A guide to printing Apex Invent parts

In this guide, we will guide you through the recommended materials & print settings for all Apex Invent developed parts.

We recommend these settings with 0.4mm nozzles, due to thin walls in some cases we do not recommend larger nozzles.

Layer height: 0.2mm
Extrusion width: 0.4mm (forced)
Infill percentage: 35%-40%
Infill type: grid, gyroid, honeycomb, triangle, or cubic
Wall count: 4-6
Solid top/bottom layers: 5
Supports: generally our parts are designed to be printed without supports, but in some cases like the Apex Flow supports may be needed due to the design not being made with FDM in mind.

Materials

When deciding what materials to use when printing Apex Invent parts, some criteria need to be considered. Firstly your material of choice will be very dependent on what product it is you are building.

For 3D Printers & toolheads, it’s common to see the temperatures inside the machine reach upward of 50 ºC. The material should have a “glass transition temperature” (the temperature at which the plastic starts deforming) that is at least 80 ºC. Credit to the Voron team for the research put into materials.

PLA

PLA has a glass transition temperature of around 55–60 ºC.
It is very stiff and has low ductility (the ability of a material to have its shape changed without losing strength or breaking). It is not recommended for Apex Invent parts. This is due to both the low-temperature tolerance and the low ductility that can occasionally cause unexpected cracking. The high-temperature variant HTPLA is viable for temperature tolerance but is expensive and still has issues with ductility and risk of cracking. PLA is entirely acceptable for beauty pieces, panel clips, and electronic mounts as they do not see the same high temperatures or forces.

PETG

PETG has a glass transition temperature of around 85 ºC.
It has moderate stiffness depending on the additives and typically high ductility. It is not recommended for Apex Invent parts due to the low-temperature tolerance. The thermal properties do not change with additives such as carbon fiber. It is possible to use PETG for parts but may lead to a very high failure rate. Like PLA, PETG is entirely acceptable for beauty pieces, panel clips, and electronic mounts as they do not see the same high temperatures or forces.

ABS

ABS has a glass transition temperature of around 90 ºC.
It has moderate stiffness and moderate ductility. It is the recommended material for most Apex Invent parts due to its high-temperature rating and moderate ductility. This allows for the parts to hold up in a higher temperature environment and still endure some flex without cracking. Both of the variants ASA and ABS+ are also acceptable.

Nylon

When using nylon, the variant of nylon used is important, PA6 nylon has a high glass transition temperature of 180 ºC.
It has moderate stiffness and moderate ductility. PA6 Nylon is not recommended as it tends to slowly deform under constant pressure exerted by bolts clamping on the parts.

PA12 nylon has the same temperature rating and a similar stiffness and ductility, but it does not deform the same way PA6 does, this makes it a perfect material for APex Invent parts, the only downside to PA12 is that it is quite expensive and not commonly printed with the FDM process. As is the case for our Nylon Kit for the Apex Flow that was printed with an MJF process.

If you would like to use PA12 parts we can assist in getting them locally made contact us for information.

Polycarbonate

Polycarbonate (PC) and one of the various blends and/or additives (e.g. PC-ABS, PC-CF) have a high glass transition temperature of close to 150 ºC but have a very high stiffness and low ductility.
Some blends such as PC-ABS have slightly lower stiffness and higher ductility but not by huge amounts. PC and PC blends are not recommended for Apex Invent parts due to the risk of sudden cracking. However it should work well on toolhead applications for 3D printers.

Resin

Resin is not recommended, while some types may qualify in terms of heat tolerance, resin parts typically continue to shrink over time putting them outside of dimensional tolerances.
Resin prints also typically exhibit long-term creeping under bolt pressure and tend to fail after just a few months of use.

Aluminium

Aluminium is a great alternative to printed parts in most cases, it is worth noting that the increase in weight may have negative effects when it comes to speed and acceleration.