Bad - adhesion issues, thin walls, Good - pp jokes, semi flexible, not hygroscopic
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I print in recycled PP-GF (glass fiber polypropylene) reclaimed from fishing nets at work sometimes, and the tape trick only half works for me. It sticks to the tape just fine but the tape doesn’t stick to the glass bed… Based on this video, maybe we just need better tape! The PP-specfic MagiGoo barely helps at all. Also, one would think the glass fiber would make it warp less but it absolutely hasn’t lol.
Maybe on paper this stuff isn’t super toxic, but mine produces easily one of the worst chemical smells of any filament we’ve used, for some reason.
Anyway, once you do get it to print successfully, it really is totally indestructible. Try to find post-consumer recycled stuff though, as hard as that is to do.
Or maybe you need worse tape.
Oh you’re not wrong lol, that’s true!
The recycling part is probably the cause of your problems. I would expect that virgin PP to behave differently.
Well unfortunately, since we live on a burning down planet, that’s not a factor that can be conscionably reconsidered…
On the other hand, we also work with post-consumer recycled PLA, PA-CF, HIPS, and PETg, and none of them seem to behave appreciably worse than their virgin counterparts.
Are there any technical / mechanical capabilities (outside of its flexibility to produce sturdy springs and such) of PP that only it can provide over other, less environmentally damaging materials?
I’m always trying to stick with materials that are either compostable (PHA) or truly recyclable (PLA, PETG) unless there are properties I absolutely need (like ASA for UV resistance & strength or TPU for flexible & protective parts). I wonder what PP does over TPU or other more common filaments and how it compares in terms of sustainability.
PP has exceptional chemical resistance that other filaments don’t - it’s basically immune to most acids, bases, and solvents which makes it perfect for lab equipment or chemical containers where PLA or PETG would just dissolve.
