Compare 3D Printing Materials

ABS-Like Black is a durable material for general purpose prototyping. Its deep black colour and glossy, cosmetic up-facing surfaces offer the appearance of a moulded part. Part sidewalls and down-facing surfaces will have a matte finish. The material has good dimensional stability and moisture resistance.

ABS-Like Grey is a widely used, all-purpose material that provides flexibility relative to other SLA resins. It is an ideal stereolithography material for durability and heat tolerance. Parts built with ABS-Like Grey will have a look and feel similar to an injection-moulded part.

ABS-Like MicroFine™ material is available in opaque green colour. This ABS-like material has been custom formulated by DSM for micro-resolution stereolithography and is capable of producing features as small as 0.025mm.

ABS-Like Translucent/Clear offers a unique combination of low moisture absorption and near-colourless transparency. Custom finishing is required to achieve functional clarity. Its tensile strength and elongation at break are among the highest of 3D-printed, thermoset material.

ABS-Like White is a widely used, all-purpose material that provides flexibility relative to other SLA resins. It is an ideal stereolithography material for durability. Compared to the average value for injection-moulded ABS, it will have a slightly higher tensile strength but lower elongation at break. ABS-Like White’s heat deflection is the lowest of all SLA materials.

Ceramic-Like White (Advanced High Temp) combines superior high heat tolerance with strength and stiffness. A thermal post-cure can be used to further improve mechanical properties and its heat resistance, however, it will be more brittle.

PC-Like Advanced High Temp is best used for parts that need strength and stiffness combined with high temperature resistance. With a thermal post-cure, the part’s heat deflection can be improved even further, but at the expense of durability.

PA 11 Smooth Grey provides excellent ductility and temperature resistance without sacrificing tensile strength. It offers one of the highest elongation break thresholds in the nylon family.

PA 11 Vapour Smooth Black provides excellent ductility and temperature resistance without sacrificing tensile strength. It offers one of the highest elongation break thresholds in the nylon family.

PA 12 Flex Black is a black / anthracite nylon characterised by excellent flexibility and impact resistance. PA 12 Flex Black combines positives properties of PA12 and PP. Strength and stiffness is similar to PA 12. The elongation is comparable to that of unfilled PP. Its high durability makes it an excellent choice not only for prototyping, but also for end-use parts.

PA12- Carbon Filled Smooth Black is an anthracite grey nylon characterised by extreme stiffness and high temperature resistance, coupled with electric conductivity properties and light weight. It can be used for both functional prototypes and end-use parts. The carbon-fiber filler provides different mechanical properties based on the considered three axis direction. This material exhibits a good surface quality and smoother finish compared to other SLS nylons.

PA12-Glass Beads Smooth Grey is a 40% glass bead polyamide with excellent stiffness and dimensional stability. The material possesses higher thermal resistance than unfilled polyamides and exhibits excellent long-term wear resistance. Due to the glass additive, it has decreased impact and tensile strengths compared to other nylons.

PA 12 Smooth Light Grey is a high tensile strength nylon. Final parts are dyed black, and they exhibit quality surface finishes and slightly more isotropic mechanical properties when compared to SLS. When more detail is required, PA 12 can achieve smaller minimum feature resolution 0.5mm as compared to SLS materials 0.75mm. PA 12 Black is the best material option for designs that incorporate living hinges.

PA 12 Smooth White is an economical material choice for functional prototypes and end-use parts. It offers high impact and temperature resistance, is very durable, and remains stable under a range of environmental conditions. The nylon material exhibits a white finish with a slightly rougher surface texture compared to other nylons.

PA 12 Vapour Smooth White is an economical material choice for functional prototypes and end-use parts. It offers high impact and temperature resistance, is very durable, and remains stable under a range of environmental conditions. The nylon material exhibits a white finish with a slightly rougher surface texture compared to other nylons.

Aluminium (AlSi10Mg) is comparable to a 3000 series alloy that is used in casting and die casting processes. It has good strength-to-weight ratio, high temperature and corrosion resistance, and good fatigue, creep and rupture strength. Material property values below are measured after stress relief.

Cobalt-Chrome (Co28Cr6Mo) material is used in our DMLS process. It is a superalloy comprised primarily of cobalt and chromium, and is known for its high strength-to-weight ratio, excellent creep and corrosion resistance.

Inconel is a high strength, corrosion resistant nickel chromium superalloy ideal for parts that will experience extreme temperatures and mechanical loading. Final parts built in Inconel 718 receive stress relief application. Solution and aging per AMS 5663 is also available to increase tensile strength and hardness. Material property values below are measured after solution and aging heat treatment. Protolabs Europe also holds DNV Qualification of Manufacture Certification for this material.

Maraging Steel 1.2709 is a pre-alloyed ultra high strength steel in fine powder form. Its composition corresponds to US classification 18% Ni Maraging 300, European 1.2709 and German X3NiCoMoTi 18-9-5. This kind of steel is characterized by having very good mechanical properties, and being easily heat-treatable using a simple thermal age-hardening process to obtain.

Stainless steel 316L is a workhorse material used for manufacturing acid and corrosion resistant parts. Final parts built in 316L receive stress relief application. Material property values below are measured after stress relief.

Titanium (Ti6Al4V) is a workhorse alloy. The mechanical properties of Ti6Al4V are comparable to wrought titanium for tensile strength, elongation, and hardness. Final parts built in Ti6Al4V receive vacuum stress relief application. Material property values below are measured after stress relief.

Thermolabile silicone prototypes can be produced with the Protolabs 3D silicone print. The material 3DP silicone is used, which is available in Shore A hardnesses 35 and 65. The printed parts have a very good elasticity and have a milky-white appearance.

PolyJet provides the ability to choose a desired hardness or combine material properties into a single build, which makes it ideal for prototyping overmolding parts. Shore A hardnesses of 30A, 40A, 50A, 60A, 70A, 85A, 95A, and rigid are available in these colours: clear/translucent, white, and black.

This thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) combines rubber-like elasticity and elongation with good abrasion and impact resistance. It can be leveraged to produce both prototypes and functional parts.

True silicone is 100% pure silicone that is available in different shore-A hardness as detailed below. The material is suitable to produce both functional prototypes and end-use products, which can be used in a temperature range of -30°C to +180°C.

This thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) combines rubber-like elasticity and elongation with good abrasion and impact resistance. It has high chemical resistance to oil and grease, making it an ideal candidate for automotive applications. Furthermore, it possesses high UV resistance. This material has been specifically developed to optimise lattice structure designs and shows high accuracy and detail resolution. It can be leveraged to produce both prototypes and functional parts.

This thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) combines rubber-like elasticity and elongation with good abrasion and impact resistance. It has high chemical resistance to oil and grease, making it an ideal candidate for automotive applications. Furthermore, it possesses high UV resistance. This material has been specifically developed to optimise lattice structure designs and shows high accuracy and detail resolution. It can be leveraged to produce both prototypes and functional parts.