<p>I know you should, like an infant, never leave your printer without surveillance.</p>

<p>But sometimes we all do, trusting our double thermistors and heat runaway configurations. But electronics fry and who says there is no danger even after the print job has finished and it's cooling down, still hooked up?</p>

<p>I have searched but smoke/fire detectors come in a wide range of varieties: </p>

<p>They can be battery powered or hardwired, they detect different things: carbon monoxide, heat, smoke..., they thus also have different detectors like photoelectric sensors, ionization sensors or both. We also print with different materials...</p>

<p>So what's the best safeguard for my 2 year old (CoreXY ^^)?</p>

[{'answer_id': 4993, 'author': 'Juan Pablo Rodas Martínez', 'author_id': 9033, 'author_profile': 'https://3dprinting.stackexchange.com/users/9033', 'pm_score': 3, 'selected': False, 'text': '<p>There’s no huge difference between both. The printing settings like temperature and printing speed are practically the same. But the PLA+ have a much better surface quality and it’s slightly more bright than normal PLA. Another difference is that the PLA+ it\'s more effective in bridges than PLA. </p>\n\n<p>If you want to the comparison between PLA and PLA+ go right here, <a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/3Dprinting/comments/4iqzop/pla_vs_pla_short_review/" rel="nofollow noreferrer">PLA vs PLA+ (short review)</a>. This post is an awesome experiment with both materials.  </p>\n'}, {'answer_id': 4998, 'author': 'Adam Starbuck', 'author_id': 4518, 'author_profile': 'https://3dprinting.stackexchange.com/users/4518', 'pm_score': 2, 'selected': False, 'text': '<p>PLA+, depending on the brand, is probably a mixture of other plastics (things like TPU<sup>1</sup>) to help improve upon the weaknesses of regular PLA like brittleness and moisture absorbing. Or they simply used a higher quality PLA blend to create the filament.</p>\n\n<p>I do not have a specific source except from collaborating with different materials experts such as <a href="http://essentiummaterials.com" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Essentium Materials</a>. TPU is a flexible plastic that can have different "hardness" levels.</p>\n\n<hr>\n\n<p><sup>1</sup> Thermoplastic Polyurethane. It\'s a flexible thermoplastic.</p>\n'}, {'answer_id': 9940, 'author': 'Joel Coehoorn', 'author_id': 12562, 'author_profile': 'https://3dprinting.stackexchange.com/users/12562', 'pm_score': 1, 'selected': False, 'text': '<p>PLA+ is a <strong>brand</strong>. Where PLA and ABS have specific chemical meanings (more or less... manufacturers already will have different additives or processes), the only real requirement for PLA+ is using some unknown quantity of PLA as a base. </p>\n\n<p>Look at coffee beans as an example: we have Arabica vs Robusta. Arabica is usually considered better, for some definition of "better". (BTW: Starbucks serves cheaper Robusta). The relevant thing here is in many places you only need 10% Arabica content to label and market a coffee as Arabica coffee. The rest of the product could be... well, <em>anything</em> the maker wants to include. </p>\n\n<p>PLA+ is similar. There\'s no real definitive meaning to it, beyond some measure of original PLA content and the hope you\'ll believe it\'s "better", and therefore maybe pay a little more. </p>\n\n<p>The good news is, usually PLA+ really is better... at least so far. But as more people start viewing it as a real step up from regular PLA, it\'s likely we\'ll also start to see some shady business people pass off inferior product at PLA+. It\'s likely this is already happening.</p>\n\n<p>Moral of the story: read the label carefully. And unlike coffee, which is a food and therefore better regulated, filaments have hardly any rules about labeling; there may not be a label to read at all, so be extra careful what you buy.</p>\n'}, {'answer_id': 9950, 'author': 'Trish', 'author_id': 8884, 'author_profile': 'https://3dprinting.stackexchange.com/users/8884', 'pm_score': 5, 'selected': True, 'text': '<p>Disclaimer: I am not affiliated with any linked brand or company, I just link to them for reference of the suggested print settings.</p>\n<h1>What is PLA?</h1>\n<p>PLA is, by its definition PolyLacticAcid, a polymer of entwined lactic acids. It is commonly made from fermenting starch - not via Type I (alcohol) but Type II (lactic acid) fermentation<sup><a href="https://3dprinting.stackexchange.com/users/12857/user77232">user77232</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lactic_acid_fermentation" rel="noreferrer">Wikipedia</a></sup>. Chemically it looks like this:</p>\n<p><a href="https://i.stack.imgur.com/JFAww.png" rel="noreferrer"><img src="https://i.stack.imgur.com/JFAww.png" alt="Structural formula of PLA" /></a></p>\n<p>It\'s relevant physical data for the pure material are a density of 1.210–1.430 g·cm<sup>−3</sup> and a melting point of 150 to 160\xa0°C.