Fixing the filament tags

Question

We currently have quite a few tags about filament:

I feel like we need to clean these up and make clear what we'll use each tag for.

Thoughts?

Are there any plastics that would not be thermoplastics (that would be used in 3D printing) — Eric Johnson, Jan 15, 2016 at 13:44

Tom van der Zanden · Accepted Answer · 2016-01-16 15:42:08Z

5

All filament used in 3D printing is thermoplastic filament, so plastic-filament and thermoplastic-filament are redundant.

answered Jan 16, 2016 at 15:42

14.6k8 silver badges11 bronze badges

Add a comment |

Eric Johnson · Accepted Answer · 2016-01-15 18:23:03Z

4

I see a form of hierarchy that could be used.

Depending on the question a higher level tag could be used or a more specific one for specific problems (or both tags even).

Feel free to edit to add more types

answered Jan 15, 2016 at 18:23

community wiki

$\begingroup$ I really like this approach. One issue, though, is that if you put something under (for example) "TPU" , then someone who's searching for a parent category like "flexible" will miss it. Unless stackexchange has (or would implement) some automation for category hierarchies. Also, I'd suggest lengthening names since they'll be seen out of context. $\endgroup$
– TextGeek
Jan 18, 2016 at 19:11
1

$\begingroup$ I like the idea of a hierarchy, but how will that be displayed to users? AFAIK all tags in SE's are independent of each other. $\endgroup$
– YetAnotherRandomUser
Nov 15, 2017 at 12:07
$\begingroup$ You could do somwthing like ABS-plastic-filament vs pla-plastic-filament $\endgroup$
– Eric Johnson
Nov 15, 2017 at 16:04
$\begingroup$ while hirarchy is ok and "flexible Filaments" as well as Conductive or water soluble make sense, the category of "plastic filament" is reduntdant. $\endgroup$
– Trish
Aug 18, 2018 at 16:38

Add a comment |

Trish · Accepted Answer · 2018-09-04 18:50:26Z

2

I bump this and propose the radical method:

We only need ONE filament tag and then any tags for specific material (e.g.pla abs petg pva tpu pc) groups that have specific properties (e.g. flexible-filament conductive-filament)

The difference between thermoplastic-filament and plastic-filament in use is nonexistant and both are pretty much identical to filament in the current use - it is rather random which one gets used, in many cases more than one is used.
There is no filament that can be used in 3D printing that is not a thermoplastic, as the method to re-shape the filament via heat demands a thermoplastic.
While there are clearly more plastics than thermoplastics, non thermoplastic plastics are not useable for 3D printing unless you would design a whole printer to use for example an UV-curing resin delivered to the workpiece via a needle - which makes this a non-FDM printer.

answered Aug 18, 2018 at 9:35

Trish

20.5k5 silver badges14 bronze badges

$\begingroup$ I think it is worth stating what makes this best - and I think in terms of categorising questions 'filament' is more than enough for the current level of detail that these questions seem likely to cover. $\endgroup$
– Sean Houlihane
Aug 20, 2018 at 21:19
$\begingroup$ @SeanHoulihane added more $\endgroup$
– Trish
Aug 20, 2018 at 22:14
$\begingroup$ Looking at the synonyms page, thermoplastic-filament is a synonym of plastic-filament. Are you saying that they should be merged? $\endgroup$
– Greenonline Mod
Aug 30, 2018 at 11:12
$\begingroup$ @greenonline pretty much $\endgroup$
– Trish
Aug 30, 2018 at 11:35

Add a comment |

3 Answers 3