Are Desktop PC-ABS Prints Outperformed by Industrial FDM? Not Really

[Igor] of [My Tech Fun] set out to discover what differences, if any, can be found between parts printed in PC-ABS filament on an industrial 3D printer, and those from …. Are Desktop PC-ABS Prints Outperformed by Industrial FDM? Not Really. His video is full of his usual attention to detail as he compares a test suite of parts printed at home in Polymaker PC-ABS with those from a Stratasys Fortus 450mc using proprietary PC-ABS filament.

PC-ABS is a filament that strives to deliver the benefits of both polycarbonate and ABS. It’s durable and has fantastic impact resistance, but it costs a bit more than either PC or ABS and requires a heated chamber. In the end, PC-ABS from a home printer compares favorably to an industrial system, at a fraction of the price.

[Igor] has previously compared industrial ABS with comsumer ABS, but what made him curious about PC-ABS in particular was the large difference in print temperatures between Polymaker PC-ABS, and Stratasys’s own proprietary PC-ABS. [Igor] prints Polymaker filament at 280º C in a 60-65º C chamber, whereas the Stratasys filament prints at 325º C with a chamber temperature of 95º C. The industrial printer has over double the print time, to boot.