Quick Guide to FDM 3D Printer Filament
3D printers get all of the credit for the amazing technology that it is, but they have a sidekick that stays behind the limelight. One that makes FDM 3D printing possible. You guessed it, that sidekick is 3D printer filament.
3D printer filament deserves more attention I think. When you were first searching for 3D printers, did you even consider filament? I sure didn’t, and it ended up being one of the I research the most between prints.
This article is a quick overview of the many types of 3D printer filaments so you can acquire some basic knowledge of 3D printer filaments.
What is 3D Printer Filament?
3D printer filament is what FDM 3D printers use to create 3D models. The filament is a very long wire, typically made from plastic.
The wires are wound onto a spool and the spool goes next to the 3D printer, free to rotate as the filament is pulled from it into an extruder.
The filament is heated to its melting point and then deposited in layers to create a 3D object.
3D printer filament is used in FDM 3D printers but not SLA or SLS.
3D Printer Filament Types
Most people think that only plastic is used but food, metal, and organic materials are all being used for 3D printing as well.
But unless you specifically need something made out of those materials for your project, you’re going to use plastic 90% of the time.
In this guide, we’re splitting filaments into two different categories: plastics, and non-plastics.
Plastics
Plastic is what you’re going to be 3D printing with 90% of the time. Plastics are great to use because they are cheap and every 3D printer can print plastic due to their properties.
One of the best properties of plastic is its low melting point, and how it quickly hardens when it cools. It’s mesmerizing to watch the filament turn into a liquid then quickly solidify. It’s much better than watching paint dry,
The two most commonly used plastics in 3D printing is ABS and PLA. I’ll talk more about these plastics later.
Non-Plastic & Composites
Metals
Only some 3d printers are capable of extruding metal filament. If you have one of these, you’re either working in a high-tech facility, or you also drive a Ferrari and eat caviar every night. If you’re the latter, good for you!
I’m not kidding, 3D printers that print metal are very expensive! For the rest of us, we won’t likely be owning a metal printing 3D printer anytime soon.
Exotic/Organic
Now it gets exciting. In the exotic corner, we have organics, conductive, flexible, glow in the dark, and anything else you’d like! Well, almost anything.
Most specialty materials are made by combining plastics with other bits and pieces of other materials to create cool properties that boring ol’ plastic couldn’t possibly achieve
Personally, I’ve always wanted a chocolate 3D printer. Imagine experimenting with all of the cool ways to eat chocolate. Why are most brands still just making chocolate bars anyway? Why not chocolate spirals? Or chocolate Eiffel towers? I digress…
List of The Most Popular 3D Printer Filaments
Here’s a list of common materials that you can 3D print, along with a quick summary of their properties:
| Material | Type | Properties |
| ABS | Plastic | Durable, impact-resistant, unpleasant fumes |
| PLA | Plastic | Easy to print, biodegradable, low flexibility |
| Nylon | Plastic | Flexible, strong, durable |
| PETG | Plastic | Durable, easy to print, recyclable |
| TPE | Plastic | Extremely flexible, low strength, hard to print |
| PVA | Plastic | Dissolvable, support structures in combination with other plastics |
| Wood | Organic | Wood-like finish, composite |
| Sandstone | Ceramic | Sandstone-like finish, light-weight, expensive |
| Copper | Metal | Heavy, conductive, expensive |
| Aluminum | Metal | Looks awesome, still expensive |
You can find a more detailed table of all printable materials on Wikipedia.
Plastic 3D Printer Filaments
There are many different types of plastic 3D printer filaments that you can use, but ABS and PLA are by far used the most. Let’s compare them.
PLA
PLA is an abbreviation for polylactic acid. Don’t worry, it’s not the kind of acid that burns you when you touch it, and it’s completely solid.
PLA is widely used for its affordability, simplicity, and all-around good properties. It’s handy for the types of projects 3D printers are mainly used for. Things like small decor, toys, and convenient items don’t require a lot of strength, making PLA one of the better options.
The filament is also made from plants, in turn making it less toxic than ABS and biodegradable. PLA is also food safe so it can be used for tupperware and cutlery.
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Pros
- Easy to use
- Biodegradable
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Cons
- Brittle – will snap when bent too much
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ABS
ABS is the second most popular 3D printer filament. It’s an abbreviation for Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene. I’ll wager that most plastic items you own are made out of ABS, as it’s the most used plastic in injection molding.
That’s because ABS has very high toughness, meaning it can be deformed a lot without breaking. Think about a large bottle of coke. You can bend and dent a bottle of coke a lot without it falling apart.
These properties make ABS better to use in some applications, however, it has some drawbacks compared to PLA.
Firstly, ABS is a bit harder to use than PLA, because it requires a higher temperature to melt and a heated bed to be 3D printed on. It’s also not biodegradable, and its fumes are toxic, meaning you may also need an enclosed 3D printer.
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Pros
- Tough
- Many applications
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Cons
- Harder to use than PLA
- Unpleasant toxic fumes
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Should I use ABS or PLA?
If this is your first time 3D printing or you have a budget 3D printer, I would suggest you get started with PLA. You will have a much easier time getting it to work properly, you’ll create less waste, and you don’t have to worry about safety from toxic fumes.
