3D Printing / Materials

Pick the material like you have printed for years.

Every material has a personality — what it is strong at, where it fails, and when it is worth the extra dollars. Here is the straight version, plus all 3 colours we stock right now.

PLA+

The everyday all-rounder

On request

Crisp detail, huge colour range and a lovely surface finish. Our default recommendation for display pieces, prototypes, organisers and most indoor parts.

Detail
Strength
Heat
Flexibility

Reach for it when you want

  • Display pieces & gifts
  • Prototypes & fit checks
  • Organisers and brackets indoors

Skip it for: Hot cars and dishwashers — it softens around 60 °C.

PETG

Tough and weather-happy

In stock

A tougher, more weather-resistant material for functional parts.

Detail
Strength
Heat
Flexibility

Reach for it when you want

  • Outdoor parts & garden fittings
  • Enclosures and functional clips
  • Parts that take knocks

Skip it for: Ultra-fine miniatures — PLA+ resolves crisper detail.

3 colours in stock

BlackWhiteClear

TPU (flexible)

Bends, bounces, grips

On request

A rubber-like material for parts that need to squash, flex or grip — phone bumpers, gaskets, feet, straps and vibration dampeners.

Detail
Strength
Heat
Flexibility

Reach for it when you want

  • Gaskets, seals and feet
  • Protective bumpers & cases
  • Straps and grips

Skip it for: Rigid structural parts — it is deliberately soft.

ABS / ASA

Heat-hardened workhorse

On request

The engineering choice for parts that live near heat or sun — car interiors, tool jigs, mechanical parts. ASA adds serious UV resistance for permanent outdoor duty.

Detail
Strength
Heat
Flexibility

Reach for it when you want

  • Automotive & EV accessories
  • Jigs, fixtures and tool parts
  • Permanent outdoor fixtures (ASA)

Skip it for: Large flat plates — the material likes to warp; talk to us first.

Material questions

Which material should I pick if I am not sure?

PLA+ for anything decorative or indoor, PETG for anything functional or outdoor. Those two cover the vast majority of jobs — and the quote tool lets you flick between materials to compare prices instantly.

Are your prints food safe?

Materials flagged food-safe are printed with that in mind, but FDM printing leaves microscopic layer grooves that can harbour bacteria — treat prints as food-contact-occasional (cookie cutters, dry goods) rather than daily-use tableware.

Can you get a colour you do not stock?

Often, yes. Contact us with the colour and material and we can usually order it in for your job — small lead time, no drama.

What layer height do you print at?

Most parts print at 0.2 mm layers — the sweet spot of strength, finish and price. Fine-detail pieces are printed finer where the model benefits; we make that call during the pre-print check.

Still torn between two?

Upload your part and flick between materials in the quote tool — the price updates live, so comparing costs nothing.

Open the quote tool