One of the most critical parts of a successful 3D print is the correct material choice and through its careful consideration you will get the best result for the final component you had in mind.
Ultimaker has a wide range of 3D printing filament choices and because of this they produce some of the most versatile Fused Filament Fabrication (FFF) 3D printing machines currently on the market. But with all this variety it can be easy to become utterly filled with information as each filament has its own qualities, purposes and printing methods.
So I’m here to help! In this guide, we’ll explore:
- Material Types
- Material Comparison Chart
- Properties and Purposes of Ultimaker Materials
- Definitions
- Downloads – Technical Datasheets and Safety Datasheets
Each print has its own purpose, be it strength, flexibility, chemical resistance, protection against electrostatic discharge, flame retardant qualities, aesthetics or processing speed to name just a few. The value gained by taking the time to pause and consider your material choice is gigantic.
If you've got any questions, queries or things to add please let us know your thoughts!
Material Types
If you use one of these filament rolls discussed below you’ll be able to employ specific print profiles refined by Ultimaker. With the right material for the task and print profile in hand you’ll be ready to print in no time! Simply by choosing a few parameters in Ultimaker Cura (the open-source 3D printer slicing software for Ultimaker) all the other more complex values will be automatically configured to produce the highest quality results.
Listed below are all the Ultimaker filaments available:
- Ultimaker PLA
- Ultimaker Tough PLA
- Ultimaker ABS
- Ultimaker Nylon
- Ultimaker CPE
- Ultimaker CPE
- Ultimaker PC
- Ultimaker TPU 95A
- Ultimaker PP
- Ultimaker PVA
- Ultimaker Breakaway
There is also a number of 3rd party Ultimaker filament choices fully supported by Ultimaker with preloaded print profiles. Worth noting that Ultimaker’s open filament system lets you print with any 2.85 mm or 3mm filament and the print profiles can be configured to maximise your print success rates.
Material Comparison Chart
Below is a chart comparing some of the most crucial properties in relation to 3D printing applications for each of the specific Ultimaker 3mm filaments. All data is taken from 3D printed samples and the technical data sheets for all materials can be found in the Downloads section of the page.
Understanding the more complex properties displayed in the table can be found in the Definitions section of the page.
Properties and Purposes of Ultimaker Materials
Ultimaker PLA (Polylactic Acid)
Ultimaker PLA is a biodegradable polymer that is ideal for prototyping 3D models with pleasing surface finishes. It allows for a high resolution, gives a glossy finish and can be printed at low temperatures. It has a low shrinkage factor and if correctly annealed after printing the physical properties will increase (including its already high tensile strength). Over time PLA will lose its mechanical properties and depending on its operating environment it can become brittle over time. Also, the glass transition temperature of PLA is low comparatively, so PLA is best for lower temperature applications. Many colours are available.
- Glass Transition Temperature: 60 °C
- Melting Temperature: 155 °C
- Tensile Stress at Break: 45.6 MPa
- Impact Resistance: 5.1 kJ/m²
- Soluble to Water: No, but does so in Sodium Hydroxide
- Biodegradable: Yes
Ultimaker Tough PLA (Polylactic Acid)
Ultimaker PLA Tough is a more technical polylactic acid material with a toughness like ABS and greater than PLA. Ideally its for printing functional prototypes and tooling at a larger size. It can do high resolution and gives a more matte surface finish quality than normal PLA. It’s also less brittle than regular PLA and if correctly annealed after printing it will increase its tensile strength. It will be more reliable than ABS for larger prints with no delamination or warping.
- Glass Transition Temperature: 62 °C
- Melting Temperature: 150 °C
- Tensile Stress at Break: 37 MPa
- Impact Resistance: 9 kJ/m²
- Soluble to Water: No, but does so in Sodium Hydroxide
- Biodegradable: Yes
Ultimaker ABS (Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene)
Ultimaker ABS is one of the most common types of filament and as such is used by professionals for technical and mechanical purposes. It has excellent mechanical properties and can be used for objects that require both toughness and durability. When you think of ABS think of the rigidity of LEGO blocks. ABS, however, is more prone to warping due to uneven cooling of the print and this is when enclosures for the print space become a necessity. ABS will produce toxic fumes when melted thus requiring ventilation (a fume hood is a good option) and it is not a biodegradable material. Also, ABS reacts with Acetone in a way which allows you to glue components together and even achieve glossy smooth surface finishes. Many colours are available.
