Discover Your Perfect Filament
Welcome to our comprehensive Filament Overview! Here, you’ll find a curated list of all FDM 3D printing filaments we’ve meticulously documented. Each entry offers a brief description, highlighting its key characteristics and common uses. This is your starting point to quickly identify the right material for your project. For a deeper dive into specific physical, mechanical, and printability properties, simply click on the filament’s name to access its dedicated detail page.
Filament Categories
To make your search easier, we’ve grouped filaments into intuitive categories.
I. Standard & All-Purpose Filaments
These are the most commonly used materials, ideal for a wide range of everyday 3D printing tasks, from prototyping to decorative objects.
PLA (Polylactide)
Quick Look: An easy-to-print, biodegradable plastic with low warping. Perfect for beginners and decorative prints, though less durable and heat-resistant than other options.
PETG (Polyethylene Terephthalate Glycol-modified)
Quick Look: A popular all-rounder offering a great balance of ease of printing (like PLA) and durability/strength (closer to ABS). Known for good layer adhesion and a slightly glossy finish.
ASA (Acrylonitrile Styrene Acrylate)
Quick Look: A UV-resistant and weather-resistant alternative to ABS, ideal for outdoor applications. Offers high strength and good impact resistance, but requires a heated bed.
ABS (Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene)
Quick Look: A strong, tough, and heat-resistant material widely used for functional parts. Prone to warping and requires a heated bed and good ventilation.
PCTG (Polycyclohexylenedimethylene Terephthalate Glycol-modified)
Quick Look: An advanced copolyester, often seen as an upgrade to PETG. Offers superior impact strength, chemical resistance, and better printability with less stringing.
PET (Polyethylene Terephthalate)
Quick Look: The base material for plastic bottles. While strong and rigid, it’s rarely used as a pure 3D printing filament due to printability challenges; PETG is the modified, print-friendly version.
PS (Polystyrene)
Quick Look: A lightweight and rigid plastic, often used in its high-impact version (HIPS) as a dissolvable support material. Pure PS is less common for general printing due to its brittleness.
II. Flexible Filaments (TPE Family)
These materials offer varying degrees of elasticity and flexibility, suitable for parts that need to bend, stretch, or absorb impact.
TPU (Thermoplastic Polyurethane)
Quick Look: The most common flexible filament, known for high elasticity, excellent abrasion resistance, and good chemical stability. Can be challenging to print without a direct drive extruder.
TPE (Thermoplastic Elastomers)
Quick Look: An umbrella term for various flexible, rubber-like materials. Can range from very soft to semi-rigid, offering high stretchability and shock absorption.
Flex-PLA
Quick Look: PLA modified to be less brittle and more flexible than standard PLA. Easier to print than true TPEs but offers less elasticity.
EVA (Ethylene-Vinyl Acetate)
Quick Look: A very soft and rubbery material, known for its flexibility and good impact absorption. More challenging to print due to its extreme flexibility.
TPC (Thermoplastic Co-Polyester)
Quick Look: A flexible co-polyester that typically offers better chemical and UV resistance, as well as higher temperature tolerance, than many TPUs, while remaining elastic.
TPA (Thermoplastic Polyamide)
Quick Look: A flexible polyamide (nylon) variant, offering a good balance of flexibility and strength, especially in thin sections. Less common than TPU but useful for specific applications.
III. Technical & High-Performance Filaments
Designed for demanding applications requiring high strength, heat resistance, chemical resistance, or other specialized properties.
PA (Polyamide) / Nylon
Quick Look: A family of strong, tough, and abrasion-resistant engineering plastics. Known for good chemical resistance and excellent layer adhesion, but highly hygroscopic.
Sub-types: PA6, PA11, PA12, PA612, PAHT (High-Temperature Nylon), PPA (Polyphthalamide).
PC (Polycarbonate)
Quick Look: Extremely tough and impact-resistant, with high heat deflection temperatures. Often used for functional prototypes and strong engineering parts, but prone to warping and requires high print temperatures.
PP (Polypropylene)
Quick Look: Known for excellent chemical resistance, low density, and good fatigue resistance (ideal for living hinges). Very challenging to print due to severe warping and poor bed adhesion.
PPS (Polyphenylene Sulfide)
Quick Look: A high-performance polymer with extreme temperature resistance, exceptional chemical resistance (insoluble in most solvents), and inherent flame retardancy. Requires high-temp printers.
PEEK (Polyether Ether Ketone)
Quick Look: An ultra-high-performance polymer with outstanding mechanical properties, chemical resistance, and thermal stability (continuous use >250°C). Requires specialized industrial-grade printers.
PEKK (Polyether Ketone Ketone)
Quick Look: A close cousin to PEEK, offering similar extreme performance with slightly improved printability. Still requires advanced, high-temperature 3D printers.
PEI / ULTEM (Polyetherimide)
Quick Look: A high-performance amorphous thermoplastic with high heat resistance, excellent strength-to-weight ratio, and good flame retardancy. ULTEM is a brand name for PEI.
CPE (Co-Polyester)
Quick Look: A group of copolyesters (like Eastman Amphora™) often formulated for enhanced toughness, chemical resistance, and ease of printing compared to standard PETG.
PES / PESU (Polyethersulfone)
Quick Look: High-performance amorphous thermoplastics known for high heat resistance (up to ~180°C), good mechanical properties, and hydrolytic stability. Often transparent with a yellowish tint.
