I vaguely recall reading somewhere about a bulk US filament supplier that required someone

3D Printing
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1

I vaguely recall reading somewhere about a bulk US filament supplier that required someone to buy a minimum of 10 lbs filament but would split it into two 5 lb reels/rolls. At one point I had this site bookmarked but I can’t find it any longer. Does anyone have a link to that supplier? I’m in need of 10 lbs black 3mm filament…

2

Well after much searching, I think I’ve narrowed it down to the following companies:

New Image Plastics: http://www.newimageplastic.com/ / http://www.plasticweldingrod.com/ 3D Printer Filament: http://www.3dprinterfilament.com/
Ohio Plastics: http://www.ohioplasticsandsafetyproducts.com/

Has anyone done business with any of these entities? If so, what’s your experience?

3

I have not used any of them yet, but please share your experiences.

4

I bought 10 lbs of black PLA and ABS through them. I haven’t gotten to the ABS, but I’m about through 5 lbs of the PLA without incident. They will split the 10 lb orders onto 2 - 5 lb cardboard spools for free.

At $8 / lb, the price is hard to beat.

5

@Mark_Oates who did you buy from?

6

I bought it from New Image Plastics, who operates http://3dprinterfilament.com. They don’t allow ordering via the web, you end up placing a phone call to finalize the order.

7

I’ll do a phone order if I can get that price and it is decent stuff. Thanks!

8

I buy 10 pound rolls from these guys. It’s pretty easy to deal with a roll that big if you put it on its side on a lazy susan.

9

Their web site shows their tolerance to + / - .001000". I spoke with them today and ordered some samples. I’ll post feedback when I learn more.

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By the way, the woman I spoke with (Donna) was knowledgeable and helpful. I suggested the idea that they sell a starter kit with a small spool of every color and just add a handling fee for the small quantity of each. She liked the idea and said she would take it up with the owner. Apparently 3D filament is a hot item and producers are running behind on orders so they are hesitant to work on small orders when they are backlogged with large ones. Understandable.

11

They warn of a lead-time of up to 6 weeks on minimum orders, but the last two times i’ve ordered 10 pounds of 1.75mm black ABS, i’ve had it within a week. It seems that black 1.75 ABS is so popular that they just run my order after another large order of the same, because the machine is already set up for it. never had any problems using their filament in my MakerGear Hotend.