Nine filaments, and which one your part actually needs

The default. Cheapest, prints crisply, holds fine detail, but it softens in a hot car and goes brittle outdoors after a year or so.

The default, and the right answer more often than people expect. It is the cheapest filament we hold, it prints the most accurately, and it holds fine detail better than anything else on this list. Its weakness is heat: a part left on a dashboard in July will deform, and a part left outdoors goes brittle within a year or so. For prototypes, indoor fixtures and anything being checked for fit before committing to a material, that does not matter.

PLA with the shine taken out. Layer lines all but disappear, so a part looks finished straight off the plate with no sanding.

Mechanically identical to PLA Basic, with the shine taken out. The matte surface scatters light so layer lines all but disappear and a part looks finished straight off the plate. On a batch that a customer will see, it is far cheaper than sanding standard PLA: a smoothed finish adds more bench time per part than the plastic costs.

High-gloss, almost metallic sheen. Looks striking on smooth curves, but it hides detail and is weaker than standard PLA.

A display material. The gloss reads as metal on a smooth curve, which sells an award, a trophy or a retail piece. It costs more than plain PLA, hides detail rather than showing it, and bonds between layers less well, so it is the weakest thing we print. Choose it for how a part looks and nothing else.

Tougher and more heat-resistant than PLA: the default for anything that lives outdoors or in a car.

The workhorse for anything that has to survive. It takes an impact by deforming rather than shattering, tolerates a warm engine bay or a sunlit window, and lasts years outdoors. The trade is precision: PETG prints slightly less crisply than PLA and strings more, so small lettering and sharp detail come out softer. For a bracket, a mount, an outdoor enclosure or a replacement clip, it is almost always the right call.

Handles real heat and can be vapour-smoothed or glued solvent-tight. Needs the enclosure, and large flat parts can warp.

Chosen for two specific reasons: real heat resistance, and the fact that it can be solvent-welded and vapour-smoothed to a glass finish. It runs enclosed on the Bambu Lab P1P, and large flat parts can lift at the corners as they cool, so the geometry has to suit it. If the part sits near a heater, a motor or an engine, this or ASA is the answer.

ABS that does not go chalky in sunlight. This is the one for a part that will sit on a roof, a boat or a garden wall for years.

ABS that does not go chalky in sunlight. This is the material for a fitting that will live on a roof, a boat, a van or a garden wall and still look and behave like a part in five years. It costs more than PETG and needs the enclosure, so it is worth specifying only when the exposure genuinely warrants it, but for permanent outdoor fittings on the Kent coast, it does.

Flexible rubber-like filament. Bends, squashes and springs back. It prints slowly and runs on a direct-drive machine for the cleanest result.

Rubber in filament form. It compresses, bends double and returns, and it resists abrasion better than any rigid material here. That makes it the answer for gaskets, bump stops, vibration feet, protective sleeves and soft jaws that grip a finished surface without marking it. It prints slowly and it will not hold a dimension under load, so it is a specific tool rather than a general one.

Carbon-fibre filled PLA. Much stiffer and dimensionally steadier than plain PLA, with a matte-black technical finish.

Carbon fibre in a PLA base. The fibres stop the polymer creeping, so a flat face stays flat and a jig holds its geometry under clamp pressure far better than plain PLA. It is the stiffest thing we print and also the most brittle. It will shatter rather than bend. It is abrasive, so it runs on a hardened nozzle. Ideal for fixtures, gauges and mounts that must not move.

Our toughest option: PETG's impact resistance plus carbon fibre's stiffness. Expensive, and worth it when a part has to survive.

The toughest option we hold: PETG's impact resistance with carbon fibre's stiffness and dimensional stability. It is the material for a short run of end-use parts, a load-bearing bracket, or workshop tooling that gets dropped. It is also the most expensive filament on the list, so it earns its place on parts that have to survive rather than on parts that merely have to exist.