There are 3D printer filament suppliers all over the world (here’s a handy rundown of the largest commercial vendors compiled by Reddit user starbuck93), so it’s easy enough to find what you need. Of course, figuring out which material you need is another story. As with suppliers, there are numerous options for polymer materials in additive manufacturing (AM), which is similarly great for choice but challenging for decision-making.
This short guide is intended to help engineers select the right 3D printer filament for their application by focusing on five core factors: strength, flexibility, durability, ease of use, and cost. To get started, here’s a relative comparison of six of the most common filament materials: ABS, PC, PETG, PLA, Nylon, and TPU.
3D printer filament strength
One of the biggest differentiators between AM material options, strength in this context encompasses tensile strength and impact resistance—which apply to materials in many manufacturing processes—as well as layer adhesion, which is specific to additive processes. For material extrusion processes, such as fused deposition modeling (FDM) aka fused filament fabrication (FFF), the strongest material options are those which incorporate filler materials, such as carbon fiber.
3D printer filament durability
Another important consideration when selecting among 3D printer filament options is durability, which includes its resistance to fatigue, heat, chemicals, moisture, and ultraviolet (UV) radiation. The last two points are particularly relevant for outdoor applications, but water resistance is also important when it comes to storing and preparing filaments for printing. For example, Nylon and PETG are both relatively strong and durable, but they’re also hygroscopic, and so require a filament drying to ensure quality 3D printed parts.
3D printer filament flexibility
While the range of material options has expanded considerably over the last decade, the options for flexible 3D printing materials are still fairly limited, with TPU being by far the most common. Nylon and polycarbonate materials are more flexible than the more common and less expensive ABS and PLA, but they’re also more difficult to print. Generally speaking, the best option for 3D printing flexible materials, such as TPU, is to use a direct drive extruder, since it should reduce the chance of jamming.
3D printer filament cost
The cost of 3D printing filaments varies widely, not only by material but also by supplier. As previously mentioned, PLA and ABS are by far the least expensive options but they both come with drawbacks in terms of their strength and durability (for PLA) or ease of printing (for ABS). In most cases, relative cost will likely be determined by the priority of the other factors on this list (i.e., how much you’re willing to spend in order to achieve your targets for strength, durability or flexibility) in combination with the number of parts needed.
3D printer filament ease of printing
Compared to other 3D printing processes, material extrusion is relatively user friendly, which partly explains why desktop FDM/FFF machines are by far the most common in the consumer space. Nevertheless, some materials are much easier to 3D print than others, with PLA being the obvious favorite of amateurs. The reasons for this are indicative of the features to look for when evaluating how difficult a particular material is to 3D print: PLA has a relatively low printing temperature, good bed adhesion, and it’s generally resistant to warping. Generally speaking, the better a material’s mechanical properties, (i.e., its strength and durability), the harder it is to 3D print.
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