Filament Types
In the wonderful world of 3D Printing, there are so many amazing materials that the printer uses to craft incredible creations, each type of material coming with its own set of unique advantages and drawbacks. These materials are known as filament, and every single 3D Printer needs to use filament in order to print. All Filament is made of plastic some types of which you may have used before. Filament is fed throughout the printer and melted to make the incredible models 3D Printing can produce. However, there are different types of filament with different uses and their own positives and drawbacks. We are here to help you try to make sense of it all with multiple scales to show you just how good a filament is. Below you will find 3 profiles of common filaments that we think are a great fit for all projects.
3 rolls of filament, stacked on top of each other.
Printability: Printability is how easy it is to print a material (filament), based on the challenges encountered during printing, each changing with every filament type. In our list we have Beginner, Intermediate, and Expert. As you move up the scale, more potential problems are introduced and more careful action must be taken to get a successful print.
Strength: Strength defines how well the finished object, made of the given filament type, can resist the pressure of any weight bearing down on the printed item. All filament types are moderately strong when printed, but some are significantly stronger than others. Our scale for Strength is very similar to that of printability, with the finished objects being able to withstand more weight with each passing rank. From weakest to strongest, the classifications are as follows: Weak, Strong, or Very Strong.
Health Risk: This is the level of how detrimental printing a material could be to your health. This is definitely something you want to be aware of, because printing certain materials can be very dangerous and you can inhale dangerous particles. It is important to have the knowledge and take the proper precautions to protect your safety. But before you freak out, there are no filaments on this list that have any negative effect on your health, and they are all perfectly safe to print. Do not take this warning as a sign to not print, just a take it as a sign to be careful about which material you buy and where it can be printed. As you go further on in your 3D Printing journey, you will encounter materials that could potentially be toxic and you must be careful. On this list, we have three terms to refer to how safe it is to print a kind of filament. The first, and most common, is Safe which is where the filament can be printed on any open air printer with no special ventilation required. The second is Carefully, which is where we encourage you to do more research on the material and most likely print it in an enclosed printer. Finally we have Dangerous, which is certified to cause health problems and should only be printed on an enclosed printer with proper ventilation and a filter.
Other things to note: some filaments are hygroscopic, meaning they soak in water from the air, just like a sponge. The water they take can drastically effect how good the print looks also change the strength. Water soaked prints will have a spaghetti-like pile of strings in some places and may look like a mess. This is not a major problem with all filament types, but the only effective solution is drying your filament, which can be done in a filament dryer. This is not an essential piece of equipment, but it would be helpful to have after moving on from your first couple months of printing.
Finally, every filament type is an acronym for the chemical compound it represents, so it introduces a lot of ease as far as learning things go. To this extent, however, the chemical compound name is almost never used when referring to a filament, the acronym is all you really need to know. Hopefully the list below will help you tell which one is right for you to use for your project and what might be helpful!
To start out, three beginner filament types stand out, and for good reason. These are some of the best materials to make your creation a reality!
Top 3 Beginner Materials
PLA - THE STARTING POINT
+Printability: BEGINNER + Health Risk: SAFE - Strength: WEAK
Polylactic Acid (PLA) is the most common 3D Printing material, is a safe, cheap choice to start your 3D Printing journey. This filament is not excessively strong, but it is perfect for prints not requiring strong mechanical load or stress. It is a wonderful choice for fidget toys and other hilarious tchotchkes, and other fun prints! It is the ultimate beginner material and is not difficult to print at all, and comes in an unimaginable number of colors and even finishes such as glitter, or marble. This filament is not excessively hygroscopic, and does not typically regular drying. Additionally, as with all the filaments on this list, beginners will not have to worry about health concerns that come with more advanced filaments. This filament is safe to print at home even in open-air printers.
However, this filament can snap easily, and has been known to degrade in color in the sun. Also, due to the incredibly low melting point of the plastic, it has been known to melt in the sun.
But if you are just starting out 3D Printing, this filament is an amazing starter choice, and, in fact, I would recommend starting with this filament to learn the basics of filament management on a small, starter scale.
PETG - Stronger Step-UP
+Strength: Average + Health Risk: Safe + Printability: Beginner
Polyethylene Terephthalate Glycol, or PETG for short, is an excellent material to build up your 3D Printing knowledge after mastering PLA. PETG has a stronger impact and toughness resistance than PLA, making it an optimal choice for beginners who require just that extra bit of strength in their prints. In addition to being strong, PETG has a little bit of give as well. In fact, PETG is so strong, Prusa, one of the most famous 3D printer manufacturers uses it in all of the 3D printed parts for their printers! Finally, PETG also has a slightly higher melting point, making it better heat-resistant prints, but can still melt in excessive temperatures.
Fun Fact: PLA does not stick to PETG, so PETG is perfect to use when supporting PLA structures, or vice versa!
On the negative side, there are more difficulties involved with printing PETG which is why we do not typically recommend this type of filament as a starter material for beginners. It can be challenging to manage a multitude of problems that might come with printing this material, such as incredibly common problems related to filament melting and the finished output will look sloppy without proper calibration. It can also create problems with under extrusion. PETG is also very hygroscopic, and must be dried before use to achieve good print quality.
But altogether, this is a great material to use after just a few months of printing that is a stronger, more capable version of PLA, perfect for most intermediate users.
A potential fault that could come with printing PETG is stringing, as shown in the image.
TPU - GOOD FIRST FLEXIBLE
+FLEXIBLE: YES + HEALTH RISK: SAFE - PRINTABILITY: INTERMEDIATE
Thermoplastic Polyurethane, called TPU, is a great entry point to flexibles for most beginners! This incredible flexible material allows you to print objects that have highly increased amount of bend, even bending over on themselves in some cases! If printed with lots of infill, it can be an incredibly strong material, withstanding tons of force. If printed with lower infill, it can be a flexible super filament that can always bend, but will never break. This, is part of what is so special about TPU. It is one of the hardest materials to rip. Pulling apart a print made from TPU is challenging in ways you never thought possible, making it an excellent option for strong flexible prints like Wheels, which require lots of strength and traction. These factors make it an excellent material for printers with minimal experience to get into and enjoy creating with.
There are some negatives of TPU, however. This can be a difficult material to print, with problems such as stringing (shown above), bad overhangs and bridging all haunting this material. It can also stick to the build plate to an extent where it almost cannot be removed, and sometimes can cause other issues in the print. But the biggest drawbacks are the most crucial, with it not being compatible with any automated material switcher (at the date of this article’s creation), meaning TPU cannot be printed in multi-color or multi-material, without some additional effort from the user.
TPU is also very hygroscopic, and must be dried before use to achieve good print quality.
Finally, TPU requires a strong extruder to even be able to be printed due to the elusive, flexible nature of the material. See our articles on extruders for more info on that topic.
All in all, these are three amazing materials for beginners or novice printers that are great to use at the start of your 3D printing journey. They do not have any inherent health risks, are strong, and one is even flexible. These should be great options for beginners getting into the game to take advantage of for their first 3D Printing projects, with PLA being the optimal choice for most projects! Hope you enjoyed this deep dive into the three most common and most used beginner materials and that this information helps you on your way to 3D Printing greatness.