Choosing the right filament
Weigh strength, heat, flexibility and ease for PLA, PETG, ABS, ASA, TPU and nylon-carbon, then test yourself on real scenarios.
Build your requirements
Slide each need from not important to critical. The ranking updates live.
Set how much each property matters for your part.
Material profiles
Tap a material for print settings, what it suits and what to watch.
- Nozzle
- 190–220 °C
- Bed
- 50–60 °C
- Enclosure
- Optional
- Drying
- 45–50 °C, 4–6 h
Best for
Prototypes, display models, toys, anything indoors that never gets hot.Watch out
Softens around 55–60 °C. A PLA part left in a car in summer will warp.Real filament and real prints
Photos of a printed part and of how filament is made.
Dry and store your filament
Most filaments absorb moisture from the air, and wet filament prints badly. Tick the habits you follow.
Check yourself
Pick an answer for each question.
1. A phone holder for a dashboard in a hot summer car. Which filament?
2. You want a soft, bendy phone case. Which filament fits?
3. Your PETG roll prints with bubbles and a crackling sound. What is the likely cause?
4. Why do you need a hardened nozzle for PA-CF?
Sources (7)
- Materials guide · Prusa Knowledge Base
- Dry filament · Bambu Lab Wiki
- Sealed box for filament storage · Bambu Lab Wiki
- FDM materials · University of Maryland, Dozuki
- First PETG 3D FLM Printed Pulley Shaft Design.jpg (newman72, CC BY 2.0) · Wikimedia Commons
- MakerBot Manufacturing.jpg (Steve Jurvetson, CC BY 2.0) · Wikimedia Commons
- Crossed filiment.jpg (SuperBlobMonster, CC BY-SA 3.0) · Wikimedia Commons
Figures such as temperatures and drying times are typical ranges. Always check the label on your own spool and your printer manufacturer's guidance.