When deciding which material is most suitable for your 3D printing application, many factors come into play:

• How difficult is it to print with?
• Is strength or appearance most important?
• Do your parts have many fine details or do they consist of simple geometry?
• Do the parts need to withstand specific environmental conditions, such as high temperatures?
• What post-processing is required or allowable?

In this guide, we will compare the three most common materials used for 3D printing with FDM technology: PLA, ABS, and PETG.

The following table compares the characteristics of each material for common application requirements.

You may eventually want to consider using specialty materials for specific applications. These materials include:

• TPU or Ninjaflex - flexible materials. Available in shore hardness of 80A and 90A for applications that require parts to flex or bend. These materials have a rubbery consistency.
• ASA - ABS-like material with superior UV resistance. Great for outdoor applications which will subject the parts to direct sunlight, and recommended for any outdoor use case.

If you are new to 3D printing, we recommend starting with PLA, since it is the most forgiving and is the least likely to have bed adhesion issues or warping issues. Once you are comfortable with PLA, experiment with other filaments to get a better idea how they compare. Like with most things in 3D printing, the best way to learn is to try things yourself once you’ve learned the basics.

None of these materials are impossible to print with, although some materials require special considerations and will benefit from printer upgrades. For example, flexible materials such as TPU are much easier to print on a 3D printer with a direct-drive extruder, and must be printed at slow speeds to prevent jams. Other materials, such as nylon, require the hot end to run at a very high temperature, and require an all-metal hotend to handle the heating requirements. Even ABS filament has some printing considerations—it benefits greatly from an enclosure around the printer to maintain ambient temperature during the printing process.

In contrast, PLA has no unusual printing requirements. Nearly all 3D printers are designed to print PLA as a base requirement, which means that you’ll easily be able to print it without any machine upgrades or settings adjustments. Importantly, the dimensions and tolerances of printed parts does not change with the material, so PLA can be a great way to print a proof-of-concept before switching to a specialized material for the final application.

Depending on the material you’re printing with, you’ll likely need to adjust the nozzle (hotend) temperature and may need to adjust other settings, such as the retraction speed. For more information on how to adjust these settings in your slicer software and what each setting does, please refer to our slicer software guide.