<sup><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polylactic_acid" rel="noreferrer">Wikipedia</a></sup>.</p>\n<p>Usually, PLA sold under just the name PLA contains, besides PLA, additives to change the color from transparent to whatever color one is printing at. This can change the standard printing temperature depending on the amount, size and shape of the pigments embedded (see below).</p>\n<p>Common Printing temperatures are listed by the manufacturers in the range of 185 to 210\xa0°C. The color can have an influence on the printing temperature, especially for the difference between transparent and opaque filaments. While a heated bed is not strictly necessary, the bed temperature is usually quoted with 60\xa0°C.</p>\n<p>I myself print most PLA filaments at 200\xa0°C and 60\xa0°C bed, but for noncolored transparent filament, I had better results using 190\xa0°C.</p>\n<p>Note that not all PLA is just PLA! It is very likely that some PLA brands contain fillers and additives from the house without claiming to be a +-filament, indeed, additives precede the idea of PLA+, as the case with Tiertime PP3DP filaments will show.</p>\n<h3>The special Tiertime mixture</h3>\n<p>Since back in 2012 or earlier, ABS made by Tiertime includes some unknown compound (possibly PC) that alters the best-result print temperature from the &quot;normal&quot; 220 - 240\xa0°C to the much higher but narrower 260 - 270\xa0°C band. Why this is done is a mystery among 3d-printing enthusiasts, but it might be either to get rid of any color-dependency of the print results or to make it harder to use generic ABS. Fact is, that this temperature was matching what was set as the (then unchangeable) standard temperature in the <em>Up 1.1.7</em> software of that time.<sup><a href="https://www.tiertime.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=8233" rel="noreferrer">Angus aka MakersMuse</a> &amp; <a href="https://www.tiertime.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=8233" rel="noreferrer">Tiertime Forums</a></sup>. The higher temperature hasn\'t changed over the years<sup><a href="https://www.genie-online.de/product/3D-printer-ABS-filament-1x700g-1.75mm-Color-black/239" rel="noreferrer">Tiertime ABS</a></sup>. Indeed, the Tiertime PLA introduced in March 2014<sup><a href="https://www.tiertime.com/tiertime-now-offers-pla-for-up-series-printers/" rel="noreferrer">Tiertime</a></sup> is also quoted to print at higher temperatures than generic PLA, and had similarly a higher default temperature in the then updated UP-spftware<sup><a href="https://www.tiertime.com/dami/viewtopic.php?t=54665" rel="noreferrer">Tiertime Forums</a></sup>, though I found listings from 200<sup><a href="https://3dprintersuperstore.com.au/products/black-up-pla" rel="noreferrer">here</a> &amp; <a href="https://www.reprap-3d-printer.com/product/1234568364-pla-tiertime-official-natural" rel="noreferrer">here</a></sup> to 215\xa0°C<sup><a href="https://www.3dmensionals.de/tiertime-pp3dp-up-pla-filament-1000g?number=PSUPP0030V" rel="noreferrer">here</a> under Technische Daten</sup>.</p>\n<p><strong>The modern <em>UP-Studio</em> software allows setting the temperature freely</strong><sup><a href="https://youtu.be/uCnNxc_U9cE?t=437" rel="noreferrer">Angus aka MakersMuse</a></sup>.</p>\n<h1>What is PLA+?</h1>\n<p>Now, what differs PLA from PLA+? Well, PLA+ is a <em>modified</em> PLA, which means that it has additives in it to alter its properties. What exactly is added depends extremely on the manufacturer, and no two PLA+ are the same.<sup><a href="https://all3dp.com/2/pla-vs-pla-3d-printer-filament-compared/" rel="noreferrer">all3dp</a></sup>.</p>\n<h1>What is the difference?</h1>\n<p>PLA+ has - but for a few degrees - the same printing temperature as standard PLA. In fact, the printing temperature difference between standard PLA from different brands is often larger than the difference between PLA and PLA+.</p>\n<p><a href="https://all3dp.com/2/pla-vs-pla-3d-printer-filament-compared/" rel="noreferrer">All3dp</a> claims, that most PLA+ would have a better surface finish than the PLA from the same brand. Because of the additives, they also usually print best at elevated temperature compared to PLA. Among various manufacturers, I saw 210–240\xa0°C<sup><a href="https://rads.stackoverflow.com/amzn/click/com/B079VYGNRG" rel="noreferrer" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Kodak PLA+</a></sup>, 190-220\xa0°C<sup><a href="https://www.amazon.de/SUNLU-Filament-Printing-Dimensional-Accuracy/dp/B073P9LZWB" rel="noreferrer">SUNLU PLA+</a></sup> and 190-210\xa0°C<sup><a href="https://www.amazon.de/eSun-Filament-Universal-Thing-matic/dp/B01KM6MDFG" rel="noreferrer">eSun PLA+</a></sup>.