The 3D Filament Tier List! Which Should YOU Use?



This episode is sponsored by Aura! Take your secrets off the market with 2 free weeks: https://aura.com/zackfreedman

Physical tier list STLs: https://than.gs/m/1030965?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=video&utm_campaign=zack_f
Based on the 3D Benchy Dry Dock Display Stand by 3D Print Burgas: https://makerworld.com/en/models/133067#profileId-144432

Make me read your silly name! https://patreon.com/zackfreedman
Tell me your deepest secrets*: https://discord.gg/voidstarlab

Filament Links (most give me affiliate bucks)
PLA: Protopasta https://bit.ly/3wVoJyM
Silk PLA: Inland https://amzn.to/4cs4cSP
Carbon Fiber PLA: Inland (sponsored) https://bit.ly/49PfHBH
Metal Filled PLA: Protopasta https://bit.ly/4aqHEka, https://bit.ly/3VerIMI, https://bit.ly/3VchzQL, https://bit.ly/49PfQVL, https://bit.ly/3VjOJ0K
Wood PLA: Protopasta https://amzn.to/4cfjk5F
“Tough” PLA: Inland (sponsored) https://amzn.to/48YKT05
Matte PLA: Polymaker https://amzn.to/43kB8bt
High-Speed PLA: Sunlu PLA Meta (sponsored) https://amzn.to/3T7PQOs
“Flex PLA” PCL: Thibra https://bit.ly/48SehoW (thanks Wren from the Discord for the historic Makerbot Flex PLA!)
PETG: Taulman https://bit.ly/3Vi1dGe
Carbon Fiber PETG: Prusa Prusament by Josef “Stop calling me Josef ‘Prusament from Prusa Research’ Prusa” Prusa of Prusa Research (sponsored) https://bit.ly/4chld1Y
PCTG: 3DFuel https://amzn.to/3T98jKk
PET: Fusion https://bit.ly/4abjMQv
CF PET: Bambu Labs (sponsored) https://bit.ly/3TxIGoa
PVB: PolyMaker https://bit.ly/3TiWwJP
ABS: Gizmo Dorks https://amzn.to/3IA1Gfm
ASA: Inland (sponsored) https://amzn.to/48RYVRk
HIPS: Gizmodorks https://amzn.to/3Tjdvvt
PA-6 Nylon: SainSmart https://amzn.to/4a9pOkK
PA-12 Nylon: Fillamentum Fishy Filament (not on the market yet)
PA-6 CF: Matterhackers (sponsored) https://bit.ly/3Vf4xlm
PA-12-CF: Raise3D Industrial PA12-CF https://bit.ly/3TjxMB5
Glass-Filled Nylon: Phaetus (sponsored) https://bit.ly/49HvrH3
Nylon/PETG: Taulman (sponsored) https://bit.ly/3IAw3lP
Polycarbonate: Inland https://bit.ly/4ccrdsG
PC Carbon Fiber: Priline https://amzn.to/49OKyP6
PMMA: Mitsubishi https://bit.ly/4cg0lbi
PC-PBT: PolyMaker https://amzn.to/3TA0dvN
Chocolate: Cocoa Press https://bit.ly/4cbRHdL
TPU (Rigid): SainSmart https://amzn.to/4adGNma
TPU (Semi-Flex): NinjaTek (sponsored) https://bit.ly/3Pldiqx
TPU (Soft): Recreus https://bit.ly/3Pj9XYO
TPE: NinjaTek https://bit.ly/3IDazF8
SEBS: Jabil https://amzn.to/3TjqvBh
Polypropylene: FormFutura https://amzn.to/4a6JgP0
GF-PP: 3DXTech (sponsored) https://amzn.to/49S879w
OBC: 3DXTech (sponsored) https://bit.ly/43iKm8e
HDPE: Inland https://amzn.to/3TgDzr9
POM: GizmoDorks https://amzn.to/4acCqHE
PVDF: Fillamentum https://bit.ly/4a8dTUj
PEEK: 3DXTech https://bit.ly/3o2zQzr
PEKK: 3DXTech https://bit.ly/4a8GEAe
PPS: 3DXTech https://bit.ly/3PjE4zx
PSU: 3DXTech https://bit.ly/3TvGGwx
PES: 3DXTech https://bit.ly/3Tf8RyC
PPSU: 3DXTech https://bit.ly/3zzZttz
CF-PEEK: 3DXTech https://bit.ly/2XOZaxx
Ultem 1010 (sponsored): 3DXTech https://bit.ly/3IBpYWd
Ultem 9085: 3DXTech https://bit.ly/3zDsKUc
TPI: 3DXTech (sponsored) https://bit.ly/3TzhXaA