PSU (Polysulfone)
Quick Look: Another high-performance sulfone polymer, similar to PES but often with even higher thermal and chemical resistance. Excellent dimensional stability.
PPSU (Polyphenylsulfone)
Quick Look: The highest performing among the sulfone polymers, offering exceptional high-temperature performance (often over 200°C), superior toughness, and chemical resistance.
PVDF (Polyvinylidene Fluoride)
Quick Look: A high-performance fluoropolymer with excellent chemical resistance (even to strong acids/bases), UV stability, and good abrasion resistance.
PE (Polyethylene)
Quick Look: Includes HDPE (High-Density PE) and LDPE (Low-Density PE). Known for chemical inertness and flexibility (LDPE). Extremely challenging to print due to warping and adhesion issues.
IV. Composite & Specialty Filaments
These are base materials enhanced with additives or fillers to achieve specific aesthetic, functional, or mechanical properties.
PC/ABS Blends
Quick Look: A common alloy combining the strength and heat resistance of PC with the improved processability and lower warping of ABS.
Carbon Fiber (CF) Filled
Quick Look: Base polymers (e.g., Nylon-CF, PC-CF, PLA-CF) reinforced with chopped carbon fibers for significantly increased stiffness, strength, and dimensional stability. Requires hardened nozzles.
Glass Fiber (GF) Filled
Quick Look: Base polymers (e.g., Nylon-GF, PC-GF) reinforced with glass fibers to boost strength, stiffness, and impact resistance. Also requires hardened nozzles.
Wood Filled
Quick Look: Typically PLA blended with wood particles, creating prints with a wood-like appearance, texture, and smell. Can be sanded and stained.
Metal Filled
Quick Look: PLA or ABS infused with fine metal powders (e.g., bronze, copper, iron). Results in heavier prints with a metallic look and feel, often polishable.
Stone Filled
Quick Look: PLA containing mineral powders for a rough, stone-like texture and appearance (e.g., marble, granite).
Ceramic Filled
Quick Look: Filaments with ceramic particles, designed to mimic ceramic textures. Some types can even be sintered in a kiln after printing for true ceramic parts.
Glow-in-the-Dark
Quick Look: Contains phosphorescent pigments that absorb light and emit a glow in the dark. Typically PLA-based, but also available in other materials.
Electrically Conductive / ESD-Safe
Quick Look: Polymers (e.g., ABS, PETG) filled with conductive additives (carbon black, carbon nanotubes) to dissipate static electricity, protecting sensitive electronics.
Magnetic
Quick Look: Typically PLA infused with iron powder, making prints reactive to magnets (not actually magnetic themselves).
Multi-Color / Color Gradient
Quick Look: Filaments that change color along the spool, or co-extruded filaments with multiple colors in a single strand, creating unique visual effects.
Flame Retardant (FR)
Quick Look: Materials (e.g., FR-ABS, FR-PC) engineered to meet specific fire safety standards, crucial for applications where fire hazard is a concern.
Low Friction / Self-Lubricating
Quick Look: Filaments containing lubricating additives like PTFE (Teflon) or Molybdenum Disulfide (MoS2) to reduce friction and wear in moving parts.
Recycled (rPLA, rPETG, etc.)
Quick Look: Filaments made from recycled plastics, offering an environmentally friendly option. Properties can vary depending on the source material and recycling process.
Hydrophobic
Quick Look: Materials specially formulated to repel water and minimize moisture absorption, ideal for applications exposed to liquids.
Sterilizable
Quick Look: High-performance polymers (e.g., PEEK, PEI, PPSU) that maintain their properties after exposure to high-temperature sterilization methods like autoclaving, often used in medical fields.
Biocompatible / Medical Grade
Quick Look: Filaments certified for safe contact with the human body or use in medical devices, often used for prototypes of prosthetics, anatomical models, or surgical guides.
Antimicrobial
Quick Look: Contains additives (like silver ions) to inhibit the growth of bacteria and other microorganisms on the printed surface, useful for hygienic applications.
Thermally Conductive
Quick Look: Filaments infused with thermally conductive particles (e.g., boron nitride) to improve heat dissipation, suitable for heatsinks or electronic enclosures.
Electrically Insulating
Quick Look: While most plastics are insulators, these are specifically optimized for superior dielectric strength and electrical isolation, crucial for high-voltage applications.
Temperature / UV Color Change
Quick Look: Filaments that dynamically change color in response to temperature fluctuations or exposure to UV light, adding an interactive element to prints.
V. Support Materials
These are specialized filaments designed to create temporary support structures for complex geometries, which can then be easily removed.
HIPS (High Impact Polystyrene)
Quick Look: A dissolvable support material that pairs well with ABS, as it dissolves in Limonene, leaving a clean surface without damaging the ABS part.
PVA (Polyvinyl Alcohol)
Quick Look: A widely used water-soluble support material. Ideal for complex geometries and internal supports that would be difficult to remove mechanically. Highly hygroscopic.
BVOH (Butenediol Vinyl Alcohol Copolymer)
Quick Look: A water-soluble support material, often preferred over PVA for its improved printability, better adhesion to a wider range of build materials, and lower moisture sensitivity.
Breakaway Supports
Quick Look: Non-dissolvable support materials designed to be easily snapped or peeled away from the printed part without leaving significant residue. Offers mechanical removal for materials not compatible with soluble supports.