| Material | Heat Deflection Temperature (°F, 65.3 PSI) | Tensile Strength (PSI) | Elongation at Break (%) | Flexural Strength (PSI) | IZOD Impact Strength (KJ/M2) | Material Cost | Ease of Sanding/ Finsishing | FDA Approved for Food Contact |
| PLA | 133° | 9,428 | 8 | 14,069 | 4 | • | sand and anneal surface. Can seal with clear sealant | |
| PLA+ | 250° | 8,702 | 29 | 12,618 | 7 | •• | sand and anneal surface. Can seal with clear sealant | FDA Approved Options and Dishwaser Safe Options |
| ABS | 172° | 6,237 | 22 | 9,573 | 19 | • | Acetone and/or sanding | |
| HIPS | 176° | 3,916 | 55 | 5,657 | 11 | • | sand and anneal surface. Can seal with clear sealant | |
| PETG | 147° | 7,107 | 228 | 9,863 | 8 | •• | sand and anneal surface. Can seal with clear sealant | FDA Approved Options |
| Wood-infused | 113° | 5,802 | 4 | 9,282 | 4 | ••• | sand and stain | |
| Bronze-infused | 126° | 9,573 | 16 | 10,435 | 4 | ••• | RockTumbler and/or sanding | |
| Copper-infused | 126° | 5,802 | 4 | 9,282 | 4 | ••• | RockTumbler and/or sanding | |
| PolyCarbonate | 199° | 8,267 | 160 | 11,603 | 48 | •••• | sand, can also anneal surface w/heatgun | |
| Flexible/TPU | 140° | 4,641 | 580 | 14,000 | N/A | ••• | Touchup with a low temp soldering iron | |
| Nylon | 419° | 5,188 | 186 | 14,845 | 17.5 | •••• | N/A | |
| Carbon Fiber/Nylon | 311° | 9,267 | 4.04 | 636,280 | ? | •••• | Engineering grade, potential replacement for aluminum | |
| Carbon Fiber/ABS | 180° | 5,221 | 2.38 | 518,509 | ? | •••• | | |
| Carbon Fiber/PETG | 150° | 8,049 | 2.51 | 714,746 | ? | •••• | | |
Disclaimer: This technical information is furnished without charge or obligation and accepted at the recipient’s sole risk. Information was provided by popular filament manufacturers and the Digital Lab, LLC has no claims to accuracy of data provided by these manufacturers. The information provided in this data corresponds to our knowledge on the subject at the date of its publication. This information may be subject to revision as new knowledge and experience becomes available. The data provided should not be used to establish specification limits or used alone as the basis of design; they are not intended to substitute for any testing you may need to conduct to determine for yourself the suitability of a specific material for your particular purposes. Since we cannot anticipate all variations in actual end-use conditions.
Definitions for the above chart:
| Material Property |
Definition |
Why does it matter? |
| Heat Deflection Temperature |
Temperature at which a sample deforms under a specified load. |
Indicates if a material is suitable for high temperature applications. |
| Tensile Strength |
Resistance of a material to breaking under tension. |
Fundamental property that shows the ultimate strength of a part. High tensile strength is important for structural, load bearing, mechanical, or statical parts. |
| Elongation |
Resistance of a material to breaking when stretched. |
Helps you compare flexible materials based on how much they can stretch. Also indicates if a material will deform first, or break suddenly. |
| Flexural Strength |
Resistance of a material to breaking when bent. |
Similar to tensile strength, but shows strength in bending mode. Also a good indicator if a material is isotropic (homogeneous). |
| IZOD Impact Testing |
An ASTM standard method of determining the impact resistance of materials. A pivoting arm is raised to a specific height (constant potential energy) and then released. The arm swings down hitting the sample, breaking the specimen. The energy absorbed by the sample is calculated from the height the arm swings to after hitting the sample. A notched sample is generally used to determine impact energy and notch sensitivity. |
It’s a standardized testing method. |
