[3D Printing News] A Beginner's Guide to 3D Printing PP Materials
PP (also known as polypropylene) is the newest material in the Ultimaker range. Despite being one of the most widely used plastics in the world, it has been difficult to use in 3D printing.
With the PP material optimized by Ultimaker and these helpful tips, you will be able to begin exploring the possibilities of this material.
So what's so special about PP? It has many valuable properties that make it a versatile material.
The top has excellent fatigue resistance and toughness.
PP will not lose its shape or function due to repeated bending and is virtually impossible to break, making it the best choice for critical 3D printing activities.
Think about the hinges on bottle caps – they're likely made of polypropylene. It has good chemical and water resistance and is widely used in the manufacture of containers for storing liquids.
However, we do not recommend packaging 3D-printed products in food or beverage containers, as the Ultimaker 3D printer is not designed to be food-safe.
Get perfect PP printing
Let's see how we get the best results using PP to 3D print a container consisting of three parts: a bottle, a nozzle, and a cap.
For printing the bottle body, we used one of Cura's special patterns – the Spiralize Outer Contour. Instead of building the model in a single layer, the glass plate is gradually moved downwards as the nozzle travels, as if printing a single continuous layer. This "spiral" effect means your PP bottle will not have seams due to continuous operation. 
The thin single-layer wall thickness means that the bottle will be soft and compressible, taking advantage of the properties of PP.
If you need a completely waterproof model, you might find one or two small leaks, which you can repair using a welding iron. Alternatively, you can print slightly thicker walls on your model for a more reliable waterproof seal.
This is the only custom setting we used for this model in Cura.
For all other settings on the bottle and the settings for the printed nozzle and cap, we used Fine (0.1 mm) quality as the PP file and let Cura do the rest.
You'll notice that when using PP printing, Cura creates a larger edge around your model than with other materials. This is to help it adhere to the floor and can be removed later with scissors or a knife. For best results, we also recommend using adhesive strips on the floor.
What to print with PP?
PP is widely used by engineers and manufacturers worldwide. Its flexibility and durability, combined with good chemical properties, water resistance, and electrical resistance, make it highly practical.
Therefore, if you are developing an idea for an object that is planned to be produced in PP, you can use the Ultimaker 3D printer to prototype it with the same material.
Have you tried printing with Ultimaker PP?
For a complete guide on using PP printing, please read our usage tutorial article.
Original link: https://ultimaker.com/en/blog/51209-beginners-guide-to-3d-printing-with-pp