Timetable!
00:00-2:54 Intro
2:54-4:00 Regular PLA
4:00-4:46 Silk PLA
4:46-5:45 Carbon Fiber PLA
5:45-6:26 Metal-Filled PLA
6:26-7:34 Wood PLA
7:34-8:10 “Tough” PLA
8:10-8:45 Matte PLA
8:45-9:33 High-Speed PLA
9:33-10:31 “Flex PLA” PCL
10:31-11:18 PETG
11:18-11:50 Carbon Fiber PETG
11:50-12:41 PCTG
12:41-13:35 PET
13:35-14:05 CF PET
14:05-14:44 PVB
14:44-15:40 ABS
15:40-16:22 ASA
16:22-17:02 HIPS
17:02-18:16 PA-6 Nylon
18:16-18:50 PA-12 Nylon
18:50-19:32 CF Nylon
19:32-20:37 Glass-Filled Nylon
20:37-21:08 Nylon/PETG Alloys
21:08-21:53 Polycarbonate
21:53-22:35 PC Carbon Fiber
22:35-23:36 PMMA (acrylic)
23:36-24:15 PC-PBT
24:15-24:56 ??? A SECRET ???
24:56-27:00 TPU
27:00-27:26 TPE
27:26-28:17 SEBS
28:17-29:04 Polypropylene
29:04-29:43 GF-PP
29:43-30:16 OBC
30:16-30:58 HDPE
30:58-31:56 POM
31:56-33:06 PVDF
33:06-35:01 PEEK
35:01-35:38 PEKK
35:38-36:19 PPS
36:19-36:58 PSU
36:58-37:21 PES and PPSU
37:21-37:46 CF-PEEK
37:46-39:38 Ultem
39:38-40:39 TPI
40:39-44:33 Thanks!

Credits:
LEMONS?! – Will Sasso
Ocean cleanup footage – The Ocean Cleanup
Interference SFX – Partners in Rhyme
Other SFX – www.zapsplat.com

*Please don’t actually do this

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50 thoughts on “The 3D Filament Tier List! Which Should YOU Use?”

  1. Hey so like I just got banned on the discord as a joke I should hope bc I didn’t actually do anything wrong and that kinda really sucks bc I thought that it would have been nice place to hang around. Maybe I’m just being sensitive bc I’m fucking super baked but still, hurts my feels

    Reply
  2. Never even heard of PCTG. When I search for it, google thinks I mistyped PETG. Amazon corrects it too. Going to have to try it. Been debating using CF PLA, this convinced me to try it.

    Reply
  3. I am impressed by both the breadth and depth of your filament knowledge. I was wondering if, in all your research, you have come across PH values for the various filaments? Are there any that might function for archival storage solutions?

    Reply
  4. I don’t even have a printer maybe if mortgage payments go down I’ll finally be able to get one but till then I’ll know what tf is up dawg… thanks for all your efforts in making this for us!

    Reply
  5. Thanks! great vid. Which of these UV resistant filaments > ASA, PCTG & PETG are 'strongest'? Speaking of those which UV resistant filament would you recommend for functional parts… eg a shed door handle?

    Reply
  6. I have to disagree about TPU. There has to be some filament that gives those properties higher on the tier list, because as you said when you need those properties there's no substitute. When making mechanical designs you constantly run into needing bumpers, springs, rubber feet, gaskets, seals, etc. Wherever your design needs to interface/collide with something, or seal something, TPU is a great material to have on the interface. For example, if your print sits on the floor or your desk, why not print some TPU feet or bottom sleeve to stop it sliding around? If you find yourself making a bunch of handheld tools like some you showed in this video, why not print a TPU sleeve where your hand goes for ergonomics? Working on fan ducting or similar, why not print a custom TPU gasket between your flanges to properly seal the air stream? On top of that you can change the total durometer of a bumper or spring not by changing the filament, but by changing the infilll percentage, which is a huge advantage to me of 3D printing this type of thing that is hard to replicate with traditional manufacturing – so much so that I've seen aftermarket manufacturers offering things like 3D printed bump stops for the suspension of your car since you can do cool stuff like making the spring rate of the bump stop progressive, which you can't do easily with traditional manufacturing.

    Reply
  7. Hey Zack if you wanna run some TPI/PEEK/PEKK/Ultems or other super polymers, we've got two crazy high temp printers just sitting in our warehouse. They'd need some love, but could be a fun project breaking down an industrial system and fixing/upgrading them. One is a 3ntr Spectral 30 which has 3 nozzles that can reach 500C and a chamber that can reach 250C. The other is a Smart3D macro engineering prototype, but it can also hit the 500C with 2 nozzles and 200C chamber (though it took nearly 2 hours to hit that chamber temp when we tried it). If you're interested in either of them, we can let them go for practically nothing and would love to see them put to use!

