Materials for 3D printing:

PLA:  Easy to print, inexpensive and non-toxic, PLA is a good material for basic items that are not for subject to heat or long-term mechanical stress. PLA parts should not be washed in hot water or left in a hot car as permanent distortion could result. PLA also suffers from 'creep' meaning that it will deform due to stress over time, It's great for ornamental items, cookie cutters, soap stamps, and so on. We have a wide choice of colours, subject to availability.

PETG:  When PLA won't do, PETG is another non-toxic material with better mechanical properties. PETG is able to withstand moderately high temperatures and is much better suited to applications requiring long term stress. It’s also quite springy, and comparatively low friction, so it’s good for parts that clip together. One issue with PETG is its poor impact strength, meaning sudden sharp knocks can cause cracks. Colour options are black, white, red and translucent, subject to availability.

ABS: For tough and higher temperature applications, ABS is a good choice. It has better impact strength than PETG, although less springy and higher friction. We can chemically smooth and seal the surface of ABS, which is good for mold making. The downside of ABS is that it can be degraded by sunlight, so outdoor parts would need to be painted, which then makes it a good choice for automotive parts. Colour options are black & white, subject to availability.

ASA: Very similar to ABS, ASA is much more stable in sunlight. ASA is more expensive than ABS, otherwise we’d use it in preference to ABS! Colour options are black & white, subject to availability.

Nylon: Nylon is low friction and tough, making it a great choice for gears and other moving parts. It’s expensive but a great choice for suitable parts. Colour options are black & white, subject to availability.

Flex: We have flexible material that can be used to make seals and other elastic parts. It’s expensive, but because parts using flex are generally small it’s not prohibitive, and for difficult to find seal replacements it makes good sense. Colour is red, subject to availability.

Others: We usually have a number of specialist materials available and can order others, so if the choices above don’t fit your application, give us a call.

Materials for mold making:

General purpose silicone suited to general, non-food applications such as soap molds or resin parts. Comes in blue/green.
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Food grade, high temperature silicone. Great for chocolates, cakes and other edibles, It’s quite expensive. Comes in pink.