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Hi!

I can’t seem to find a clear answer to my question by Googling or on the pages on this site, so here goes:

I want to print a case (well, multiple cases) that will have a bottom and a lid which will be glued shut together. I need to print this in a material that is not too brittle, i.e. it will not break if someone were to drop it.

What material would be best for this, while keeping the costs as low as possible?

Thanks!

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Hey Thomas, it would be easier if you could describe the design a little more, but I guess general purpose plastics should do the trick (General purpose plastics). I guess you could go for ABS as my first guess.

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Hi Thomas,

By what you say above it seems that you would want to use either ABS or PLA plastics. A lot of people assume PLA to be “brittle” but in truth it isn’t, it simply doesn’t flex under load. If you drop a PLA print on the floor then it is unlikely to shatter and more likely to simply bounce and survive. ABS does have more flex and therefore is slightly more forgiving than PLA.

However, if you want something even stronger than PLA and ABS then you need to look at other plastics such as Nylon. However, these plastics can be more difficult to print with.

Hope this helps,

Cheers,

www.3dexfilament.co.uk

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Thanks for the explanation! I will go for ABS then, good to know that it will likely survive a drop(test).