Written by: Krizia Joy Rivera
Filaments are similar to USB cord made up of complete plastic rolled together. They are strands of material placed like an ink to a printer and released as a melted plastic to design the model you created. Take note that these filaments are only used for FDM (Fused Deposition Modeling) printers to process your model. To know more about this printer, check out this article – Get to Know the Types of 3D Printing for more information.
The best 3D printer filament is based on what purp oses you may need the object to use, so in order for you to understand, we will introduce a wide range of filaments composed of different quality and value. Let’s start choosing!
ABS (Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene) Filament
This type of filament is one of the most common and standard materials that hobbyists and professionals use to print their model. It is cheap and strong with great heat resistance. It is good for starters who want to try making 3D items like these cute phone cases!
PLA (Polylactic Acid) Filament
This type of filament is an eco-friendly, nontoxic, and safe material that is widely used in most cases because of its biodegradable substance made from cornstarch. It does not produce any foul smell which gives you an easy and safer option to print your models!
PETG (Polyethylene Terephthalate with added Glycol) Filament
This type of filament is another option for ABS and PLA if you want an extra layer of adhesion to make your 3D model more durable and impact resistant. It is perfect to print flower vases because your item won’t easily snap and break anymore!
TPU (Thermoplastic Polyurethane)
This type of filament is flexible enough that you can even squish and bend the model and still restore it from its original shape. They are elastic and bouncy with great resistance to impacts like a stress ball!
Nylon Filament
This type of filament is very tough, durable and heat resistant. It was considered as the most versatile printing material for FDM printers because they are high quality filaments that are not prone to scratches and friction that you can use as connectors to your tables!
Support Filament
This type of filament is composed of two types, called PVA (Polyvinyl Alcohol) and HIPS (High Impact Polystyrene). It is used as a support structure to your model that can be dissolved in water and chemical solvent as a removal process. It’s like magic gone in thin air!
Composite Filaments
These types of filaments are a combination of two elements that come with a higher percentage of PLA and any of the substances like wood, metal, glass, and nylon. It will let you create models identical to these materials that can be used in industrial and aesthetic functions!
PC (Polycarbonate) Filament
This type of filament is widely used by professionals because it can withstand high temperatures and strong impacts. They are transparent in finish and very strong to use in gears just like this iron man helmet!
ASA (Acrylonitrile Styrene Acrylate) Filament
This type of special filament is UV resistant! They are resistant to heat and scratching because they won’t crack easily under the sun. It has similar properties to ABS filament, but this material is more durable and expensive.
PEEK (Poly Ether Etherketone) Filament
This type of filament is used widely in the medical field and the aerospace because of its extremely strong plastic and thermal resistance. One thing to note is that they are very expensive, but even boiling water won’t damage your model!
Now, have you chosen what kind of filament do you need? Don’t worry because if you have any more questions unanswered, we can help you by messaging us through our pages to any inquiries regarding what you need to know about this topic. Shoot us a message and check out our website to know more about 3D printing!
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