How to Select the Right 3D Printing Material: A Mechanical Properties Framework for Engineers
You've modeled the part. You've run the FEA. The geometry works, the clearances check out, and you're ready to hit print. Then the dropdown menu appears: PLA, PLA+, PETG, ABS, ASA, Nylon, PC, TPU, PP, carbon-filled variants, and a dozen specialty filaments you've never heard of. Every manufacturer's datasheet promises "excellent strength" and "industrial-grade performance."
But "excellent strength" means nothing without context. A snap-fit latch that survives 10,000 cycles in nylon shatters on the third flex in PLA. A bracket that holds up perfectly at room temperature sags into a puddle when your enclosure reaches 80 °C. The same material that handles a 50 kg static load beautifully may fail catastrophically under a 2 kg impact.
Material selection isn't about finding the "strongest" filament. It's about matching the material's property profile to your part's actual demands — temperature, load type, chemical exposure, UV, fatigue, and cost. This guide gives you the framework to do that systematically.
The Five Questions Every Material Selection Must Answer
Before opening a datasheet, define what your part actually needs. The answers to these five questions eliminate 80% of materials immediately:
- What's the maximum service temperature? Not the extruder temperature — the actual environment where the part lives. Inside a car dashboard? Near a motor? In direct sunlight on a rooftop in Chennai in May?
- What kind of load? Static (bookshelf bracket), cyclic (hinge), impact (drone arm), or sustained (clamp)? Each failure mode punishes different material weaknesses.
- What chemicals will it see? Water, oil, fuel, cleaning solvents, skin oils, salt spray, isopropyl alcohol? A material that's "water-resistant" may dissolve in acetone.
- Is it outdoors? UV radiation, temperature cycling, and humidity swings destroy PLA in weeks and degrade even UV-stabilized materials over years.
- What's the cost per functional part? Not per kilogram of filament — the fully loaded cost including failures, supports, post-processing, and replacement interval. A ₹6,000/kg PEEK part that lasts 5 years may be cheaper than a ₹1,200/kg ABS part you replace every 3 months.
Answer these five questions before choosing a material. Write them down. The rest of this guide shows you how to map those answers to specific polymers.
The Mechanical Properties That Actually Matter
Datasheets throw a dozen numbers at you. Here's what each one means for a real part, and which materials lead in each category.
Tensile Strength: The Baseline
Tensile strength (ultimate, UTS) is the maximum pulling stress a material survives before breaking. It's the most commonly reported number and the most commonly misinterpreted one.
What it tells you: Whether a part can handle a steady pull without snapping. A hook, a hanger, a tension rod.
What it doesn't tell you: Anything about impact, fatigue, creep, or compression. A material with high tensile strength can still shatter when dropped.
FDM material tensile strength (XY orientation, approximate):
Material · Tensile Strength (MPa) · Character
PLA · 50–65 · High static strength, zero give
PETG · 45–55 · Good strength with more ductility
ABS · 30–45 · Moderate, trades strength for toughness
ASA · 40–55 · Similar to ABS, better UV
Nylon (PA6) · 60–80 · Excellent when dry
PC · 60–72 · High strength + high heat
TPU (95A) · 25–40 · Low but enormous elongation
PP · 25–35 · Modest but fatigue-resistant
PEEK · 90–110 · Highest polymer strength class
But these numbers come with a massive caveat: orientation matters. FDM parts tested in the Z-direction (across layers) typically show 30–50% lower tensile strength than XY. If your part loads across layer lines, design with that reduction baked in — or orient the print so loads travel within layers.
Young's Modulus: Stiffness, Not Strength
Young's modulus (E) measures how much a material deflects under load before it permanently deforms. A high-modulus material is stiff — it resists bending. A low-modulus material is flexible.
This is the property that determines whether your bracket flexes 0.1 mm or 2 mm under the same load. For precision assemblies, dimensional stability under load is often more important than ultimate strength.
