3D Printing Materials

PLA and ABS are the materials most often used in 3D printing. Among other materials you may find glass polyamide, epoxy resin, wax and even metals like titanium, silver and even steel.

ABS may be familiar to you as lego toys have it as one of the components. It is not heavy, solid, tough and resistant. ABS twirls up as it gets cooler, so you will need a warm printer bed. You will catch a smell of hot plastic while printing. You will find it useful for creating cutlery, tools and things that are meant to be warmed up.

PLA is made of corn starch and some more renewables. It’s absolutely harmless and biodegradable. It can be printable at lower temperatures than ABS, thus it’s safer. However, it’s no good for printing things that are to be heated, like coffee cups. ABS is ecologically friendly and almost scentless. But it’s not so solid and resistant as ABS. PLA is better for everyday use, whereas ABS is useful for more challenging tasks.

3D printer filament ABS vs PLA
3d printer filament ABS	3d printer filament PLA
Emit at 225c	Emit at 180 – 200c
Heated bed required	Heated bed is not necessary
No extra cooling required	It is cooled during printing
Sticks well to polyimide tape	Sticks well to various surfaces
Liable to spliting, delamination, distortion	Liable to curling at edges and overhangs
Pliable	Fragile
Smells like melting plastic while processing	No smell at all
Petroleum-based	Corn-based, harmless, ecologically friendly