    Reply
  8. Hm, I'm very much against PLA except for purely decorative items. Reasons: it creeps under even slight stress and will deform in a plastic manner over time, rather than an elastic manner. For me it warps more than PETG. The PETG I use has basically zero warping, whereas every single PLA filament I've tested lifts corners on bigger prints. PLA becomes brittle over time and just crumbles like sugar glass. There are highly modified PLA filaments out there, that usually don't mention anywhere that the base material is PLA (except maybe the saftey datasheet). Those might be different, but they are at least as expensive as good PETG. Finally PLA+, meaning the type of PLA that can be annealed for strength and a huge melting point increase, did actually start to anneal during printing, leading to completely inconsistent dimensions.
    So for figurines PLA might still have a tiny edge because better details, but I'm a firm believer in PETG for just about everything else that doesn't need something special. The first time I re-printed a funnel for work, that someone dropped. The PLA broke. I then actually accidentally dropped the PETG funnel and was surprised about how differently it impacted and bounced off of the floor. Also PETG layer adhesion can be really high. Basicall allm my prints, when I stress test them, break through the layer lines, not at the layer lines. Not 100 % isotropic, but rather close compared to all other filaments I've ever used.

    Reply
  9. Hydrofluoric acid won't dissolve your bones. At least not much more than any other acid. It's also not a very strong acid. What it does is, once it got through your skin into your blood, reacting with dissolve calcium ions to form *a solid*. This will very quickly make all your calcium unavailable for any kind of cellular metabolism and that is very very bad. So the biggest concern about hydrofluoric acid or hydrogen fluoride is not that it is an acid but just that it's very toxic even on touch. If you touched it, you can increase you odds of surviving by running to the ER, they'll administer a calcium salt infusion.

    Reply
  10. Chemist here:

    Halogenated hydrocarbons (chloroform is a common one) are the go-to when it comes to dissolving/weakening plastics. If the plastic isnt affected by them, the plasticizer definitely is. The F in PVDF is a halogen and since halogens have such a high affinity for electrons we consider that they have a static, partial negative charge. This partial charge makes other halogens not really go near each other. This property makes it exceptionally resistant to halogenated hydrocarbons.

    The resistance to inorganic acids, aka mineral acids (Hydrochloric acid, sulphuric acid, etc.), is from a stability standpoint. HF is one of the most reactive (unstable) of these acids. For a mineral acid to react, it needs to create a more stable "acid" (typically water). A mineral acid reacting with PVDF would just make HF. You would need an acid thats even less stable than HF to be able to react with it. Since HF is already hella unstable, mineral acids don't really affect it.

    TLDR; PVDF is halogenated which gives it protections from halogenated solvents. The F is way more stable in PVDF than it is in its respective conjugate acid so it's not likely to react.

    Reply
  11. You kinda look like a borg infiltrator teaching us how and what to use in our print farms, so when the rogue AGI takes over, it has everything already in place to build an army and overthrow humanity.

    Still appreciate the information very much.

    Reply
  12. PC-PBT-CF15. S tier. As strong as PA12, dimensionally stable like PLA, does not embrittle at low temps, high fatigue resistance, high toughness, and decent HDT. Once your printer is dialed in, it's my favorite filament for engineering projects by far.

    Reply
  13. So "tough pla is just pla+. i exclusively use that. My ender 3 also included a roll i never used because i instantble bought a roll of esun pla+ which is a good fillament from what i heard. In fact thats wifely used tof firearms if you are into that but eventhough im not doing that unless im out if options and its a shtf worl teotawaki situation and have no weapons, i still jave a few things to print that much like 3d printed guns that fall in the category of mission critical.

    Reply
  14. S – pla, 95a tpu (alot of uses, simple to print)
    A- wood pla ( exstreamly fun to showoff but brittle)
    B- ninjaflex, carbon (harder to print but has some few uses)
    C-Abs (no inclosure ) petg (cheap petg??)
    my list of the few iv tryed. might try some pla + soon

    Reply
  15. I personally have found CF-PA12 to be very easy to print once you dry it (which is a pain, I'll admit). But that's using Qidi's CF-PA12. I'm really surprised it was so low on the tier list.

    PPA (high temp nylon) is a filament I didn't see mentioned here surprisingly, given all the other exotic ones mentioned.

    Reply
  16. You’ve convinced me to try cf petg. I’ve been printing with PETG almost exclusively for years, became the lack of temp/uv resistance in PLA makes me pretty much uninterested in using it at all. But the stringy, unbridgeable nature of petg is very frustrating, so I look forward to adding the cf to my petg to curtail some of those downsides. 🤙🏼

    Reply
  17. Chemist here,

    PVDF is what nice filters are made of. It's nice because it's resistant to chloroform and methylene chloride (halogenated hydrocarbons). It's also great for centrifuge tubes. There are a lot of times when we want to dissolve everything we can, then selectively precipitate what we want.

    Reply

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