I’m interested in building my first pack and I can’t decide between a fiberglass shell and a 3D printed pack. Can anyone help me with the pros and cons for each? Thanks!
Fibreglass is one solid piece, whereas 3D-printed is many layers laid on-top of each other.
The immediate thing that comes to mind that would put a fibreglass shell ahead of a 3D-printed one (fibreglass would always be my first choice) is that possibly in addition to the fibreglass shell being stronger, you’d have the visible printed texture on the 3D-printed pieces, which you’d need to perform some additional work on to smooth over/conceal.
3D-printed might end up being lighter than a fibreglass shell, but you’d have to print several components to achieve the same product as one single fibreglass piece.
Depending on the PLA, it will “melt” or get soft in hot weather and direct sunlight. It IS thermo plastic.
To me, the primary differences are:
-fiberglass - more expensive, but the shell is effectively built for you
-3D printing - less expensive, but the trade is you need to assemble the various subassemblies. Agree with the comment above in that I would NOT use PLA but instead, something like PLA+, ABS, or even PETG.
If you have the funds, I’d opt for the fiberglass shell. If you’re tight on funds but have the time to put something together, 3D print it!
Just my $0.02…
Sean