3D printing materials — a plain-English guide
The right 3D printing materials depend on one question: where will your part live? Indoors on a shelf, outdoors in the Queensland sun, or doing a real mechanical job? Here’s how we choose, in the order we usually recommend.
How we choose
Not sure? Tell us how the part will be used — that’s the first question we ask on every job, and we’ll recommend the material, not just print whatever arrived. Black, white and a range of colours are in stock; almost any colour can be ordered in.
Where each material tends to go: PLA and PLA+ for display pieces and cosplay, PETG and ABS for functional prototypes, ASA for anything outdoors including large-format pieces, TPU for flexible parts. Every job is priced on print time and material — upload your files and we’ll quote it in the material that fits.
Two things every FDM material shares. First, layer lines: prints are built in 0.2 mm layers, so a fine texture is part of the process; for display pieces we can sand, prime and paint for a smoother finish. Second, moisture: ABS, ASA, PETG and TPU absorb water from Brisbane’s humid air, so we dry them in a heated box before every print — in wet weather that adds time to the job, and we’d rather tell you that than rush a weaker part.
PLA and PETG print at our standard rates; other materials add material weight and, for the fussier ones, a one-off setup fee for the extra handling — the prices page lists them.
PLA
PLA+
PETG
ASA
ABS
TPU
Need something more demanding?
Polycarbonate, carbon-fibre blends, nylon carbon-fibre and other engineering materials have their own page: see our engineering materials. They need drying, conditioning and extra handling, and we do that properly.
