Properties of selected FDM printable materials

30 May 2026 - tsp
Last update 05 Jun 2026
Reading time 2 mins

The following table is a summary of properties of the most common unfilled FDM filament families, that one is likely to encounter in hobby, prosumer and light industrial printing. The focus is set on polymer families because filled grades such as CF-PA, FG-PP, PC-CF, flame restardant blends and ESD variants can move numbers substantially. The actual properties have to be taken from the manufactureres datasheet.

The price estimations had been valid at May 2026, they may differ at any point in time and just should give a feeling of the relative pricing between materials at this point in time.

Material Bio / Fossile Synthesis Nozzle temp. Bed temp. Price per kg Cryo Vacuum Water Strain figure Watertight Β 
PLA Mostly bio Plant suggars, fermentation to lactic acide, lactide, PLA polymer 185-235 50-60 12-19 Eur ⚠️ tested ⚠️ tested ⚠️ limited 3% βœ… Β 
PET-G Fossile PET with glycol to suppress crystallization 215-270 70-90 16 Eur ⚠️ ⚠️ βœ… 3-5% βœ… Β 
ABS Fossile SAN copolymer, thoughened with polybutadiene rubber 230-255 95-110 18 Eur ⚠️ ❌ βœ… 5-20% βœ… Β 
ASA Fossile SAN matrix, acrylic rubber 220-285 90-110 20-24 Eur ⚠️ ❌ βœ… 6-18% βœ… Β 
TPU Fossile Segmented polyurethane 220-260 40-85 Huge span ❌ ❌ βœ… 350-560% βœ… Β 
Nylon (PA) Fossile Diamine + Diacid condensation / Lactam self-polymerization 240-285 70-115 30-90 Eur ⚠️ ❌ ❌ 175-210% ❌  
PC Fossile Polycarbonate polymer, commonly form BPA + carbonate / phosgene route 270-275 100-115 30-45 Eur ⚠️ ⚠️ ❌ 6-12% βœ… Β 
PP Fossile Polypropylene from polymerized propylene 220-245 70-100 Β  ❌ ❌ ❌ 200-600% βœ… Β 
HIPS Fossile Polystyrene thoughened with butadiene rubber 225-255 100-110 Β  ❌ ❌ ❌ 10-40% βœ… Β 
PVA/BVOH Fossile Hydrolyzing PVAc / butenediol-vinyl alcohol copolymer 195-215 60 58-81 Eur ❌ ❌ ❌ 7-15% ❌ ⚠️
PEI Fossile Aromatic Diamine / Dianhydride 355-430 150-160 250-500 Eur βœ… βœ… βœ… 3-4% βœ… Β 
PEEK Fossile High-temperature aromatic polycondensation 380-410 120-160 700-850 Eur βœ… βœ… βœ… 9% βœ… Β 

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