The Difference Between ABS and PLA for 3D Printing

This entry was posted on January 27, 2013 by Luke Chilson. You've got a 3D Printer, or you're looking to buy a 3D Printer and each one seems to indicate it prints in either ABS, PLA, or both. So you find yourself wanting to know, what is the difference between ABS and PLA. Some Common Ground There are many materials that are being explored for 3D Printing, however you will find that the two dominant plastics are ABS and PLA. Now while there are many thermoplastics, very few of them are currently used for 3D Printing. To pass all three tests, a material's properties must lend desirably to first, it's formation into the raw 3D Printer feedstock called Plastic Filament; second, process well during 3D Printing giving visually pleasing and physically accurate parts; and lastly, it's properties should match the intended application, whether that be strength, durability, gloss, you name it. Storage Smell ABS - While printing ABS, there is often a notable smell of hot plastic. Part Accuracy

MakerFarm Prusa i3 8″ Build | Xtreme CPU 10 Overall Score Ease of Maintenace:10/10 Very easy to build and setup Little time consuming to learn We’ve recently had the pleasure of purchasing and building a 3D printer. When I bought this unit I wanted the maximum build surface available. It took me about 2-3 days to set everything up from start to the finish. Page: Build instructions Printed Solid – Helping you make the future, one layer at a time. » colorFabb woodfill filament People who have experience in 3D Printing and other kinds of polymer processing will tell you that not all materials are the same. PLA from one source is not the same as PLA from another. Material, environment, and process conditions all make a big difference in the end product. That’s true for all filaments, but it’s even more significant with wood filaments. colorFabb woodfill is a new type of wood filament for 3D printing. The filament and printed object have good mechanical properties. Check out our testing of this material here. colorFabb has provided excellent informational resources for this material including profiles for Cura and Makerware here. Here is a video review from one of our favorite YouTubers:

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