Where \sigma is stress and \varepsilon is strain in the elastic (recoverable) region.
Stiffness ranking (FDM, approximate):
Material · Young's Modulus (GPa) · Feels like
Carbon-filled Nylon · 4.0–6.0 · Very stiff, brittle
PLA · 3.0–3.5 · Stiff, glassy
PC · 2.0–2.4 · Stiff but tough
PETG · 1.8–2.1 · Moderate flex
ABS · 1.8–2.2 · Slightly flexible
ASA · 1.8–2.1 · Similar to ABS
Nylon (unfilled) · 1.0–1.8 · Noticeably flexible
PP · 0.9–1.5 · Flexible
TPU (95A) · 0.01–0.05 · Rubber
Notice that PLA is stiffer than PC. If you just want something rigid for a static display model, PLA is actually the best choice — and the cheapest. Engineering materials earn their cost through properties PLA lacks: toughness, temperature resistance, chemical resistance, or fatigue life.
Elongation at Break: The Ductility Number
This is the percentage a material stretches before fracturing. It's the single most predictive number for whether a part will fail with a clean snap (brittle) or yield and deform (ductile).
Where L_0 is the original gauge length and L_f is the length at fracture.
Material · Elongation at Break · Failure Mode
Carbon-filled PLA · 1–3% · Snap
PLA · 3–8% · Snap
PETG · 10–25% · Yield, then snap
ABS · 5–25% · Yield, then snap
ASA · 8–20% · Yield, then snap
Nylon (dry) · 20–50% · Yields significantly
Nylon (conditioned) · 50–300% · Massive elongation
PC · 50–120% · Yields enormously
PP · 100–600% · Nearly unbreakable in tension
TPU · 400–800% · Stretches like rubber
The snap-fit rule: For any living hinge or snap-fit, you want elongation above 20%. PLA snap-fits break on the first cycle. Nylon and PP snap-fits survive thousands. If your design absolutely requires PLA (say, for cost), design the flexure into a separate nylon insert rather than molding the snap into the PLA body.
Impact Strength: What Survives a Drop
Impact strength (Izod or Charpy, notched) measures energy absorbed during a sudden blow. This is the property that separates materials that bounce from materials that shatter.
The test involves striking a notched specimen with a pendulum and measuring the energy absorbed. The notch simulates stress concentration — corners, holes, layer lines — that exist in real parts.
Impact resistance ranking:
Material · Izod Impact (J/m, notched) · Drop Survival
PLA · 16–25 · Shatters
PETG · 70–100 · Moderate
ABS · 150–400 · Good
ASA · 150–350 · Good
Nylon · 100–250 · Excellent (especially conditioned)
PC · 600–850 · Near-indestructible
PP · 50–100 (no break in many tests) · Excellent (living hinge)
TPU · No break · Absorbs everything
The Nylon caveat is important: dry, as-printed nylon has lower impact strength. But nylon absorbs moisture from the air (1–3% by weight), which plasticizes it and dramatically increases toughness. A nylon part that feels brittle fresh off the printer becomes significantly tougher after 24–48 hours of ambient conditioning.
Toughness: The Area Under the Curve
Toughness is the total energy absorbed before fracture — the area under the stress-strain curve. It combines strength AND ductility into one number.
A material can be strong (high \sigma) but brittle (low \varepsilon_f) — like PLA — and have low toughness. Or it can be weak (low \sigma) but incredibly ductile (high \varepsilon_f) — like TPU — and still absorb enormous energy. The ideal engineering material balances both: Nylon and PC are tough because they're reasonably strong AND quite ductile.
What this means in practice: If your part sees unexpected overloads — a drone arm hitting a tree branch, a bicycle mount hitting a pothole — you want high toughness. PLA fails catastrophically at 125% of design load. Nylon yields, deforms, and gives you a visible warning before breaking.
Thermal Properties: The Temperature Ceiling
Mechanical properties are meaningless if your part turns into a puddle before it ever carries a load. Two numbers define thermal limits.
