{"id":165011,"date":"2022-06-29T14:24:51","date_gmt":"2022-06-29T06:24:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/facfox.com\/docs\/?post_type=kb&p=165011"},"modified":"2022-12-09T11:29:05","modified_gmt":"2022-12-09T03:29:05","slug":"pvb-filament-all-you-need-to-know","status":"publish","type":"kb","link":"https:\/\/facfox.com\/docs\/kb\/pvb-filament-all-you-need-to-know","title":{"rendered":"PVB Filament: All You Need to Know"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Polyvinyl butyral (PVB) is a special 3D printing filament that can be layer smoothed. Read on to learn all about PVB filament!<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

What Is It?<\/h3>\n
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PVB is a material commonly used as an interlayer film in car windows (Source: Huatesheng PVB)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

If you\u2019re a fan of\u00a0Prusa Research<\/a>\u00a0and all their latest 3D printing ventures, then you may have heard about their recent\u00a0PVB Prusament filament<\/span>.\u00a0Polyvinyl butyral<\/a>, or PVB, is a thermoplastic polymer commonly used in the backend of automotive parts like the interlayer between two sheets of glass on car windows.<\/p>\n

PVB is certainly not one of the\u00a0most popular materials in 3D printing<\/a>, but Prusa didn\u2019t make their own for no reason. As a material, PVB has a unique set of features that make it suitable for use as a 3D printing filament.<\/p>\n

In this article, we\u2019ll go over the features of PVB filament, comparing it to other materials to reveal this filament\u2019s advantages and drawbacks. We\u2019ll also go over how it prints and what the community thinks of it. Happy printing!<\/p>\n

Printability<\/h3>\n
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PVB requires pretty low printing temperatures (Source: josefprusa via Twitter)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

One of the most important features of any 3D printing filament is how well and easily it can be printed. To further examine PVB filament, let\u2019s look into the material\u2019s printability and a few of the properties that come with it.<\/p>\n

Temperature<\/strong><\/h3>\n

First off, one of the most important aspects is the temperature necessary to print it. PVB can be printed at fairly low temperatures, most similar to those of\u00a0PLA<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0PETG<\/a>. Usually, PVB filament requires a nozzle and bed temperature of around 215 \u00b0C and 75 \u00b0C, respectively.<\/p>\n

According to Prusa Research, PVB\u2019s melting point is comparable to PLA\u2019s, and the lower temperature requirement makes it easier to print parts with more detail. This is most likely due to the heat deformations associated with printing at higher temperatures.<\/p>\n

As we mentioned, PVB also requires a relatively low bed temperature of 75 \u00b0C, compared to the typical 100-110 \u00b0C needed for\u00a0ABS<\/a>. (The bed temperature of printing materials is usually close to its\u00a0glass transition temperature<\/a>, which is the temperature at which it starts to melt.) Therefore, PVB isn\u2019t great for outdoor components that will be in the sun because it isn\u2019t very heat resistant. According to\u00a0Prusa Research\u2019s technical data sheet<\/a>, PVB has a heat deflection temperature of only 60 \u00b0C.<\/p>\n

Other Factors<\/strong><\/h3>\n
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PVB is hygroscopic, so dry it before printing (Source: random-builder via Thingiverse)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Second, PVB doesn\u2019t require any specific hardware (neither an\u00a0enclosure<\/a>\u00a0nor a\u00a0direct drive extruder setup<\/a>) to print well.<\/p>\n

Third, PVB, similar to PETG, can also be considered a\u00a0hygroscopic<\/a>\u00a0material because it tends to absorb a lot of moisture from the air, degrading the plastic\u2019s performance. To combat this issue, we recommend drying your PVB filament before printing and using a dry box to store it. You can check out\u00a0our article all about drying filament<\/a>, as well as\u00a0our piece on how to properly store your 3D printing materials<\/a>\u00a0to learn more.<\/p>\n

