Turns out PHA _can_ do spans, at least, the kind without wood infill.

PHA is another bioplastic, newer and more expensive so far than PLA, but with a much higher glass temperature meaning it is far more heat resistant. But it's also harder to print.

In my last major update, I'd done a lot of testing and found that the high temperature claims are totally valid, but when I'd try to get 20% wood infill PHA to span, it largely failed. It prints objects with internal supports just fine, but spans are a real problem.

So I ordered some "natural" (no infill of any kind, not even colourants) PHA to experiment with that a bit, and I have some good news. While it still doesn't span with the preferred 0.6mm nozzle, and jams reliably with a 0.4mm nozzle, it turns out that if you slice for a 0.4mm nozzle and print with a 0.5mm nozzle, you get reliable prints... and get good spanning. Check this out:


PHA .4mm slice/nozzle, .4 slice but .5 nozzle, .6 slice/nozzle, 20% wood .6 slice/nozzle>

The worst 0.4mm slice/0.5mm nozzle print's spanning is better by far than the best spanning with a 0.6mm nozzle. And no jamming or hint of it even after 18 hours or so of printing.

I also printed a mini printer test object (pictures on Mastodon) and it did much better than I expected, with no failed overhangs, though the sharpest angle got pretty bad on the underside. But 50° is genuinely fine and 60° is acceptable.

It's not currently on discount at filaments.ca but they've had like 35% off in the past if you want to experiment with it. Also their US shipping got a lot better which is really nice. (I am not affiliated, that's just where I can order it without having to pay shipping from Germany.)

Anyway, I think this is an interesting plant-derived filament with some very interesting temperature resistance (to like 100°C) and I was dubious at first but it's genuinely viable. More difficult than PLA and more abrasive, but... genuinely viable.

The GOP really do want all of us to die.

Trans people have always just been the wedge. They want us all to get AIDS and die. And they will make all of us illegal again if they can.

ALL OF US.

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The Tennessee Department of Health says it will no longer accept federal grant money to prevent or treat HIV. Experts worry the state is setting itself up for a major outbreak.
By Erika Edwards
NBC News
Jan. 20, 2023, 6:45 PM PST

https://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/tennessee-says-cutting-federal-hiv-funding-will-states-follow-rcna66689

Health officials in Tennessee say they will reject federal funding for groups that provide services to residents living with HIV.

Earlier this week, the Tennessee Department of Health announced it would no longer accept grant money from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention earmarked for testing, prevention and treatment of HIV.

In an email reviewed by NBC News, the Department of Health told certain nonprofit organizations that provide these services that the state would turn down the federal funding as of June, relying only on state funds afterward. "It is in the best interest of Tennesseans for the State to assume direct financial and managerial response for these services," the email read.

When reached for comment by NBC News, a spokesperson for the Department of Health said that "the letter speaks for itself."