I Built a Database That Saves You From Googling 'PLA Temperature' Ever Again

#3dprinting #python #opensource #showdev

Every time I switch filament brands, the same ritual: Google "Bambu Lab PLA Basic temperature", scroll through Reddit threads, find a comment from 2023, try 220°C, get stringing, try 230°C, get blobbing, end up at 225°C after burning half a spool.

This is insane. Every filament has an optimal temperature range. The manufacturer prints it on the box. But somehow we're all still guessing.

So I built FilamentDB — an open-source database of real filament parameters that you query from your terminal.

What It Does

# Search for a filament
filamentdb search "PLA+"

# Get exact recommended settings  
filamentdb recommend --brand "Bambu Lab" --model "PLA Basic"

# Compare two filaments side by side
filamentdb compare "Bambu Lab PLA Basic" "eSun PLA+"

# Find alternatives when your go-to is out of stock
filamentdb alternatives PETG --exclude eSun

The Data

The database currently covers 7 brands, 25+ models, with full parameter sets for each:

Brand	Models	Coverage
Bambu Lab	PLA Basic, PLA Matte, PETG, ABS, TPU, PAHT-CF	Full
eSun	PLA+, PLA Matte, PETG, TPU	Full
Polymaker	PolyLite PLA, PolySonic PLA, PolyMax PC, PETG, ABS	Full
Sunlu	PLA Meta, PLA Plus, PETG, PLA Marble	Full
Overture	PLA Professional, PETG	Full
Prusament	PLA Galaxy Black, PETG Galaxy Black	Full
Creality	CR-Silk, Hyper PLA, ABS	Full

Each entry includes:

Nozzle temperature (min/max/recommended)
Bed temperature (min/max/recommended)
Max volumetric speed
Retraction distance & speed
Fan speed
Bed adhesion method
Drying temperature & time
Enclosure requirement
Community rating
Notes

Why FilamentDB Exists

Three observations drove this:

Filament parameters are public knowledge — manufacturers print them on the box and post them online. But they're scattered across PDFs, product pages, and forum posts.
The same material type from different brands prints differently — eSun PLA+ at 215°C and Bambu PLA Basic at 225°C are both "PLA" but need very different settings. A generic profile wastes time and filament.
The 3D printing community already crowdsources this — every Reddit thread, every Printables review, every Discord message is a data point. I just centralized it.

The CLI

The tool is designed for speed. No waiting for a web page to load, no CAPTCHAs, no 15-second page transitions:

# Query and get an answer in under 100ms
$ filamentdb recommend --brand Polymaker --model "PolyMax PC"

🔥 Nozzle temperature:  275°C  (range: 260-290°C)
🔥 Bed temperature:     100°C  (range: 90-110°C)
⚡ Max volumetric:      8 mm³/s
🌬️ Fan speed:           0%
🏠 Enclosure:           REQUIRED
💧 Drying:              80°C for 12h

Compare mode is where it gets interesting:

$ filamentdb compare "Bambu Lab PLA Basic" "eSun PLA+"

                      A                B
Brand           Bambu Lab           eSun
Model           PLA Basic           PLA+
Type                 PLA            PLA
Nozzle °C           225°C          215°C
Bed °C               60°C           60°C
Retract            0.8mm          1.0mm
Rating              4.6 ★          4.5 ★

A 10°C nozzle difference — same material type. If you sliced for eSun and loaded Bambu, you'd be 10°C off. That's the difference between a perfect print and a failure.

What's Next

The database is a v0.1 with curated entries. The real value comes from:

Community contributions — a filamentdb submit command that lets anyone add their settings
Integration with SupportSage — use the filament profile to tune support generation parameters
Web UI — searchable online version for non-CLI users
Slicer plugins — Cura/OrcaSlicer/Bambu Studio import your filament profile in one click

Try It

git clone https://github.com/bossman-lab/filamentdb
cd filamentdb && pip install -e .

# Or just browse the data — it's a single JSON file
cat data/filaments.json