Materials
We stock many plastic materials for 3D printing, and each offers unique qualities suited to specific projects. We help you choose the most appropriate.
PLA
PLA
PLA and PLA+are affordable and widely used 3D printing material, known for strength, fine detail, and excellent finish. However, it softens at a relatively low temperature of 55°C and can be somewhat brittle. PLA comes in an impressive range of vibrant colours of which we currently carry 24 (!).
PETG
PETG
PETG is tougher and less brittle than PLA, offering excellent durability for high-quality 3D prints. It has low shrinkage, strong chemical and water resistance, and can withstand temperatures up to 65°C, making it ideal for demanding outdoor and industrial applications. We offer PETG with Carbon Fibre for added stiffness and dimensional stability. We also offer PETG in Transparent form.
PCTG
PCTG
PCTG is a NEW material in the same polymer family as PETG. PCTG filament is an improvement on PETG due to its increased impact strength, high dimensional stability and low shrinkage. PCTG material has a heat resistance temperature of 76°C, as well as an excellent print surface and higher elasticity. Additional advantages include high chemical resistance.
FLEX
Flex
“FLEX” covers a range of materials including Thermoplastic PolyUrethane (TPU) and PolyEthylene (TPE).
This type of material is highly elastic and flexible, with strong chemical resistance, stretchability, low porosity and high strength. They come in a variety of grades distinguished by the amount of flexibility as measured on the SHORE scales. We offer grades 83A, 95A and 98A.
ABS ASA
ABS & ASA
ABS is tough, impact-resistant, abrasion-resistant, and can withstand high temperatures to 98C. It’s a good electrical insulator and resists corrosion. ASA shares many of ABS’s qualities and adds strong UV resistance, heat resistance to 93C, and greater strength and rigidity.
PP
Polypropylene
PP is durable, lightweight, and semi-flexible, making it ideal for creating prototypes with water-tight tolerances. It offers excellent fatigue resistance, high chemical resistance, and impressive heat resistance to 100C, making it perfect for demanding applications. We also offer PP with Glass Fibre, and PP with Carbon Fibre; both adding excellent dimensional stability and stiffness to PP’s other qualities.
PC
Polycarbonate
PC is one of the strongest 3D printing filaments, more durable and impact-resistant than ABS and Nylon. It has a 150°C tolerance, It maintains shape and precision during printing. It’s also more cost-effective than other high-performance materials. We also offer PC with Carbon Fibre, which adds resistance to warping, dimensional stability and stiffness to its qualities.
PA
Nylon (Polyamide)
Nylon is one of the oldest commonly used plastics. It offers flexibility, low friction and strength along with high temperature resistance. It has a broad range of uses.
We currently offer PA6 and PA11 with Carbon Fibre variants, along with special ultra low friction Essentium PA variant.
PA6 with Glass Fibre is also available.
SPECIAL
SPECIAL Purpose Materials
We also have materials designed to suit specialist projects. Let us know if any of these materials interest you for your project.
These include:
- ABS/PC; ABS alloyed with Polycarbonate to combine the characteristics of both.
- ABS/Kevlar: ABS infilled with Kevlar (aramid) fibres.
- Carbon Fibre: We offer Carbon Fibre filled variants of PETG, Nylon, Polypropylene and Polycarbonate plastics. The Carbon fibre improves temperature resistance, stiffness and dimensional stability of the plastic to which it is added and it also provides a matt BLACK finish that helps to hide layer lines.
- Glass Fibre: We offer Glass fibre filled variant of Polypropylene plastic. This provides similar benefits to carbon fibre, but is White in Colour. We also offer Nylon PA6 with Glass Fibre, which is Grey in colour.
- PHA: Polyhydroxyalkanoates (!) are biodegradable bioplastics produced by microorganisms, acting as carbon and energy reserves for the microbes. They are versatile, looking and functioning like conventional plastics but breaking down completely in natural environments, including marine conditions, without creating microplastics. In this regard it performs better than PLA. PHA can break down in River and Sea Water, Soil and natural environments, whereas PLA requires specific high temperature industrial composting facilities to decompose effectively.
- Recycled Materials We have both rPETG and rPLA available in a range of natural colours. We are proud to be able to offer the NZ Made KiwiFill range of filaments.
- Varioshore TPU: This plastic expands during printing to create a soft lightweight foam like material with adjustable density. It is designed to be used in the making of Prosthetic items.
- Fire Retarding PETG-V0. This is PETG enhanced with retardant additives to meet the UL 94 V0 standard. This material will extinguish a flame. It finds use in electronics projects and it is ideal for housings and insulating parts where fire safety is of concern.
- LW-PLA: This variant of PLA uses a foaming agent to make it lighter / less dense than regular PLA.
- Woodfill PLA: PLA filled with Wood fibres. The plastic takes on some characteristics of wood, including the color and odour of wood and the ability to be sanded and stained with wood dyes.
- Copperfill PLA: PLA filled with Copper metal powder. The plastic exposes copper particles on the surface that can be polished for a copper effect.
- Solubles: We have PVA and BVOH water soluble materials and HIPS that is soluble in D-Limonene. ABS and ASA are also soluble in Acetone. These materials find use as scaffold supports for other materials, but may also find use in specialised applications.
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