Materials we work with
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️| Material Variant | Relative Strength / Rigidity | Heat Resistance / Heat Deflection (HDT) | Moisture Sensitivity / Stability | Impact Resistance / Toughness | Best Use Cases |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PLA | Moderate strength; rigid but brittle | Low (softens ~55-65°C) | Low moisture sensitivity | Low to moderate; brittle under stress |
Aesthetic parts, models, visualization, simple prototypes |
| ASA | Good strength; more impact resistance than PLA | Moderate-High; better UV stability and outdoor heat resistance than PLA or ABS somewhat | Moderate | Better toughness than PLA; less brittle outdoors | Outdoor parts, signs, housings, automotive externals |
| ABS | Good strength & impact; less stiff than fiber‐reinforced versions | Moderate to high; better than PLA; but UV/long-term outdoors degrades | Moderate | Good toughness; handles impact, some flex | Functional prototypes, housings, mechanical parts, workshop use |
| PETG | Similar or slightly better strength than ABS in many cases; more flex than stiff | Moderate; softens at temps above ~80-90°C depending on exact type | Moderate to high; hygroscopic to some extent | Better toughness than PLA; resists impact and bending | Functional parts, outdoor uses, containers, parts needing some flexibility |
| Nylon (base, “standard”) | High strength + high toughness; good fatigue resistance | High; depending on type (PA6, PA12 etc) can survive higher temps | Very high; tends to absorb moisture, which degrades performance | Excellent toughness; can flex and absorb shock well | Gears, mechanical parts, moving parts, wear surfaces, load bearing, etc. |
| PPA-CF (PPA + Carbon Fiber) | Very high strength and stiffness; carbon fibers + high-temp nylon base give excellent rigidity. E.g. Raise3D’s PPA CF has high rigidity & strength compared to many nylons. | Very high heat & creep resistance; high heat deflection. Some PPA CF variants: melting / nozzle temps ~290-310°C, high HDT. | Lower moisture absorption than many other nylons; still needs drying but better dimensional stability. | Moderate to high; brittle tends to increase with fiber content but toughness is still good if design and infill allow. | High performance parts: automotive, aerospace, industrial end-use; load bearing, structural, exposed to heat / wear / chemicals. |
| PPA-GF (PPA + Glass Fiber) | High stiffness & strength; a bit different behavior than CF (e.g. less conductive, less abrasive) | High; glass fiber helps with thermal distortion, improves heat deflection | Like CF variants, better than pure nylon in moisture behavior but still needs care | Somewhat more brittle than pure nylon (fiber reinforcement often trades off toughness vs rigidity) | Rigid structural parts, industrial tooling, parts where thermal stability & dimension are crucial but extreme abrasion less critical. |
| PET-CF (PET + Carbon Fiber) | High rigidity; significantly stiffer and stronger than PET or PETG alone in many cases. From Raise3D’s spec: PET CF can reach tensile strength over ~80 MPa and high modulus. | Moderate-to‐high; better than PETG in many cases; after annealing can stabilize heat resistance ~150°C for some PET CF materials. | Lower moisture absorption vs nylon; better dimensional stability; more forgiving. | Impact resistance tends to drop somewhat (fiber makes stiffer but can make brittle), but still decent. | Jigs, fixtures, strong structural parts, when stiffness + moderate heat + ease of printing are needed. |
| PETG-CF (PETG + Carbon Fiber) | Better strength & stiffness than PETG, but less than PET-CF or fiber reinforced nylons / PPAs in many cases. | Moderate heat resistance; still constrained by PETG’s nature; softens earlier than PET or PPA CF. | Moderate; requires drying perhaps; more stable than nylon in terms of moisture, but still some. | Similar to PETG: decent toughness; more stiffness, but more brittle than pure PETG. | Lightweight structural components, non-extreme mechanical parts, hobbyist use when you want extra stiffness without going full CF nylon. |
| ABS-CF (ABS + Carbon Fiber) | Increased stiffness and strength over ABS; CF improves rigidity but makes parts more brittle. | Higher heat resistance than ABS alone; somewhat better HDT, less sag under heat. | ABS absorbs less moisture than nylon, CF doesn’t worsen much here; relatively stable. | Toughness reduces some vs pure ABS; brittle failure more likely in some directions, layer adhesion can be weaker. | Parts needing ABS properties (impact, chemical resistance) + rigidity; e.g. chassis parts, machine frames, stiff brackets etc. |
| Nylon-CF (Nylon + Carbon Fiber) | Very high strength/rigidity; one of the strongest & stiffest in the FDM family when reinforced. But CF tends to reduce ductility. | High heat & creep resistance; very good at elevated temps vs many pure polymers. | High moisture sensitivity; drying is crucial; hygroscopic behavior can degrade mechanical and dimensional properties. | Good toughness; many still prefer nylon & CF for parts needing shock absorption + strength; but some brittleness in layer bonding can be issue. | Heavy duty functional parts, mechanical stress, load bearing, heat + wear + impact environments. |