HIPS pellets

HiPS is a thermoplastic obtained by polymerisation with high impact resistance, commonly known as High Impact Polystyrene. HiPS is a heat-resistant material with physical properties ideal for use in the packaging industry, food industry, etc.

This material is very similar to ABS in terms of its mechanical and physical properties (stiffness, tensile and impact strength, thermal stability...). However, there is one property that makes it different from all the others: its solubility in D-Limonene.

D-Limoneno is a natural biodegradable solvent extracted from citrus peel oil.

Image 1: D-Limoneno. Source: Filament2print.

Thanks to this property, HiPS can be used as a support material for ABS in areas where support is necessary to achieve the correct shape of the part. Thus, parts with complex geometries can be printed in ABS with HiPS as a support material. Once production is complete, the part must be immersed in D-Limonene to dissolve the HiPS and obtain the final part without any remaining support material and with a high surface quality.

HiPS pellets are small cylinders of the highest quality material. They do not incorporate recycled or reclaimed material. Because of these qualities, HiPS pellets are perfect for 3D printing, achieving high print quality. There are several methods for using pellets in 3D printing:

• HiPS pellets can be used in the manufacture of filament for FDM 3D printers using Filastruder or any other filament extruder.
• It is possible to use a pellet extruder for direct 3D printing.

To obtain different colours, the HiPS material pellets must be combined with the desired dyes. In this way, customised colours can be achieved. This can be very useful, as in some cases it can be difficult to find the exact colour required for each application. This is a great advantage, especially when producing small series of parts in a particular colour.

Image 2: Examples of dyes for pellets. Source: Filament2print.

With the combination of HiPS Pellets and a good filament extruder such as Filastruder, it is possible to obtain 3D printing filament with qualities similar to those of commercial HiPS filament.

When using HiPS Pellets to make filament with a filament extruder such as Filastruder or using a pellet extruder for direct 3D printing, it should be noted that the extrusion temperature must be regulated in relation to the extrusion speed used. For optimal results, it is recommended to read the product's usage tips.