</p>\n<p>However, there is no uniformity in other effects on the filament. Some filaments would have less moisture absorption, a different stiffness or compressibility while others might have a higher tensile strength and feature an extremely glossy surface.</p>\n<p>Most commonly, the claimed benefits lie in the fields of the filament\'s strength, surface texture and glossiness, the printability of overhangs.</p>\n<h1>Conclusion</h1>\n<p>PLA+ is <strong>not one product</strong> per se but <strong>a family of modified PLA</strong>. While you can print PLA+ with the same settings as normal PLA, the resulting benefits between different brands are much more diverse than with normal PLA.</p>\n<ul>\n<li>Changing between different brands of <em>similar quality</em> normal PLA has usually little to no effect on the print\'s general properties.</li>\n<li>Changing between different brands of <em>similar quality</em> PLA+ can alter the print\'s properties immensely</li>\n</ul>\n<p>Because of the fact that no two brands of PLA+ are the same (and the manufacturers are silent on what additives they use to change the properties), one should not rely on the same effects when switching between brands.</p>\n'}, {'answer_id': 14433, 'author': 'FooMonkey', 'author_id': 23607, 'author_profile': 'https://3dprinting.stackexchange.com/users/23607', 'pm_score': 2, 'selected': False, 'text': '<p>Some of these questions could be answered by asking manufacturers for MSDS (Material Safety Data Sheets), aka. SDS (Safety Data Sheets).</p>\n<p>Under EU laws in place since 2008 any substance shipped into the EEA (European Economic Area) in quantities of more than 1 tonne/year, whose composition contains more than 0.1% by weight of a compound identified in the <a href="https://www.ema.europa.eu/en/human-regulatory/post-authorisation/data-medicines-iso-idmp-standards/public-data-article-57-database" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Article 57 database</a>, must provide an MSDS on request that includes a breakdown of its content.</p>\n<p>If you look at the <a href="http://www.esun3d.net/UploadFiles/Download/MSDS_Esun_PLA_PLUS_filament.pdf" rel="nofollow noreferrer">SDS for eSUN\'s PLA+</a>, for example you see:</p>\n<pre><code>╔═══════════════════╦═══════════╦═══════════╦═════════════╗\n║ Ingredient Name   ║   CAS No. ║    EC No. ║ Content (%) ║\n╠═══════════════════╬═══════════╬═══════════╬═════════════╣\n║ Polylactide resin ║ 9051-89-2 ║ 618-575-7 ║          98 ║\n║ Calcium carbonate ║  471-34-1 ║ 207-439-9 ║           2 ║\n╚═══════════════════╩═══════════╩═══════════╩═════════════╝\n</code></pre>\n'}, {'answer_id': 14434, 'author': 'R.. GitHub STOP HELPING ICE', 'author_id': 11157, 'author_profile': 'https://3dprinting.stackexchange.com/users/11157', 'pm_score': 2, 'selected': False, 'text': '<p>I know this is an old question, but CNC Kitchen just recently <a href="https://youtu.be/uAoZCpXoPWo" rel="nofollow noreferrer">did a review of PLA+</a> and the mechanical properties of one brand, and found it far weaker than plain PLA, but with failure modes that might be mord graceful/preferable for some applications. In short, it stretched and tore rather than snapping.</p>\n'}, {'answer_id': 19697, 'author': 'R.. GitHub STOP HELPING ICE', 'author_id': 11157, 'author_profile': 'https://3dprinting.stackexchange.com/users/11157', 'pm_score': 0, 'selected': False, 'text': '<p>Adding this as a new answer since it doesn\'t seem to be covered in existing ones:</p>\n<p>Despite &quot;PLA+&quot; being a marketing term without a specific definition, I\'ve found that many (most?) filament vendors don\'t seem to be doing their own secret-sauce blending to make it, and most premium filament vendors who <em>do document</em> the source polymers they use are using roughly the same thing - most often one of the <a href="https://www.natureworksllc.com/Products/3D-series-for-3D-printing" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Natureworks Ingeo 3D series of polymers</a>, obtained in pellet source form, often 3D850 or 3D870. As such, if you can verify that this is what you filament marketed as &quot;PLA+&quot; is made from (or just search out one that\'s well-documented) you can use the data sheets for the polymer to find out more about how it\'s formulated.</p>\n'}]
['https://3dprinting.stackexchange.com/questions/5001', 'https://3dprinting.stackexchange.com', 'https://3dprinting.stackexchange.com/users/8328/']