Every material on this list is here for a reason. The useful question is never "which is best". It is what your part has to survive.
Material selection is the decision that most often separates a printed part that works from one that is quietly wrong. Below is what we run and, more usefully, what each material is poor at. Published datasheet values for any filament are measured on injection-molded or optimally-printed coupons. A real part with layer lines, infill and a specific orientation will not match them, so treat the guidance here as directional and tell us the actual requirement.
| PETG | The sensible default. Tough, dimensionally stable, low warp, decent chemical resistance. Good for enclosures and general functional parts. Softer than nylon and it will creep under sustained load, so it is not the pick for a permanently stressed structural member. |
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| PETG ESD | Static-dissipative PETG. For handling electronics, populated boards and anything where surface charge is the risk. Choose it when the part touches hardware that ESD would damage. |
| PLA | Stiff, precise, easy. Excellent dimensional accuracy and detail, good for fit checks, form studies, patterns and light-duty parts. Poor heat resistance and brittle under impact, so do not put it in a hot car, a sunny window or an enclosure near a power supply. |
| Nylon (PA) | Tough and abrasion resistant. The choice for living hinges, snap features, wear surfaces, gears and parts that get handled hard. Nylon absorbs moisture from the air, and that changes both its dimensions and its behavior. Worth knowing if the part has a tight fit. |
| Nylon CF (PA‑CF) | The stiff one. Chopped carbon fiber in a nylon matrix: markedly stiffer and more dimensionally stable than unfilled nylon, with better heat performance. The right answer for structural brackets and parts where deflection under load would defeat the purpose. Stiffer also means less forgiving. It is not the material for a snap fit that has to flex. |
Any of these will change the recommendation: peak operating temperature; sustained versus intermittent load; solvents, oils or cleaning chemicals it will meet; UV or outdoor exposure; whether it contacts a finished cosmetic surface; whether it must be static-dissipative; and how many assembly cycles the features have to survive.
Two more materials are on the estimator and are not written up above: PPA‑CF and PPS‑CF. Ask about either and we will tell you what it is for before you order.
Need something not on this list? Ask. If we cannot run it we will say so plainly rather than substituting something and hoping.
Parts are cleaned up before they ship. If a specific color or finish matters for your application, raise it in the quote notes and we will confirm what is available before production.
Describe the load, the temperature and the environment in the quote notes. We will recommend one during review.
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Upload the CAD with a note about the environment. Material advice comes with the review.