with silver PLA from Colorfabb in the past.
The silver HIPS did have a rough start on the test print, with a couple spots that failed to extrude in the print.
After switching to a green HIPS the rest of the print went smoother. I was able to 3D print a large pinhole viewer in the shape of the State of California.
The issues with the start of the print were related to the metallic pigment used to make silver filaments more than the quality of the HIPS itself.
Despite the initial hiccup with the HIPS, I feel that HIPS from Honest Joy is a still a solid filament to 3D print with as well as their PLA.
Solid Economy Filament
In reviewing all of Honest Joys filaments, I find that they are all solid 1.75 mm filaments for general purpose printing. Honest Joy produces a wide range of filaments at economic prices, so if you own a printing firm, this may be a bulk filament to consider.
Disclaimer: Honest Joy sent the samples to 3D-PT for review, with no expectation given for the review. More can be found at their site http://www.3d-ink.net/index_en.html
Oh wow, I didn’t really know too much about different filaments. Thanks!
Thanks for the info
If somebody sent me 14 rolls of filament I’d print em all, and tell EVERYONE to use it.
That color change filament seems interesting, toys in general may benefit with it, also it would be great for printing drip tips for vaporizers since they would be constantly heating up.
While I don’t agree with vaping, I can see the color change filament being used for your hipster dipsticks.