This article will help you select the best material for your 3D printing needs, ensuring that you achieve the desired outcome.
Regardless of your level of experience with additive manufacturing, this article will best inform you of our 3D printing materials. We will cover the best choices for versatility, flexibility, stiffness, detail, durability, and heat deflection.
After reading this, the ideal outcome is to know what materials we offer and understand the various use cases and applications. Understanding our 3D printing service's material offering will help you and your designers make better decisions when collaborating with us.
So, let's get started!
Our 3D Printing Materials
The following materials are carefully selected to offer a range of working properties and characteristics. Our materials are validated and tested to ensure consistent, high-quality results for our customers.
| Material | Technology | Brand Name |
|---|---|---|
| PA12 Nylon | SLS | 3D Systems DuraForm ProX PA |
| PLA | FDM | ColorFabb PLA Economy |
| TPU | FDM | NinjaTek Cheetah |
| Onyx + Carbon Fiber |
FDM/CFF | Markforged Onyx Markforged Carbon Fiber |
Versatile - PA12 Nylon (SLS)
PA12 Nylon is our most Durable Material with a wide range of finishing options.
PA12 Nylon (SLS), also known as PA2200, offers a supreme balance between detail, stiffness, flexibility, and strength. Therefore, this material is suitable for a variety of purposes. SLS Nylon is the industry-leading material in the world of plastic 3D printing.
PA12 Nylon is suited for producing machine parts, electronics casings, fixtures, fittings, jigs, brackets, connectors, spacers, nozzles, and many other categories. PA12 material is a top choice for specialist original equipment manufacturers (OEMs).
SLS 3D printing with PA12 Nylon represents a competitive approach, capable of outperforming injection moulding for short production runs of small parts. The material enables the creation of complex geometries with both rigid and flexible features. Therefore it's possible to create a product with flexible living hinges and robust, rigid casings within a single part. The material's surface has a grainy texture that can be smoothed using finishing techniques such as Vibro-polishing or poly surfacing.
In addition to the mechanical properties, PA12 also showcases a good level of chemical and UV resistance.
At 3D People, we use the brand Duraform ProX PA12 Nylon with 3D System's industry-leading machinery.
| Material Properties | Duraform ProX PA12 Nylon | |
|---|---|---|
| Process | Selective Laser Sintering (SLS) | |
| Sintered Part Density (g/cm³) | 0.95 | |
| Flexural Modulus (MPa) | 1650 | |
| Flexural Strength (MPa) | 63 | |
| Tensile Modulus (MPa) | 1770 | |
| Tensile Strength (MPa) | 47 | |
| Elongation at Break (%) | 22% | |
| Impact Strength (KJ/m²) | Notched Izod 23°C | 4.4 |
| Unnotched Izod 23°C | 53 | |
| Heat Deflection Temperature (°C) | @ 0.45 MPa | 182 |
| @ 1.82 MPa | 97 | |
| Flammability | HB | |
| Hardness | 73D | |
| Colour | White (can be dyed black) | |
www.3dpeople.uk offers a free vibro-polishing service for SLS orders.
Flexible & Durable - Flexible TPU (FDM)
Cheetah 95A is a Thermoplastic Polyurethane (TPU) material with properties between plastic and rubber. It's an extremely flexible, durable, and impact-resistant material used to create seals, plugs, hinges, sleeves, and snap-fit parts. TPU has excellent abrasion resistance as well as resistance to oils, freon, petroleum, and fuels. It is important to note that Cheetah 95A is not guaranteed to be watertight due to the FDM printing process.
The Cheetah flexible filament is one of the best industrial-grade TPU materials. Ninjatek materials are designed to be print-friendly, which results in a material that is printed fast without compromising the quality of the final part. As a result, we can reliably produce short batch production runs of flexible components.