Glass Transition Temperature (T_g)
The glass transition is the temperature at which a polymer transitions from a hard, glassy state to a soft, rubbery state. Below T_g, polymer chains are frozen in place. Above T_g, they gain mobility — the material softens, modulus drops dramatically, and the part loses structural integrity.
T_g is not the melting temperature. Amorphous polymers (PLA, ABS, PC) don't have a sharp melting point — they just get progressively softer above T_g. Semi-crystalline polymers (Nylon, PP, PEEK) have both a T_g (amorphous regions soften) and a T_m (crystalline regions melt).
Material · T_g (°C) · Maximum Practical Service
PLA · 55–65 · 45–50 °C
PETG · 75–85 · 65–70 °C
ABS · 100–110 · 85–95 °C
ASA · 100–110 · 85–95 °C
Nylon 6 · 50–60 · 80–95 °C (nylon's crystallinity helps)
PC · 145–150 · 110–125 °C
PP · -10 to 0 · 80–100 °C
PEEK · 143–150 · 240–260 °C
ULTEM (PEI) · 215–217 · 170–180 °C
Heat Deflection Temperature (HDT)
HDT is a standardized test: apply a fixed stress (0.45 MPa or 1.8 MPa) while heating, and record the temperature at which the specimen deflects 0.25 mm. It's a more practical number than T_g for engineering — it directly answers "at what temperature does this part stop being a structural member?"
Material · HDT @ 0.45 MPa (°C) · HDT @ 1.8 MPa (°C)
PLA · 50–55 · 45–50
PETG · 70–75 · 60–65
ABS · 90–100 · 80–95
ASA · 90–100 · 80–95
Nylon 6 · 140–160 · 60–80
PC · 135–140 · 125–130
PP · 90–100 · 50–60
Annealed PLA · 80–95 · 55–75
PEEK · 250–260 · 150–160
Two crucial observations:
- The gap between 0.45 MPa and 1.8 MPa HDT is the "useful load" window. Nylon 6 looks incredible at 0.45 MPa (140–160 °C) but drops steeply at 1.8 MPa (60–80 °C). That's the difference between "can hold its own weight in an oven" and "can carry a mechanical load under heat." For load-bearing parts at elevated temperature, use HDT @ 1.8 MPa.
- Annealing changes everything. PLA's HDT @ 0.45 MPa jumps from 50 °C to 85–95 °C after proper annealing. That's the difference between "dies in a hot car" and "survives most non-engine-compartment applications." The trade-off: annealing increases crystallinity, which can cause shrinkage (0.5–2%) and slight dimensional changes. Account for this in your design.
The Practical Temperature Decision Tree
graph TD
A[What is your max service temp?] --> B{Below 50 °C?}
B -->|Yes| C[PLA, PETG, ABS, ASA, Nylon, PP, TPU — all work.
Choose by mechanical needs and cost]
B -->|No| D{50–70 °C?}
D -->|Yes| E[Eliminate PLA.
PETG borderline.
ABS, ASA, Nylon, PC OK]
D -->|No| F{70–100 °C?}
F -->|Yes| G[Eliminate PLA, PETG.
ABS borderline.
ASA, Nylon, PC, annealed PLA OK]
F -->|No| H{100–130 °C?}
H -->|Yes| I[Only PC, annealed Nylon, PEEK, ULTEM]
H -->|No| J{Above 130 °C?}
J -->|Yes| K[PEEK, ULTEM, or switch to metal AM]
J -->|No| L[Check your numbers again]
style C fill:#d4edda
style E fill:#fff3cd
style G fill:#fff3cd
style I fill:#f8d7da
style K fill:#f8d7da
Chemical Resistance: The Hidden Failure Mode
A part can be mechanically perfect and thermally stable and still fail because someone wiped it down with the wrong solvent. Chemical resistance in 3D printing materials is poorly documented but critically important.
