HIPS filament

HIPS filament

HIPS filaments belong to the styrenic plastics family, like ABS. HIPS stands for High Impact Polystyrene. These thermoplastics are uncommon in 3D printing but offer a unique advantage due to their similarity to ABS. Indeed, HIPS can be used in two ways. The first, more common, is that this filament is known for its beautiful matte finish, good mechanical properties, impact resistance, and excellent post-processing qualities (such as sanding). This makes it a good candidate for both functional and aesthetic 3D printing applications.

Its other use leverages its solubility in D-Limonene solvent. With a dual-extrusion 3D printer, you can use this filament to create support structures. Similar to how PLA and PVA are used with water, your 3D print composed of ABS and HIPS supports can be immersed in D-Limonene to dissolve the supports. This ability to create soluble supports for a common material allows for the creation of moving mechanisms or support structures in inaccessible areas.

This dual functionality makes it an interesting 3D filament to keep in stock. Remember, support filaments like PVA are not compatible with ABS, and few other accessible solutions are available. HIPS filament perfectly fulfills this role.

In terms of printing, this filament behaves similarly to its styrenic counterpart and requires a heated bed and generally an adhesion solution. Using a printer with an enclosed chamber or cover is recommended to aid interlayer bonding for larger prints.

How to Choose Your HIPS Filament?

Choosing your HIPS filament should be based on your printer's filament diameter: 1.75mm or 2.85mm. The HIPS filaments available here are all from leading 3D printing material manufacturers. Zortrax, with its Z-HIPS, is a pioneer in this type of filament, but it is only available in 1.75mm diameter since it is proprietary to Zortrax 3D printers, which operate with 1.75mm filaments.