TPU is available in black and white colours as standard; however, more colours are available upon request. The table below includes all manufacturer-provided technical specifications for the material.
| Material Properties | Ninjatek Cheetah 95A TPU | |
|---|---|---|
| Process | Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM) | |
| Density (g/cm³) | 1.22 | |
| Tensile Modulus (MPa) | 26 | |
| Tensile Strength (MPa) | Yield | 9 |
| Ultimate | 39 | |
| Elongation (%) | Yield | 55% |
| Break | 580% | |
| Impact Strength (KJ/m²) | Notched Izod 23°C | 19.1 |
| Heat Deflection Temperature (°C) | @ 0.45 MPa | 49 |
| Shore Hardness | 95A | |
| Colour | White, Black, Red, Blue, & Clear | |
Other flexible materials are:
NinjaFlex 85A - slightly softer material, available by email request
PA12 Nylon (SLS) - flexible for parts with a wall thickness is of 1mm
Stiff & Rigid - CFF Onyx + Carbon Fibre
Onyx is a chopped carbon fibre nylon composite. In addition to the standard Onyx material, CFF reinforces parts with continuous carbon fibre layers for high-performance applications. If you are looking for an expert-grade material, Onyx + Carbon Fibre is the choice for you. It has a 50% better strength-to-weight ratio and 3x the tension resistance compared to aluminium.
Yes, aluminium.
Here's a video that demonstrates the strength of Onyx + Carbon Fibre (Left) vs. Aluminum (Right) while they are holding 90kg of weights.
Onyx + Carbon Fibre is one of, if not the stiffest 3D printed polymer materials. However, it has design limitations due to the constraints of the FDM printing process. Because of this, the design of the part is critical for Onyx + Carbon Fibre parts. In many cases, parts printed PA12 Nylon (SLS) often outperform parts made with Onyx regarding strength.
All of these characteristics make Onyx + Carbon Fibre the best choice for a variety of products, including robotic arms, end-use parts, forming tools, jigs, and fixtures. For specialist applications where you require superior stiffness and minimal deflection, CFF Onyx Carbon Fibre is the correct choice.
| Material Properties | Carbon Fibre Reinforced Nylon (Onyx) | |
|---|---|---|
| Process | Continuous Fibre Fabrication (CFF) | |
| Density (g/cm³) | 1.4 | |
| Flexural Modulus (GPa) | 51 | |
| Flexural Strength (MPa) | 470 | |
| Tensile Modulus (GPa) | 54 | |
| Tensile Strength (MPa) | 700 | |
| Tensile Strain at Break (%) | 1.5% | |
| Impact Strength (KJ/m²) | Notched Izod 23°C | 96 |
| Heat Deflection Temperature (°C) | @ 0.45 MPa | 105 |
| Colour | Matte Black | |
Other stiff materials are:
PA12 Nylon creates stiff parts when the wall thickness is at least 5mm or more.
Temperature Resistant - SLS PA12 Nylon
The industry's specific term for temperature resistance is "Heat Deflection" which refers to the material's ability to carry a high-temperature load. PA12 Nylon (SLS) is best in class, capable of continually bearing a 66psi load without failure up to 182C.
After this temperature threshold, the material will soften and lose its form. However, plastic parts withstanding operating temperatures up to 182C ensure suitability for many high-temperature applications.
Because of its high-temperature resistance, SLS parts are often used for light fixtures and electronics casings or as a part of automotive designs.
As mentioned in the beginning, PA12 Nylon is one of the most attractive materials for product and part manufacturers because of its incredibly versatile properties.
Another temperature resistant material is CFF Markforged Onyx (66psi - 145C)
To Recap:
PA12 Nylon (SLS)
The most versatile and can perform well in all areas. It comes out on top for temperature resistance as well as strength and durability for more complex geometries.
Onyx + Carbon Fibre (FDM/CFF)
CFF creates rigid parts, with significant impact and tensile strength. It is limited by the FDM-like printing process, which means it is not suitable for complex geometries.
Cheetah 95A (FDM)
TPU is an extremely flexible material used to create a variety of different products. Its density and softness are in-between plastics and rubber.
To read more about the materials we print with, visit our materials index.
We hope this article has made it easier for you to compare the material properties and select the best material for your project.
If you have any questions, please reach out to one of our technical consultants using our contact form.
Please note that the respective product manufacturers have provided the mechanical property data in this article. All 3D Printed parts should be thoroughly tested by the relevant bodies to ensure they meet your application's standards.
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3D Printing Terminology | Glossary