The Universal Solvent Rule
There is no universally chemical-resistant polymer. Every material has an Achilles' heel:
Material · Attacks It · Safe With
PLA · Acetone, strong bases, boiling water, ethyl acetate · Most alcohols, oils, weak acids
ABS · Acetone, esters, ketones, aromatic hydrocarbons · Water, alcohols, dilute acids/bases
ASA · Acetone, esters, ketones · Water, alcohols, UV (its strength)
PETG · Strong bases, some solvents, boiling water · Water, alcohols, dilute acids, oils
Nylon · Strong acids, oxidizing agents, phenols · Oils, greases, fuels, most organic solvents
PC · Acetone, strong bases, aromatic hydrocarbons · Water, alcohols, dilute acids, oils
PP · Oxidizing acids, chlorinated solvents · Nearly everything else. Best general chemical resistance
TPU · Strong acids, some solvents, high-temp water · Oils, fuels, dilute acids/bases
PEEK · Concentrated sulfuric acid, some halogens · Nearly everything. Only attacked by a few extreme chemicals
The Water Absorption Problem
Nylon absorbs water. This is simultaneously its greatest strength and most frustrating property.
- Dry nylon: Stiff, strong, brittle. Modulus ~2.5 GPa, elongation ~20%.
- Conditioned nylon (ambient humidity, 24–48 hrs): Softer, tougher, more ductile. Modulus ~1.2 GPa, elongation ~50–300%.
- Saturated nylon (underwater): Soft, swollen, dimensional changes of 1–3%.
For parts that must hold tight tolerances in varying humidity, nylon is a bad choice. For parts that need to survive impact and flexing, nylon's moisture absorption is a feature — it self-toughens over time.
Water absorption at saturation (approximate):
Material · Water Absorption (% weight) · Dimensional Effect
PLA · 0.3–0.5 · Minimal
ABS · 0.2–0.5 · Minimal
ASA · 0.2–0.4 · Minimal
PETG · 0.2–0.4 · Minimal
Nylon 6 · 2.5–3.5 · Significant (1–3% expansion)
Nylon 12 · 0.8–1.5 · Moderate
PC · 0.2–0.4 · Minimal
PP · <0.01 · Negligible
PEEK · 0.1–0.5 · Minimal
UV and Outdoor Durability
If your part lives outdoors, UV radiation will destroy most polymers given enough time. The mechanism: UV photons break polymer chains (photodegradation), reducing molecular weight. This causes embrittlement, color fading, and surface cracking.
Outdoor survival ranking:
Material · UV Resistance · Outdoor Life (Estimate)
ASA · Excellent (designed for outdoors) · 5–10+ years
PETG · Good · 3–5 years
PC · Moderate (yellows, embrittles) · 2–4 years without UV stabilizers
PP · Moderate (needs UV stabilizers) · 2–5 years with stabilizers
Nylon · Poor (needs UV stabilizers) · 1–3 years without stabilizers
ABS · Poor (yellows, cracks) · 1–2 years
PLA · Very poor · Weeks to months
ASA was literally invented to solve ABS's UV problem. It's chemically nearly identical to ABS but substitutes the butadiene rubber phase with an acrylate rubber that doesn't photodegrade. If you need ABS-like mechanical properties outdoors, ASA is the answer. It's 20–40% more expensive per kilogram — but it actually works.
The Complete Material Selection Matrix
Here is the master reference table. Use it to narrow from 26 filament types to the 2–3 that fit your constraints.
