3D Printing/Materials

Plastics

3D Printer materials come in a variety of colors and physical properties.

FFF 3D printers typically accept a filament of a certain diameter.

Some FFF 3D printers are modified to use pellets for ease of using recycled material.

PLA

PLA is a common 3D printing material. It's inexpensive and easy to use, making it a good choice as a starter material for beginners, and a general material for more advanced operators.

Compared to using ABS, a typical FFF printer using PLA should emit less particles.

ABS

A spool of ABS filament.

ABS is cheap and strong but needs the right environment to print well.

Compared to using PLA, a typical FFF printer using ABS should emit more particles. Ventilation should be used when printing ABS.

HIPS

HIPS is a good starting material due to its ease of use and because it is not expensive.

PETG

PETG prints are externally similar to ABS prints despite their different chemical makeup. PETG is less volatile than ABS, remaining stable under a wider range of printing environments.

PETG can't be directly printed on a glass bed. An intermediate material like tape must be used.

Nylon

A spool of nylon filament, with printed example object on top.

Nylon 3D prints are known for being somewhat flexible and durable.

Nylon can also be dyed to produce different color materials.

Nylon can be temperamental and difficult to work with.

Flexible

Flexible filaments are expensive to buy and temperamental to use, but gives prints unique properties, allowing them to deform slightly. These filaments tend to jam, and are best used on direct drive printers.

Ideal Support Materials

Support material is used to temporarily hold up objects while printing.

PVA

PVA is water soluble, so PVA material melts in water while leaving the primary plastic intact. This makes it ideal for support material when used in a dual extruder or a multi material printer, since supports can be dissolved instead of manually removed.

Composite Materials

Composite materials mix a printable material with a material that typically can't be printed, giving it unique properties, as well as unique challenges.

Composite Examples

• Magnetic Iron PLA - Can attract strong magnets and rust.
• Conductive PLA - Prints are electrically conductive and can carry small currents for simple electronics or to enable parts to trigger touchscreens.

Resins

SLA printers use liquid resin, instead of filaments.

These resins can usually be colored with dye.

Exotic Materials

3D printers geared towards directly printing in exotic materials exist.

It is often a better idea to try 3D printing a mold in a conventional material and then using that mold to make the end product.

3D printing food in particular has unique challenges, as the food must be printed in a way that avoids contamination and is safe to eat.

• Food
  • Chocolate
  • Pizza Ingredients (Dough, Sauce and Cheese)
• Metal
• Sandstone

• 
  3D printed jewelry.
• 
  3D printed cookies.
• 
  A 3D Printed sugar cube.

Material Storage

When possible FFF filaments should be kept in a drybox to avoid contamination of material from humidity and dust. If this is impractical, a dust filter can also be used on the filament feed.