Tougher, handles heat, water & sun.
Best for
Our everyday functional plastic: brackets, mounts, clips, enclosures, gears and anything that gets wet. Bends a little before it breaks.
What people make with it
- Brackets, mounts and hooks
- Enclosures and electronics cases
- Clips and snap-fits
- Gears and mechanical parts under moderate load
- Plant pots, water and aquarium parts (Heavy for underwater)
- Replacement parts for appliances and tools
Specs
- Softens at
- About 70 °C / 158 °F
- Impact
- Good: tough, bends before it breaks
- Water & moisture
- Excellent (choose Heavy for underwater parts)
- Outdoors
- Some sun is fine; ASA is better for long-term outdoor use
Typical values for this plastic, rounded. How strong a part is also depends on its shape and the strength you choose.
Good to know
- Slightly springy: a long, thin arm under a steady load can slowly sag (PET-CF is stiffer)
- Not for hot places such as engine bays
PETG or something else?
- PLAPLA is stiffer and cheaper, but brittle and softens around 55 °C.
- ASAASA handles years of sun and more heat; PETG is fine with some sun.
- PET-CFPET-CF is much stiffer and won't sag under a steady load, but snaps instead of bending.
- ABSABS takes about 20 °C more heat; PETG is easier to print big and handles water better.
Design tips
- Strong is a good default for working parts; choose Heavy for small, solid parts that take big loads, or anything that lives underwater.
- Prints large and long parts flat, at any size.
- Its slight give makes it a good choice for clips and snap-fits.
Not the right choice for
- Engine bays and other hot spots above about 70 °C (choose ABS, PC or PPA-GF)
- Long arms carrying weight for months: it can slowly sag (choose PET-CF)
- Years of direct sun (choose ASA)
Colors (31)
- Black
- White
- Gray
- Red
- Blue
- Yellow
- Green
- Orange
- Purple
- Pink
- Brown
- Beige
- Navy Blue
- Sky Blue
- Dark Green
- Lime
- Dark Gray
- Light Gray
- Gold
- Maroon
- Red Mud Brown · limited run
- Marble · Sparkle
- Peach · limited run
- Translucent Orange
- Gradient Blue-White · limited run
- Natural
- Clear
- Transparent Smoke Grey · limited run
- Dark Magic Elixir · Color-shift · limited run
- Clear Glitter Orange · Sparkle · limited run
- Ice Blue Gradient · limited run
Screen colors are a guide; the real plastic can look slightly different.
Strength options
Plastic parts aren’t solid inside. You choose how much plastic goes into each part:
- EconomyLightest, lowest cost
- BalancedEveryday strength
- StrongExtra walls & fill, for parts under load
- HeavyStrongest; dense enough to sink
Which one? Economy for models and fit checks, Balanced for everyday parts, Strong for parts under load (brackets, mounts, gears), Heavy for small solid parts that take big loads and for anything that lives underwater. More strength costs more: it uses more plastic and printer time.