Property · PLA · PETG · ABS · ASA · Nylon 6 · PC · PP · TPU · PEEK
Tensile (MPa) · 50–65 · 45–55 · 30–45 · 40–55 · 60–80 · 60–72 · 25–35 · 25–40 · 90–110
Modulus (GPa) · 3.0–3.5 · 1.8–2.1 · 1.8–2.2 · 1.8–2.1 · 1.0–1.8 · 2.0–2.4 · 0.9–1.5 · 0.01–0.05 · 3.5–4.0
Elongation (%) · 3–8 · 10–25 · 5–25 · 8–20 · 20–300 · 50–120 · 100–600 · 400–800 · 20–50
Impact (J/m) · 16–25 · 70–100 · 150–400 · 150–350 · 100–250 · 600–850 · NB · NB · 80–100
Tg (°C) · 55–65 · 75–85 · 100–110 · 100–110 · 50–60 · 145–150 · -10–0 · -30–-10 · 143–150
HDT 0.45MPa (°C) · 50–55 · 70–75 · 90–100 · 90–100 · 140–160 · 135–140 · 90–100 · 60–70 · 250–260
HDT 1.8MPa (°C) · 45–50 · 60–65 · 80–95 · 80–95 · 60–80 · 125–130 · 50–60 · 45–55 · 150–160
UV Resistance · Poor · Good · Poor · Excellent · Poor · Moderate · Moderate · Moderate · Good
Chemical Res. · Low · Moderate · Moderate · Moderate · Good · Moderate · Excellent · Good · Excellent
Water Abs. (%) · 0.3–0.5 · 0.2–0.4 · 0.2–0.5 · 0.2–0.4 · 2.5–3.5 · 0.2–0.4 · <0.01 · 0.5–1.0 · 0.1–0.5
Density (g/cm³) · 1.24 · 1.23 · 1.04 · 1.07 · 1.13 · 1.20 · 0.90 · 1.20 · 1.30
Price/kg (₹, approx) · 800–1,500 · 1,000–2,000 · 900–1,800 · 1,200–2,200 · 1,800–3,500 · 2,000–4,000 · 2,500–5,000 · 2,000–4,500 · 8,000–18,000
Print Difficulty · Easy · Easy · Moderate · Moderate · Difficult · Difficult · Difficult · Moderate · Extreme
Best For · Prototypes, models, jigs · Functional parts, containers · Mechanical parts, enclosures · Outdoor parts, automotive · Gears, bearings, flexures · Impact parts, transparent · Chemical contact, hinges · Gaskets, grips, seals · Aerospace, medical
NB = No Break in standard test. Values are typical ranges for well-printed FDM parts in XY orientation. Z-direction values are typically 30–50% lower for tensile strength and modulus. "Conditioned" nylon values listed; dry nylon is stiffer but more brittle.
The Ashby-Style Selection Method
Professor Michael Ashby of Cambridge developed a systematic material selection method based on performance indices — combinations of material properties that predict performance for a given design constraint. While Ashby charts typically span metals, ceramics, and polymers across orders of magnitude, the method works beautifully for narrowing within polymer families.
Performance Index for a Lightweight Stiff Beam
If you're designing a bracket where stiffness matters and weight is a cost (drone, bicycle, handheld tool), the performance index for a beam in bending is:
Where E is Young's modulus and \rho is density. Higher M means better stiffness-to-weight ratio. Among our polymers:
Material · E^{1/2}/\rho · Stiffness per gram
PLA · 1.45 · Best cheap option
PETG · 1.18 ·
ABS · 1.34 ·
Nylon (dry) · 1.24 ·
PP · 1.23 · Good but low absolute stiffness
PEEK · 1.45 · Best overall but expensive
PLA and PEEK tie on this metric. The choice depends on whether you need the other properties PEEK brings (temperature, chemical resistance) and whether you can afford ₹15,000/kg.
Performance Index for a Tough, Lightweight Part
For impact-loaded parts where energy absorption per unit weight matters:
PC, Nylon, and PP dominate here. PLA is terrible. This is why drone frames moved from PLA to Nylon/PC blends — the weight penalty for sufficient impact resistance in PLA is enormous.
Practical Material Selection Workflow
Here's the process I use when selecting a material for a real part. Follow it in order.