Finally, we can\u2019t forget the price of the material. PVB is definitely on the more expensive side of thermoplastic 3D printing filaments, costing around $50 per 1-kg spool. This is about double the cost of materials like\u00a0PLA<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0ABS<\/a>, but the different properties might be worth it, depending on what you\u2019re looking to print.<\/p>\n

Appearance<\/h3>\n
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PVB is a naturally transparent material (Source: Polymaker)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

While PVB might not be as widely used in 3D printing and other fields as other plastics like ABS and PET, it still has many benefits. Many of PVB\u2019s strengths are geared towards the visual elements of the material, making it an overall great filament for creating display pieces.<\/p>\n

PVB is intrinsically\u00a0transparent<\/a>, which is well suited for making objects where light needs to pass through, like\u00a0lampshades<\/a>. Although PVB is naturally a very see-through material, parts 3D printed in PVB won\u2019t come out as clear as glass as they do for car window interlayers. That\u2019s because 3D printed parts can have features \u2013 such as\u00a0infill<\/a>\u00a0structures and multiple\u00a0walls<\/a>\u00a0\u2013 that obstruct the clarity of the object. In addition, PVB filament is not 100% PVB, so the same levels of transparency can\u2019t be expected. To make parts clearer, you can try lowering the infill density and setting a larger\u00a0layer height<\/a>.<\/p>\n

On top of being naturally transparent, PVB is also soluble with certain chemicals, significantly isopropyl alcohol (IPA). This means you can\u00a0post-process<\/a>\u00a0parts printed in PVB using IPA or other chemicals to soften the part\u2019s exterior, just like you can with\u00a0acetone for ABS<\/a>. Its chemical solubility provides two main benefits for the PVB material: bonding and smoothing.<\/p>\n

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PVB prints can be layer smoothed using IPA (Source: M3D via YouTube)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

The first benefit is bonding multiple PVB parts, as once two ends of PVB parts are softened, they can easily be joined. This capability makes PVB a great material for creating multi-part structures. Unrelated to solubility, PVB, like PETG, is also naturally a very adherable material, so getting it to stick to other surfaces should be easy.<\/p>\n

The other advantage is layer smoothing. You can get smooth and glossy objects that look less 3D printed and more store-bought, perfect for making display items like\u00a0jewelry<\/a>,\u00a0vases<\/a>, and\u00a0costume components<\/a>. For PVB, layer smoothing can also enhance the transparency of a print, as seen in\u00a0one maker\u2019s video guide to this process<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Using a solvent is only one way to post-process PVB prints; you can also sand parts. However, according to Prusa, you have to use wet sanding to smooth PVB parts if you don\u2019t have IPA. Wet sanding involves dipping a piece of sandpaper in water before using it, which makes the sanding process dirtier and longer than dry sanding.<\/p>\n

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Mechanical Properties<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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PVB has subpar layer-to-layer adhesion which means parts can more easily break (Source: mmmatt3120 via Reddit)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

While being soluble makes for an attractive (literally) material, PVB is also in moderate mechanical standing compared to other 3D printing filaments such as PLA, PETG, and ABS. PVB is considered moderately strong for a thermoplastic but is pretty weak relative to materials like steel and PVC.<\/p>\n

Despite this, PVB is still a great material for 3D printing and offers a few mechanical advantages over other filaments. According to\u00a0Prusa Research\u2019s material comparison sheet<\/a>, PVB has a higher (better) tensile strength than ABS and PETG, meaning it can take more physical stress before snapping.\u00a0PVB also has greater impact resistance than PLA and ABS and is even slightly flexible, although nowhere near as flexible as truly\u00a0flexible materials like TPU or TPE<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Although PVB\u2019s low melting temperature makes it a more easily printable material, it also contributes to worse mechanical properties. The low melting temperature results in PVB having\u00a0poor layer-to-layer adhesion<\/a>, which might mean prints are more brittle and more easily snapped.<\/p>\n

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Pros & Cons<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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You can easily paint parts printed in PVB filament (Source: mattsimis via Reddit)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Below, we\u2019ve made a pros and cons list for PVB filament, to sum up the advantages and disadvantages of this material:<\/p>\n

Pros<\/strong><\/h3>\n