All right guys, we're going to take a look at PLA now. Now PLA stands for polylactic acid and it actually refers to a compound that is made from sugarcane. There's a bunch of ways to make it but typically we see it made from sugarcane or cornstarch if you're in the USA. Now it's also biodegradable, so it's made from cornstarch, it's a renewable plastic that's biodegradable, which is really good. It's also one of the easiest filaments that you can print with because of how the properties of the filament, it doesn't warp, it doesn't have any really weird issues that pop up. So we usually see PLA being printed at about 190 to 230-degrees Celsius, which is really good because most 3D printers can handle those sort of temperatures quite easily. You also don't require a heated bed to print with PLA, although if you do have a heated bed, getting that one up to around 60-degrees can really help with your first layer adhesion. It's always good to know.

Now PLA is actually not soluble, it's not soluble in anything that you really be able to buy locally or anywhere, so that's not the worst thing but it is something to be mindful of if you were looking to smooth a print or something similar. Now PLA doesn't give off fumes when you print with it, well it does give off fumes but non-toxic fumes, so you won't be required to use a ventilation system, which might be a really good thing for say educators out there that want to be printing in a classroom or something like that. So if I was printing models with PLA, I would make sure that those models weren't being stored anywhere that was going to be hot, say anywhere over 40-45 degrees, the plastic will start to become soft so it wouldn't be the best use for any sort of models that are going to be undergoing any stresses or higher temperatures. I definitely air on the side of ABS for that one.

But if you're an educator, for example, looking to introduce people to the idea of 3D printing and you want something that is going to lower the barrier of entry for 3D printing, PLA is definitely your filament of choice. It's just a really easy to print filament. So that's my two cents on the whole matter. Grab PLA if you're a beginner, ABS you can also use as a beginner, but you've got to be aware of some of the issues that are to do with it.