What is Multi Jet Fusion (MJF)? Explained by Hubs
Multi Jet Fusion (MJF) is a 3D printing process for building prototyping and end-use parts fast. This article explains how MJF works and its main advantages.
Read articleCompare the main FDM 3D printing plastics - PLA, ABS, PET, Nylon, TPU (Flexible) and PC - by material properties and find the best option for your application.
Choosing the right type of material to print a given object is becoming increasingly difficult, as the 3D Printing market sees the regular emergence of radically new materials. In FDM 3D Printing
, PLA and ABS have historically been the two main polymers used, but their initial dominance was mostly fortuitous, so there should not be any major roadblocks for other polymers to play a key role in the future of FDM.
We are now seeing new products become more popular, both pure polymers and composites. In this study, we focus on the main pure polymers that exist in the market today: PLA, ABS, PET, Nylon, TPU (Flexible) and PC. We sum up the key differences between their properties in snapshot profiles so that users can make a quick decision about the best polymer to use for their application.
Materials are usually graded along 3 categories: mechanical performance, visual quality, and process. In this case, we further break down these categories to paint a clearer picture of the polymer’s properties. The choice of material really depends on what the user wants to print, so we listed the key decision criteria needed to choose a material (other than cost and speed):
We also provide additional information that is not captured in the diagram, for one of two reasons:
Each material has been ranked along the following criteria on a 1 (low) to 5 (high) scale. These are relative grades for the FDM process - they would look quite different if other manufacturing technologies were taken into account. Using the data from Optimatter, the polymers have been ranked along the different criteria considered:
PLA is the easiest polymer to print and provides good visual quality. It is very rigid and actually quite strong, but is very brittle.
Pros | Cons |
---|---|
Biosourced, biodegradable | Low humidity resistance |
Odorless | Can't be glued easily |
Can be post-processed with sanding paper and painted with acrylics | |
Good UV resistance |
ABS is usually picked over PLA when higher temperature resistance and higher toughness is required.
Pros | Cons |
---|---|
Can be post-processed with acetone vapors for a glossy finish | UV sensitive |
Can be post-processed with sanding paper and painted with acrylics | Odor when printing |
Acetone can also be used as strong glue | Potentially high fume emissions |
Good abrasion resistance |
PET is a slightly softer polymer that is well rounded and possesses interesting additional properties with few major drawbacks.
Pros | Cons |
---|---|
Can come in contact with foods | Heavier than PLA and ABS |
High humidity resistance | |
High chemical resistance | |
Recyclable | |
Good abrasion resitance | |
Can be post-processes with sanding paper and painted with acrylics |
Nylon possesses great mechanical properties, and in particular, the best impact resistance for a non-flexible filament. Layer adhesion can be an issue, however.
Pros | Cons |
---|---|
Good chemical resistance | Absorbs moisture |
High strength | Potentially high fume emissions |
TPU is mostly used for flexible applications, but its very high impact resistance can open for other applications.
Pros | Cons |
---|---|
Good abrasion resistance | Difficult to post process |
Good resistance to oil and grease | Can't be glued easily |
PC is the strongest material of all, and can be an interesting alternative to ABS as the properties are quite similar.
Pros | Cons |
---|---|
Can be sterilized | UV sensitive |
Easy to post-process (sanding) |
Choosing the right polymer is critical to get the right properties for a 3D printed part, especially if the part has a functional use. This article will help users find the right material depending on the properties they need. However, material suppliers also often provide blends or add additives to modify the properties of the pure polymer (e.g. adding carbon fiber to make the material stiffer). We are not addressing these more complex formulations in this article, but you can find data on some of these products in our optimization tool at OptiMatter.
[1] Azimi et al, Emissions of Ultrafine Particles and Volatile Organic Compounds from Commercially Available Desktop Three-Dimensional Printers with Multiple Filaments, Environmental Science & Technology, 2016
A big thank you to 3D Matter for sharing this material research with our community.