- Glass Transition Temperature: 90 °C
- Melting Temperature: 230 °C
- Tensile Stress at Break: 39 MPa
- Impact Resistance: 10.5 kJ/m²
- Soluble to Water: Yes, but it does so in Acetone
- Biodegradable: No
Ultimaker Nylon (Synthetic Polymer)
Ultimaker Nylon is one of the most established materials used in 3D printing. Components for printing tools, functional prototypes and final parts are all able to be produced from Nylon filament. Nylon has strength, high impact resistance and flexibility. However, as it has a low glass transition point and it won’t be good for high-temperature applications. Worth noting Nylon has a high abrasion resistance which gives completed components strong durability. This means for high friction applications this material would be a good choice (such as gears so long as speeds were low to keep the temperature down). Nylon also has a strong corrosion resistance from both alkalis and organic chemicals. Nylon filament is incredibly hygroscopic (it absorbs water from the air) so it is important not to leave filaments out in the open and to use desiccants. When printing with Nylon lay down a layer of UHU glue onto the bed to get the best adhesion possible. Also use a bed temperature of 75 degrees Celsius.
If you are going to produce numerous components on a glass build platform with a single print I recommend printing nylon with a raft. Also to gain the greatest bed adhesion when the rafts first layer is halfway complete go over the top with PVA glue getting inside all the cracks of the ladder and around the edges. The hardest part now will be taking Nylon off the bed (freezer and flushing the bed with water are your friends).
- Glass Transition Temperature: 50 °C
- Melting Temperature: 190 °C
- Tensile Stress at Break: 33.4 MPa
- Impact Resistance: 34.4 kJ/m²
- Soluble to Water: No but it will very slowly with Acetone
- Biodegradable: No
Ultimaker CPE materials are highly regarded for use in mechanical applications. It is employed to make tough, functional, dimensionally stable and chemically resistant prototypes. It has similar strength profile as ABS but greater tensile strength and a lower glass transition point. CPE, when melted, is odourless and emits very few ultrafine particles (UFPs) and very few volatile organic compounds (VOCs) whilst printing. Furthermore, it offers greater dimensional stability thus designs you print will be of higher accuracy to the original digital model. Many colours are available including transparent and CPE has great adhesion to PVA and breakaway. All Co-Polyester filament is incredibly hygroscopic (it absorbs water from the air) so it is important not to leave filaments out in the open and to use desiccants or else it will negatively affect prints.
CPE loves to string as a material so it is better for subjects where long continuous lines are laid down without much retraction (retraction mm value around 11 gets a good result). There are also Cura Settings to minimise the number of retractions that occur during a 3D print. More on retraction can be found in the articles Improving 3D Printed Models and Printing Perfect First Layers. Furthermore, these little strings blemishes can bunch up and if not managed correctly end up making little end up burning and leaving marks in the subject. However, when you get the settings just right you can make some stunning transparent objects which have very strong properties. Buffing as a potential post-processing procedure to make even better transparent results currently under investigation.
- Glass Transition Temperature: 82 °C
- Melting Temperature: 160 °C
- Tensile Stress at Break: 37.7 MPa
- Impact Resistance: 4 kJ/m²
- Soluble to Water: No
- Biodegradable: No
Ultimaker CPE filament material is used in applications where extremely rugged and dimensionally stable functional prototypes are desired. CPE properties differ from CPE via a higher temperature resistance and a higher impact resistance making for a tougher material. It would be worthwhile employing build plate adhesion sheets to ensure a strong connection with the 3D printing plate when using this material whilst keeping your glass plates intact. CPE has great adhesion to PVA and Breakaway Filament presenting the opportunity for high-quality dual-extrusion prints. It is odourless and has low levels of both UFPs and VOCs. There is a large range of colours including greyscale for that professional looking component.
CPE is infamous with taking holes and chunks out of glass build platforms. With the default settings for this material, it will adhere to the build platform incredibly well so well that when it cools down and shrinks it takes the glass with it. If the subject has a large base then this will cause the glass to shear off when you try to take the finished subject off. This has never caused a print to fail mid print in my experience but the second you try to take it off the build platform the glass comes along with it. As the glass is under compression and embedded in the object care is required to post-process the subject (as glass shards will want to jump off when removing them).
- Glass Transition Temperature: 100°C
- Melting Temperature: >160 °C
- Tensile Stress at Break: 33 MPa
- Impact Resistance: 6.2 kJ/m²
- Soluble to Water: No
- Biodegradable: No
Ultimaker PC is the perfect material to print moulds, tools, tooling, functional prototypes and even run short term manufacturing cycles. This is because of the material properties of PC as it is very strong, tough and retains dimensional stability when undergoing temperatures as high as 110°C. Transparent, black and white are the available colours and they all offer flame retardant characteristics. The challenge with printing materials with such a high-temperature resistance is ensuring temperature within the 3D printer space remains high. This is to ensure a strong connection between layers and thus using front enclosures or closing the glass doors to the print space is a must. PC filament is incredibly hygroscopic (it absorbs water from the air) so it is important not to leave filaments out in the open and to use desiccants.