Step 1: Eliminate by Temperature
Take your maximum service temperature and add a 15 °C safety margin. Cross off every material whose HDT @ 1.8 MPa falls below that number. If no materials survive, you either need to reduce the load (switching to HDT @ 0.45 MPa buys you 10–30 °C), add active cooling, anneal the part, or switch to a higher-performance polymer.
Step 2: Eliminate by Chemical Environment
If the part touches fuel, oil, solvents, acids, or bases, cross off materials those chemicals attack. When in doubt, check the chemical compatibility chart for the specific chemical — don't guess. Acetone dissolves ABS and PLA but doesn't touch Nylon or PP. Isopropyl alcohol is fine for nearly everything. Gasoline swells most plastics but PP handles it.
Step 3: Eliminate by Load Type
- Static load only, no impacts: PLA, PETG, ABS all work. Choose by cost and temperature.
- Cyclic loading (fatigue): Eliminate PLA (poor fatigue). Nylon, PP, PC preferred.
- Impact loading: Eliminate PLA, carbon-filled materials. Nylon (conditioned), PC, PP, ABS/ASA survive.
- Constant load (creep): Eliminate PLA, unfilled Nylon. PC, filled Nylon, PEEK resist creep.
- Snap-fits, living hinges: PLA, carbon-filled materials eliminated. Nylon, PP, PETG work. PP is the living hinge champion.
Step 4: Eliminate by Environment
- Outdoors, >2 year life: PLA eliminated. ABS eliminated. ASA or UV-stabilized PETG/PC.
- Underwater or high humidity: Nylon eliminated (swells). PP, PETG, PC preferred.
- Food contact: Most 3D printing materials are not food-safe due to porosity and additives. Special food-safe PETG and PP exist. The printer itself (brass nozzle leaching lead, previous filament residues) is also a concern. Treat "food-safe filament" claims skeptically.
Step 5: Choose by Cost per Functional Part
Calculate the fully loaded cost:
A ₹3,000/kg PC part that lasts 3 years costs ₹83/month. A ₹1,200/kg ABS part replaced every 6 months costs ₹200/month. The "expensive" material wins.
Design Rules That Maximize Any Material's Performance
The best material can't save a bad design. These rules apply regardless of what you're printing:
1. Orient Loads Within Layers
FDM parts are anisotropic. The Z-direction (across layers) is always weaker. Design so primary loads travel in the XY plane. If loads must cross layers (vertical bolt clamping, press-fit pins), add generous fillets at layer interfaces and consider increasing wall count rather than infill.
2. Avoid Sharp Internal Corners
Stress concentration at sharp corners is brutal in 3D printed polymers — more so than in metals because polymers have lower fracture toughness and more notch sensitivity. A sharp 90° internal corner concentrates stress by a factor of 2–3×. A fillet radius of at least 1–2× the wall thickness drops that concentration dramatically.
For a corner fillet radius r in a part of wall thickness t:
At r = t/4 (sharp), K_t \approx 5. At r = t (generous fillet), K_t \approx 3. At r = 2t (large radius), K_t \approx 2.4. The improvement from sharp to generous is roughly a 2× reduction in peak stress.
3. Wall Count Over Infill
For bending and torsional stiffness, material near the surface (perimeter walls) contributes far more than material near the center. Increasing wall count from 2 to 4 perimeters typically improves bending stiffness more than increasing infill from 20% to 60%, at lower material cost.
This follows from the parallel axis theorem for a hollow rectangular section:
The wall thickness t (perimeter count × extrusion width) appears in a cubic term. Adding walls increases stiffness quickly. Adding sparse infill in the middle does almost nothing for bending.
4. Account for Shrinkage and Warp
Every polymer shrinks as it cools from extrusion temperature to room temperature. The approximate linear shrinkage:
Where \alpha is the coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) and \Delta T is the temperature drop. For ABS cooling from 240 °C to 25 °C with \alpha \approx 90 \, \mu\text{m/m°C}:
That's 1.9% shrinkage — which is why ABS warps off unheated beds and why dimensionally critical ABS parts need an enclosure and heated chamber. PLA has lower shrinkage (\alpha \approx 68 \, \mu\text{m/m°C}, 1.5% total) and adheres better, which is why it prints so much more easily.
