29 May HIPS filament for 3D printing: learning about plastic materials

A little review of HIPS plastic filament: main features, benefits and some tips on how to print and extrude with HIPS material! 

1. WHAT IS HIPS PLASTIC?

HIPS  “High Impact Polystyrene” plastic is a low-cost plastic material that is easy to machine and fabricates. This plastic material is specified for low strength structural application when impact resistance, machinability, and low cost are required.

It is frequently used for machining pre-production prototypes since it has excellent dimensional stability and is easy to fabricate paint and glue.

HIPS plastic is a modified form of polystyrene: Polystyrene (PS) plastic is a naturally transparent thermoplastic material that is available in several forms. It has very similar properties to ABS, but offers more hardness, impact resistance and works well as a support material.

HIPS, in fact, allow making easier complex prints by saving you some trouble as break-away support. When being used as a support material (commonly with ABS) HIPS can be dissolved in d-Limonene, leaving your print free of any markings caused by support removal.

3D printing object support. Credits www.matterhackers.com

2. SUMMARY OF HIPS FEATURES 

• Good impact resistance.
• It is ideal to be used for ABS support, as it can be solved in limonene.
• The perfect material for evaluating quick prints, because it is cheap and easy to print.
• The purity of the material renders in a matte surface, pleasant to touch.
• Low cost
• Excellent aesthetic qualities

3. WHY YOU SHOULD CHOOSE HIPS FILAMENT FOR 3D PRINTING

Hips filament is strong and durable printing material with good impact resistance. It is an excellent soluble support material and it is not hygroscopic. HIPS prints can be decorated using a variety of printing methods including screen printing, offset lithography, and flexography.

4. HIPS APPLICATIONS

HIPS filament is frequently used on prototypes because it has excellent dimensional stability, and not to mention it is also really easy to fabricate, paint and glue. HIPS is commonly used in the fabrication of home appliances, toys, and product packaging. HIPS plastic has resulted in good environmental stress crack resistance (ESCR), making this material suitable for the packaging of fatty foods such as butter, foam meat trays or foam egg cartons.

Common usage of HIPS plastic

5. TIPS AND TRICKS FOR PRINTING WITH HIPS

• HIPS can be printed best with the bed set at 55-65°C:  set your hot end temperature to 240°C!  
• Some HIPS filaments include additives that make the filaments easier to print, but these same additives can frequently make the material harder to dissolve and remove if you plan to use HIPS as a support material.

EXTRUSION WITH FELFIL EVO

Our result with Felfil Evo filament extruder:

Temperature: 200 °C

Rpm: 9

Motor duty A: 0,6

Drying needed: NO