ABS would be your next step when you have a 3D printer with a heated bed, higher melting temperatures and your 3D printed products need toughness.
ABS and PLA are the best 3D printer filaments to use in my opinion because of their great properties, and they don’t break the bank. However, you can get way more creative with the following materials.
Flexible Plastics: TPE, TPU, & TPC, etc
This is where things get more exciting for me. ABS and PLA are cool and all, but being able to 3D print flexible stuff? That’s when things start getting really cool.
TPE (Thermoplastic elastomers), TPU (thermoplastic polyurethane), and TPC (thermoplastic copolyesters) are all flexible 3D printing filaments that have a rubber-like quality about them.
These materials are great for flexible applications or for shock-absorbing, resistance to tearing, or high-impact strength. However, flexible materials are so much harder to use because the settings they’re printed on are very specific.
TPE and TPU are the most commonly used flexible 3D printer filaments and have very similar properties, except that TPU is slightly harder and rigid than TPE.
PVA – Making Support Structures
PVA is another interesting 3D printing filament that has a very useful function. PVA stands for polyvinyl alcohol (not acetate when talking about filament).
Despite the name, the useful function of PVA is not in making a good cocktail. The ‘alcohol’ in PVA really just means that the compound contains hydrogen and oxygen atoms (hydroxyl).
The useful function that PVA provides is that it can be used to create support structures. These support structures will allow you to 3D print shapes that wouldn’t be possible without them. Things like bridges and large overhangs are possible with PVA.
PVA is soluble, so all you have to do is drop it in some water and it will quickly dissolve. Voila, all that’s left is your main item without the supports.
So that’s really handy but (there’s always a but), there are things to consider before you go out and get some PVA.
First of all, PVA is expensive due to its useful characteristics. Second, to be able to 3D print PVA with PLA or ABS, you need to use a dual extruder. A dual extruder exactly what it sounds like, a 3D printer with two extruding heads.
The only problem is that dual extruding 3D printers are not as commonly used and tend to be more expensive.
Non-Plastics & Composite 3D Printer Filaments
It seems as if the further we go down this list, the more expensive filaments become.
Composites are more expensive than any other filament due to the added materials and manufacturing processes they have to go through. They’re also much harder to use a may require high-quality 3D printers.
A composite material really just means that it contains 2 or more materials. This means that organic and metallic materials are combined with plastics to make unique 3D printing materials.
Metals
I think the capability of 3D printing metals is one of the coolest things about certain 3D printers. I can’t help but imagine home 3D printers in the future fabricating metallic structures in seconds. For a long time, metal was only for long, complex manufacturing processes, but 3D printing has revolutionized metalwork forever.
While the reality of metal 3D printing is quite close to that at the moment, it still excites me. However, as I mentioned earlier, metal 3D printers are very expensive, and the filament itself: very expensive.
Nevertheless, metallic filaments like bronze and aluminum, look amazing once they are polished (yes, you can actually polish metal filaments!). Filaments that contain a high percentage of metal result in 3D printed objects that can look like pure metal.
Organic/Ceramic
Organic and ceramic 3D printer filaments are usually composites, a mix of plastic, and something else that will make a desired change to the material.
Wood Filament
3D printing filament that contains wood is always a strange experience. The filament extrudes like any other but it looks exactly like wood but when it’s done. But of course, that’s because it’s made of at least 30% wood.
The best filaments are made with recycled wood chips combined with PLA, to make the filament completely biodegradable.
Food filament
I think we’ve all heard at some point that some places are actually 3D printing food, and when we did we thought “no way”. Well, it’s actually true.
3D printing food opens up many avenues for fancy food presentation and packaging convenience, but it’s unlikely that all of us will be 3D printing food anytime soon.
The reason is that you need special 3D printers and specialized filament and maybe even a restaurant. If you’re spending a whole day 3D printing a single pizza… what’s the point?
Nevertheless, a chocolate 3D printer is pretty high on my wish list.
Ceramics
Ceramics 3D printing filaments are made from naturally occurring materials. These are things like sands, stones, and concrete.
The applications for these types of materials are pretty limited and are sometimes just for aesthetics.
How Much Does 3D Printer Filament Cost?
You get what you pay for when it comes to buying 3D printer filament.
Passing up the cheaper brand of filament, and buying a more expensive brand may be worth the cost. Cheaper filaments around the $15 range are usually made with fillers, which may negatively impact the properties of other materials.
One of the biggest issues with cheap filament is the filament not depositing properly or not melting as it should, making the entire filament spool useless. Even worse, you might even have to replace the extruder if the filament gets jammed.
To save money, you should actually buy mid-price range filament. For ABS and PLA this is around $25. Flexibles filaments could be between $30-40 and specialty filaments $50+
Where Should I Buy 3D Printing Filament?
There are many reliable websites that sell 3D printer filament, and they’re only a google search away. Here are a few of my favorites to order from:
- Amazon
- Filaments.ca (for Canadians)
- 3D Printers Online Store
Final Thoughts…
Thanks for reading this far! I hope you enjoyed this quick guide to 3D printer filament and I hope you’ve learned something new.
I’ve only scratched the surface in this artic;e. Once you get to a higher level of 3D printing, you may need to start thinking about more factors such as a materials glass temperature and specific heating bed temperatures.
For now, take it easy, and happy 3D printing!