High impact polystyrene (HIPS) is a material blend of polystyrene plastic and polybutadiene rubber. The mixture of these polymers results in a material that’s both tough and flexible.
HIPS is very similar to ABS, but as the name implies, it’s capable of withstanding much higher impact forces. It’s easily painted, machinable, and works with a large number of adhesives. Moreover, it’s food-safe, being declared FDA-compliant for food processing applications.
HIPS & 3D Printing
Within the 3D printing world, HIPS is mostly used as support material, since it dissolves in limonene solution, eliminating the need for removal via abrasives, cutting tools, or any other such things that leave your print less than perfect. Limonene is a solution made with lemon peels and it can be easily obtained. This solution, however, can potentially damage 3D printing materials other than ABS.
This is one of the reasons why HIPS is best paired with ABS. The other reason is that the printing temperature range is very similar between these materials, making the difficult task of dual-material 3D printing easier.
One rather unfortunate quality that HIPS shares with ABS is that it releases toxic fumes when heated. During printing, HIPS releases small amounts of styrene into the atmosphere, therefore, it’s highly recommended to place the printer in a well-ventilated area when using this material.
How to Use HIPS
HIPS filament is generally printed with a nozzle temperature between 220 °C and 240 °C, and a bed temperature between 90 °C and 110 °C. This means that some machines will have trouble with bed adhesion, as the high bed temperatures can be harder to reach and maintain. However, all well-known bed adhesion tricks for ABS are useful with HIPS, including Kapton tape.
Let’s sum up what we know about HIPS filament and how to print it:
- Nozzle temperature: 220-240 °C
- Bed temperature: 90-110 °C
- Shrinkage and warping: Minimal to normal
- Soluble: Yes, in limonene
- Safety warning: Produces toxic fumes during 3D printing
Now, let’s get into the best brands of HIPS filament on the market so you can start printing!
Fillamentum Extrafill
The Czech-based manufacturer Fillamentum also offers high-quality 3D printing materials, including HIPS filament. Their HIPS filament is available in five colors: natural, metallic gray, traffic black, sky blue, and signal red. They all come in spools of 750 g and have two sizes, 1.75 mm or 2.85 mm. Deeper technical information related to the material is available on their Technical Data Sheet.
Fillamentum also offers a dissolving solution, called Lemonesol. It comes in 315 ml and 625 ml bottles, and takes around 2 hours to completely dissolve the HIPS, according to the website.
- Nozzle temperature: 230-250 °C
- Bed temperature: 90-105 °C
- Sizes: 750-g spools; 1.75 mm and 2.85 mm
- Colors: Natural, metallic gray, traffic black, sky blue, signal red
Gizmo Dorks
A popular, California-based company, Gizmo Dorks has one of the best HIPS filaments, according to many users. It’s available in 1-kg spools of both 1.75 mm and 2.85 mm diameters. This material can be ordered in many different colors, including glow-in-the-dark!
- Nozzle temperature: 230-250 °C
- Bed temperature: 110 °C
- Sizes: 200-g and 1-kg spools; 1.75 mm and 2.85 mm
- Colors: Black, blue, brown, glow-in-the-dark, green, gray, orange, pink, purple, red, white, yellow
Kodak
Kodak, a company most associated with photography and paper print materials, is also in the 3D printing business. It offers a good range of materials, including a very well-packaged spool of HIPS, available in both 1.75 mm and 2.85 mm sizes. The colors available to choose from cover the basics, and are certainly adequate if you’re only using it as a support material!
- Nozzle temperature: ~235 °C
- Bed temperature: 95-100 °C
- Size: 750-g spools; 1.75 mm and 2.85 mm
- Color: Black, blue, red, white
MatterHackers
MatterHackers is arguably one of the best filament manufacturers on the market. The Californian company offers two colors of HIPS, black and white, available in both 1.75 mm and 2.85 mm diameters. The filament comes in 1-kg spools, and like all of their other products, it’s guaranteed to be high-quality.
- Nozzle temperature: 220-240 °C
- Bed temperature: 90-110 °C
- Sizes: 1-kg spools; 1.75 mm and 2.85 mm
- Colors: Black, white
MG Chemicals
MG Chemicals is a US wholesaler of chemical products including paints, adhesives, greases, and of course, 3D printing materials. According to the company, its HIPS is made from high-grade pellets and has tight tolerance control.
This filament is available in a 1.75-mm diameter only and can be purchased via resellers. MG Chemicals also produces the d-Limonene solution that’s used to dissolve the filament.
- Nozzle temperature: ~235 °C
- Bed temperature: 115 °C
- Size: 1-kg spools; 1.75 mm
- Color: White
eSun
Shenzhen-based eSun also has a place for HIPS within its huge filament portfolio. Their HIPS is available in diameters of 1.75 mm or 2.85 mm and offers spools of either 1 or 3 kg. Further expanding the options in this HIPS range, there are 14 colors to choose from, but not all might be available when you’re ordering.
- Nozzle temperature: 220-260 °C
- Bed temperature: 90-110 °C
- Sizes: 1- or 3-kg spools; 1.75 mm and 2.85 mm
- Colors: Black, yellow, green, red, natural (other colors based on availability)
Zortrax
One of the leading manufacturers of high-end 3D printers, Zortrax is also in the business of high-quality filament. According to the brand website, its Z-HIPS material has been modified to provide a semi-matte finish. It’s available in a wide range of colors, and all the filaments have a Technical Data Sheet for reference.
There are no recommended print settings for Z-HIPS filament available on their website, but you should be safe to match the settings to your choice of ABS, if you’re using it as a support material.
- Nozzle temperature: Not specified
- Bed temperature: Not specified
- Size: 800-g spools; 1.75 mm
- Colors: Black, gray, natural white
Final Thoughts
It might be safe to say that HIPS is one of the most underrated filaments, often disregarded as simply being another support material. As we’ve seen, HIPS is much more than that, boasting mechanical properties that surpass PLA and even its main rival ABS. And then there’s the nice bonus of being a food-safe material.
When you need to produce very complex parts without having to worry about finishing, using HIPS with ABS is by far the best solution, all you need is a dual extruder and a spare spool of HIPS!