PLA is a low cost plastic that is easy to print, fairly stiff, and has a resonable yield strength. PLA is often viewed as the de-facto entry level 3D printing material due to it’s user friendly print properties and lack of warp. The main disadvantages to PLA are that it is brittle and has a relatively low temperature resistance. PLA parts will often crack with a moderately hard impact and can soften to the point of failure in a hot car in the summer. PLA parts must be treated with some levels of care, and as a result are not ideal for many environments.

PLA tends to print very cleanly and is great for parts that will receive no post processing. However, it is a very hard plastic that is difficult to sand, meaning it is not an ideal option for parts that must be smoothed and painted.

We recommend using PLA for items that will not be exposed to temperatures above 50C (120F) or impulse loads where a short spike in force may be seen. Things like fitup prototypes, packaging, and certain low stress consumer items are good applications for this material.

PETG is a plastic that excels at layer adhesion. Where some other low cost plastics lose a lot of Z strength during the FDM 3D printing process, PETG is able to retain a sizeable portion of this strength. It has a reasonable tensile strength and stiffness, similar to ABS, and will elongate before failure to absorb moderate impacts.

PETG prints with a glossy surface finish, however surface defects are slightly more common than with PLA. This makes PETG a less ideal option for parts that need to have a clean appearance and finish, although PETG is very easy to sand and paint compared to PLA.

We recommend PETG for low cost parts that need more durability, Z strength, and temperature resistance than PLA. Things like assembly fixtures, staging trays, urethane molds, consumer products, and parts that need to be painted are ideal for PETG.

Our 95A TPU is the stiffest TPU that we offer. It is not as flexible as most people think of when we mention TPU, but it is extremely impact resistant, abrasion resistant, and tear resistant. This plastic is an excellent compromise between stiffness and strength, as it is able to hold it’s shape in most conditions while deforming to absorb an impact without any permanent damage.

Stiff TPU has a fairly smooth surface finish, but it struggles with overhangs and supports. Both overhangs and supports are possible, but will tend to produce a more rough surface than other materials. TPU is not able to be sanded, it will shred and leave a fuzzy surface behind.

We recommend 95A TPU for things like shock mounts, impact resistant electronics cases, robotic grippers, material handling interfaces, wheels, and liners for industrial equipment. More or less, any components that need to take a beating will do well with TPU.

ABS provides a good balance of all the main properties you would look for in a plastic. It has decent yield strength, stiffness, toughness, and temperature resistance, making it a good one size fits all plastic. ABS is one of the most popular plastics in the industrial world for good reason, it can be used almost anywhere. ABS struggles with chemical resistance, as acetone, fuel vapors, and a few other solvents can cause surface damage and structural issues with parts printed in this plastic.

ABS has a decent surface finish when 3D printed with little surface defects and a matte appearance. ABS is also sand-able and paint-able making it a good plastic choice for applications where post processing is needed. ABS can also be vapor smoothed with acetone, producing a glossy surface that looks almost injection molded at the price of dimensional stability and detail.

We recommend ABS for a wide variety of tooling, soft jaws, machine parts, consumer components, and more. If an application is not extremely demanding, chances are ABS will fit the bill.