5. Dry Your Filament
Nylon, PETG, PC, and TPU are hygroscopic — they absorb moisture from ambient air. Printing wet filament produces:
- Steam bubbles that create voids and weak spots
- Hydrolytic degradation that permanently reduces molecular weight (especially nylon and PETG)
- Rough surface finish from popping and sputtering
- Poor layer adhesion from reduced melt temperature (water evaporates, cooling the melt)
A filament dryer at 50–70 °C for 4–6 hours before printing is the cheapest performance upgrade you can make. For nylon, it's essentially mandatory — the material property difference between dry-printed and properly dried nylon is 30–50% in tensile strength.
How FabFlow Helps You Choose
Material selection doesn't end at the datasheet. You need to know which manufacturers near you actually work with the material and technology combination you've chosen.
FabFlow's platform connects you with manufacturers who list their specific material and machine capabilities. When you submit a job, you specify the process (FDM, SLA, SLS, MJF, CNC, laser cutting) and the material requirements. Manufacturers who have that exact material in their machine catalog see your job and can quote. No more emailing five shops to ask "do you print polycarbonate?" — the platform handles that matching.
For engineers designing for manufacture, this means you can select materials based on actual local availability rather than theoretical catalog specs. A manufacturer in Bengaluru running PC-CF on a Voron with a heated chamber is more useful than a datasheet for PEEK that nobody within 500 km can print.
Summary: The One-Page Material Selector
Print this and stick it next to your printer:
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ MATERIAL SELECTOR — START HERE │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ 1. MAX TEMP: _____ °C │
│ → PLA ≤ 50 | PETG ≤ 70 | ABS/ASA ≤ 95 | PC ≤ 125 │
│ → Nylon ≤ 80 (loaded) | PP ≤ 60 (loaded) │
│ │
│ 2. LOAD TYPE: [ ] Static [ ] Cyclic [ ] Impact [ ] Creep │
│ → Impact? Eliminate PLA, carbon-filled │
│ → Cyclic? Eliminate PLA │
│ → Snap-fit? Need elongation > 20% │
│ │
│ 3. CHEMICALS: [ ] Water [ ] Oil/Fuel [ ] Solvents [ ] None │
│ → Fuel/Oil → PP, Nylon │
│ → Solvents → Check specific resistance │
│ → High humidity → Avoid Nylon │
│ │
│ 4. OUTDOORS? [ ] Yes [ ] No │
│ → Yes → ASA, PETG, or UV-stabilized PC │
│ → Eliminate PLA, ABS │
│ │
│ 5. CANDIDATES (from matrix): │
│ 1. ___________ 2. ___________ 3. ___________ │
│ │
│ 6. COST/PART/YEAR (₹): │
│ 1. ___________ 2. ___________ 3. ___________ │
│ → Remember: lifetime cost, not per-kg price │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
References
- Arefin, A.M.E., Khatri, N.R., Kulkarni, N., & Egan, P.F. (2021). "Polymer 3D Printing Review: Materials, Process, and Design Strategies for Medical Applications." Polymers, 13(9), 1499. DOI: 10.3390/polym13091499
- Ashby, M.F. (2011). Materials Selection in Mechanical Design (4th ed.). Butterworth-Heinemann. ISBN: 978-1-85617-663-7.
- Forge Labs. (2024). "Mechanical Properties of 3D Printed Materials — Comprehensive Guide." forgelabs.com/blog/mechanical-properties-3d-printing-comprehensive-guide
- Simplify3D. (2024). "Ultimate 3D Printing Material Properties Table." simplify3d.com/resources/materials-guide/properties-table/
- Formlabs. (2024). "Heat-Resistant 3D Printing Materials Guide." formlabs.com/blog/heat-resistant-3d-printing/