Compare Materials
We carry all the following materials to use on your project. Choose according to your required characteristics !
PLA is strong and prints with a really great level of detail. PLA is inexpensive and easy to print. It comes in a wide variety of colors and special effects such as Silk finish. In general, it has a gloss finish although matt is available for special order. Variants can be mixed with other materials such as Copper or Wood. The downside is that it’s not very resistant to higher temperatures - it starts to melt at 55C, and it is not very flexible : its brittle. Its not suitable for outdoors use. We carry 12 different colours of PLA in stock ready to print as well as Wood Filled and Copper Filled. PLA is highly suited to aesthetic projects having no specific need for high temp tolerance, outdoor use or engineering strength.
PETG is very popular because it is more resilient than PLA, while remaining inexpensive and easy to print. It has a higher melting point than PLA at 65C. It comes in a variety of colors. There are some variants that we have on hand, such as Carbon Fiber infusion, and a Fire Retardant version. We carry 12 different colors of PETG plus the PETG V0 variant and PETG-CF variant.
PCTG filament belongs to the same family of polyesters as the increasingly popular PET-G. Compared to its more popular counterpart, PCTG offers increased impact strength, temperature resistance and clarity, making it an excellent alternative to PET-G. This filament ensures high dimensional stability, while low shrinkage prevents the model from cracking. This makes it an easy-to-print material. PCTG shows:
high impact strength (up to 20 times greater than PET-G)
high chemical resistance
high optical transparency. Its available in both transparent and opaque versions in a range of colours.
easy to print – dimensional stability and low shrinkage
suitable for contact with food – BPA free
PCTG is new on the market, not readily available, therefore relatively expensive compared to PETG. We intend to stock this material in coming months. It will be a competitor to PMMA as it becomes more readily available.
ABS has been around a long time. It is a little bit tricky to print because it likes to warp due to temperature shrinkage. It starts to soften at around 80C. But it is nonetheless a popular material. ABS materials have improved in recent times, and they come in a variety of colours, of which we carry 4. It also has variants enriched with other materials such as MMA blend that improve the printability and engineering properties. Composite variants include ABS/PC and ABS/Kevlar, which we have in stock.
ABS/PC stands out as a material with low friction coefficient, and could be used in some engineering applications.
ASA is designed to be the “improved version” of ABS, but exhibits better UV resistance, mechanical properties and aesthetics than ABS. It begins to soften at around 82C. It is more flexible than ABS. We have ASA in 5 colours. This material is the first choice when there is a need to make something that lives outdoors in bright sunshine. Polycarbonate is the next choice (due to its higher cost).
Polypropylene is tough, flexible and has a good fatigue resistance making it ideal for low strength applications like living hinges, straps, leashes, etc. It begins to soften at around 82C. We carry Polypropylene in both Black and White. We favour it when the printing issues with Flex prove to be too great. The base polypropylene material is FDA approved for food contact, and the finished products are Dishwasher safe. However please note that no FDM printed product is truly “food safe” because the layer lines and tiny pores can harbour bacteria.
Flex is a general term, including both Thermoplastic PolyUrethane (TPU) and Thermoplastic Polyethylene (TPE). There are many varieties of Flex available, which vary by the amount of flexibility, as measures on the SHORE scale. We carry TPU 98A, TPU 95A, TPE 83A types. Flex begins to soften at around 74C (but it begins very soft already !) Flex tends to be difficult to print, because of its tendency to stick to itself strongly. It also stretches during printing. But if supports can be avoided by careful modeling, Flex will produce a strong and resilient part.
Nylon has been around for a very long time. It comes in several varieties that vary by the structure of the polymer that makes it up. Common types are PA6, PA11 and PA12. Carbon Fibre composites are also available.
Exceptional impact resistance and good strength.
Low friction coefficient. HTN variety is Excellent, as good as POM.
High abrasion resistance.
Thermal resistance (up to 120ºC). Addition of Carbon Fibre makes it even more temperature resistant.
Good resistance to oil and alkali.
Thermomechanical properties dependent on environmental humidity.
We carry Polymaker CoPA in Black and White, Prusament PA11 with CF, Essentium HTN
Polycarbonate excels in many areas. Polycarbonate (PC) is a high strength material intended for tough environments and engineering applications. It has extremely high heat deflection, and impact resistance. Polycarbonate also has a high temperature tolerance of 150° Celsius. It will maintain its structural integrity up to that temperature, making it suitable for use in high-temperature applications. It can also be bent without breaking and is often used in applications where some minor flexibility is required. We carry Polycarbonate in 4 colors and also carry the PC-CF composite variant with added Carbon Fibre giving it even higher heat tolerance and dimensional stability.
Soluble filaments are used to support other material prints whilst being printed. The material is dissolved away after printing leaving a good surface. A printer that is capable of handling multi-materials is required. There are several varieties, differing by their temperature range and the suitable solvent :
PVA: Water soluble, used for support of PLA prints.
PVB: Soluble in Alcohols - Ethanol, Isopropyl Alcohol
BVOH : Water soluble
HIPS: Soluble in D-Limonene (a popular cleaning product)
ABS and ASA: Soluble in Acetone
We carry all of these materials, and have a Multi Material unit installed on one of our printers.
PMMA is an engineering plastic that stands out for being a highly transparent, which makes it a good alternative to glass if, after printing, a post-processing process is carried out on the part. This is why it is often referred to as acrylic glass. PMMA has also many characteristics that make it superior to glass, such as 10 to 20 times higher impact resistance, some thermal and acoustic insulation, and high chemical resistance. For these reasons, PMMA is often used on aesthetic models, and in engineering cases where transparency is a desired property. We carry a small quantity of this material.