- Glass Transition Temperature: 113 °C
- Melting Temperature: 155 °C
- Tensile Stress at Break: 76.4 MPa
- Impact Resistance: 4.1 kJ/m²
- Soluble to Water: No
- Biodegradable: No
Ultimaker TPU 95A (Thermoplastic Polyurethane)
Ultimaker TPU 95A is a perfect material choice when the desired component is required to display qualities like that of flexible rubber. TPU 95A has an elongation break of up to 580% of its original size whist effectively resisting normal wear and tear. This is because of its ability to withstand high impacts without deforming or breaking. However, TPU 95A won't function well when exposed to UV light, moisture or high temperatures for extended periods as both its glass transition temperature and UV resistance is low. It is resistant to many common industrial oils and chemicals.
- Glass Transition Temperature: 24 °C
- Melting Temperature: 220 °C
- Tensile Stress at Break: 39 MPa
- Impact Resistance: 34.4 kJ/m²
- Soluble to Water: No
- Biodegradable: No
Ultimaker Polypropylene is an immensely popular material worldwide with engineers and manufacturers. It is a great material to produce lightweight parts with high strength to weight ratio and smooth surface finishes. This is because PP has exceptional fatigue resistance, low density and high toughness. Furthermore, PP has a low friction coefficient, is semi-flexible (retaining its shape after torsion, bending or flexing) and is a transparent material. It also has good temperature, electrical and chemical resistance whilst being able to be recycled for a lower environmental impact when compared with other materials. It is no wonder PP is one of the most widely used polymers on the planet and an excellent choice for a large variety of 3D printed components. PP filament is hygroscopic absorbing the water from the air so it is important not to leave filaments out in the open and to use desiccants.
- Melting Temperature: 130 °C
- Yield Strength: 8.7 MPa
- Impact Resistance: 27.1 kJ/m²
- Soluble to Water: No
- Biodegradable: No
Ultimaker PVA (Poly-Vinyl Alcohol)
Ultimaker PVA isn’t typically used for printed objects due to its weaker properties but it is a perfect material choice if removable support structures are required. This material is best implemented in a print when using a dual-extrusion capable 3D printer. PVA is biodegradable and most crucially it is dissolvable in water. This means you can support your prints in ways that would be impossible or too time-consuming to pull off manually. This expands the capabilities of your 3D prints allowing for large overhangs and intricate internal geometries. Using warm water and regular stirring will increase the PVA's speed of dissolving. It is important however to keep PVA moisture free by keeping it within a sealed bag with silica gel or else the material will lose its effectiveness. The material will feel soft and sticky if it has absorbed too much moisture, but it is a reversible process. For more on material compatibility, I would recommend viewing the Ultimaker Dual-Extrusion 3D Printing Guide.
- Melting Temperature: 163 °C
- Soluble to Water: Yes
- Biodegradable: Yes
Ultimaker Breakaway (also known as BAM) is another material which isn’t typically used for printed objects due to its weaker properties but is an excellent material choice for removable support structures. Unlike PVA this material is not soluble to water making it ideal for use with build materials that could be sensitive to water. Breakaway provides good adhesion to ABS, Nylon, PLA, Tough PLA, CPE and CPE . It is quick and easy to remove and offers a much longer shelf life than PVA as it has a significantly lower moisture absorption rate. For more on material compatibility, I would recommend viewing the Ultimaker Dual-Extrusion 3D Printing Guide.
- Melting Temperature: 159 °C
- Soluble to Water: No
- Biodegradable: No
Definitions
Tensile Strength (TS) at Break measures the maximum stress a plastic specimen can withstand while being stretched before breaking.
Yield Strength is the stress at which a specific amount of plastic deformation is produced usually taken as 0.2% of the unstressed length.
Impact Resistance is found via Izod Impact Strength Notched at 23 Degrees Test. It is the energy required to break the sample in two or more pieces.
Elongation at Break, also known as fracture strain or tensile elongation at break, is the ratio between increased length and initial length after breakage of the tested specimen at a controlled temperature. It is related to the ability of a plastic specimen to resist changes of shape without cracking.
Glass Transition Temperature is the temperature range where a thermosetting polymer changes from a hard, rigid or glassy state to a more pliable, compliant or ‘Rubbery’ State. Shouldn’t be confused with Melting Point Temperature.
Melt Mass-Flow Rate is a one number indication of the viscosity of a polymer in the melt phase. It is defined as the mass of polymer in grams flowing per 10 minutes through a capillary of specific diameter and length by a pressure applied via a range of standard weights at a specified temperature.
Ultrafine Particles (UFPs) are a particulate matter of nanoscale size (less than 0.1 μm or 100 nm in diameter). Owing to their numerous quantity and ability to penetrate deep within the lung, UFPs are a concern for respiratory exposure and health.
Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) are a group of carbon-based chemicals that easily evaporate at room temperature. Breathing low levels of VOCs for long periods of time may increase some people’s risk of health problems.
