The 3D Printing Materials Guide: Pros, Cons & Best Uses

All Materials at a Glance

Now the detail — what each material actually behaves like once your part is out in the real world.

PLA — The Display King

PLA (polylactic acid) is the most-used 3D printing material in the world, and it's what we print nearly all of our collector and display work in — usually a matte finish PLA, which hides layer lines and gives that clean, premium, "doesn't look 3D printed" look you see across our shop.

Pros

• The sharpest detail and cleanest surfaces of any everyday filament.
• Huge colour range with vivid, accurate colours — ideal for multi-colour printing.
• Dimensionally stable: corners stay square, large flat parts don't warp.
• Made from plant-based sources, and pleasant to print (no harsh fumes).

Cons

• Softens at low temperatures — a hot car or sunny windowsill can slowly warp it.
• Rigid rather than tough: a hard drop can crack thin features.
• Degrades outdoors with UV and weather exposure.

Use it for: figures, collectibles, display pieces, keychains, ornaments, prototypes, and anything where looks come first. Keep it indoors and away from heat — our care guide covers this in detail.

PETG — The Everyday Workhorse

PETG (polyethylene terephthalate glycol) is the same plastic family as drink bottles, and it sits right between PLA and the engineering materials: tougher and more heat-resistant than PLA while staying easy to print accurately. We compared the two head-to-head in PLA vs PETG.

Pros

• Tough with a little flex — it absorbs impacts that would crack PLA.
• Handles warm environments, moisture and everyday knocks well.
• Slightly glossy, translucent-capable finish; food-safe grades exist.

Cons

• Fine detail comes out slightly softer than PLA, with some stringing.
• Scratches more easily than harder plastics.
• Not as UV-stable as ASA for permanent outdoor use.

Use it for: brackets, clips, holders, containers, tool parts, car-interior pieces — functional parts that get handled, warmed or occasionally dropped.

ABS — The Classic Tough Plastic

ABS (acrylonitrile butadiene styrene) is the plastic LEGO bricks are made from. It was the original "strong" 3D printing material and still earns its place for mechanical parts that need to take heat and abuse.

Pros

• High impact strength and good heat resistance (fine around 90 °C).
• Machinable and sandable; can be vapour-smoothed to a glossy, injection-moulded look.

Cons

• Warps while printing without an enclosed printer — large parts are demanding.
• Produces unpleasant fumes during printing (needs ventilation).
• Fades and gets brittle in direct sun — that's ASA's job.

Use it for: replacement knobs and housings, automotive parts, jigs, enclosures — hard-working parts that live indoors or under a bonnet.

ASA — The Outdoor Specialist

ASA (acrylonitrile styrene acrylate) is essentially ABS re-engineered for the outdoors. It keeps the toughness and heat resistance but adds genuine UV stability, so parts don't chalk, fade or go brittle in the sun — which matters a lot under an Australian summer.

Pros

• The best UV and weather resistance of the common filaments.
• Tough and heat-resistant like ABS, with slightly better surface finish.

Cons

• Same demanding printing behaviour as ABS (enclosure, ventilation).
• Costs more than PLA or PETG, with a smaller colour range.

Use it for: garden fittings, outdoor mounts and brackets, letterbox and fence parts, car exterior pieces — anything that lives outside year-round.

TPU — The Flexible One

TPU (thermoplastic polyurethane) is a rubber-like flexible filament. Parts printed in TPU bend, squash, stretch and bounce back — and they're extremely hard to actually break.

Pros

• Flexible and springy, with excellent abrasion and impact resistance.
• Grips surfaces well — great for feet, seals, bumpers and protective parts.

Cons

• Prints slowly, and fine detail is limited by the soft material.
• Hard to get crisp sharp edges; small text and thin spikes don't work well.

Use it for: phone-case-style covers, gaskets and seals, vibration dampers, wheels and tyres for RC models, flexible hinges, protective bumpers and non-slip feet.

Nylon — The Engineer's Choice

Nylon (polyamide, often "PA12" or "PA6") is what you pick when a part has to survive repeated mechanical stress. It's tough, slippery and slightly flexible — the combination that makes gears, hinges and clips last.

Pros

• Outstanding fatigue resistance: living hinges and snap-fits keep working.
• Naturally low friction — ideal for gears, bushings and sliding parts.
• Strong and abrasion-resistant, especially carbon-fibre-filled variants.

Cons

• Absorbs moisture from the air, which affects both printing and finished parts.
• Difficult to print well; limited colours and a utilitarian finish.

Use it for: gears, threaded parts, load-bearing clips, tool bodies, drone frames and hard-wearing mechanical replacements.

Polycarbonate — Maximum Strength

PC (polycarbonate) is the strongest filament in common use — the same plastic family as safety glasses and riot shields. When a printed part genuinely must not fail under load or heat, PC is the answer.

Pros

• The highest strength and heat resistance of mainstream filaments (well past 100 °C).
• Rigid yet impact-resistant — takes both load and shock.

Cons

• The hardest of the lot to print: high temperatures, enclosure essential, prone to warping.
• Expensive, limited colours, and overkill for most everyday parts.

Use it for: structural brackets, high-heat enclosures, protective covers and parts where failure isn't an option.

Specialty PLAs: Silk, Wood, Glow & Carbon-Fibre

Beyond the standard spools, PLA comes in special-effect blends: silk PLA with a shiny metallic sheen, wood-filled PLA that can be sanded and stained, glow-in-the-dark, colour-shifting gradients, and carbon-fibre-filled blends that add stiffness and a matte technical finish. They all keep PLA's easy detail but inherit its heat limits — so treat them as display materials with extra personality, not engineering upgrades. These are the finishes behind a lot of our own work — silk, gradient and translucent blends turn up all through the shop and the Pokeball catalogue, so you can see exactly how each one looks in a finished piece before choosing one for your own print.

How We Choose at Formfinity

Our rule of thumb when quoting a custom print:

• It's for display or a gift → matte PLA, for the sharpest detail and colour.
• It gets used or handled hard → PETG, the durability upgrade that keeps a clean finish.
• It lives outside or near heat → ASA (or ABS indoors).
• It needs to bend or cushion → TPU.
• It's a gear, hinge or wear part → that's nylon or PC territory — describe the job and we'll tell you honestly what it needs, even if it's something we'd source rather than print in-house.

Deciding between the two most common options? Read the full PLA vs PETG comparison, see how materials play out in replacement parts, or browse finished pieces in our gallery.