A 3D printing part is no longer a prototype, but a finished product that can withstand the cacophony of an engine’s roar. It’s no longer a model, but a real orthosis that can support the load of a human body. At the root of it all are breakthroughs in high-performance materials science.
The 3D printing technology is advancing, and the high-strength materials are the cornerstone of its mass industrial uses. While most people are still amazed by the strength of nylon (PA), a more powerful and resilient material world has arrived.
This guide will look past nylon and examine five of the top high-strength 3D printing materials and how they are extending the boundaries of “manufacturing.” Whether you are an industry professional or just a 3D printing aficionado, you will receive content applicable to your application and better utilize 3D printing technology.
Core Answer Summary
| Material Name | Key Characteristics | Application Scenarios | Cost (USD per kg) |
| Nylon (PA) | Balanced comprehensive performance, heat resistance of 60-100°C, and easy processability. | Regular functional parts, prototypes. | 20-30 |
| Carbon Fiber-Reinforced Nylon (CF-PA) | 50%+ higher strength than PA, and lightweight property. | Drone fuselages, automotive structural parts. | 50-80 |
| Polycarbonate (PC) | High impact strength, heat resistance of 120-130°C, and light transmittance. | Protective enclosures, electronic components. | 35-50 |
| PEEK/PEKK | Heat resistance of 150-180°C, and strength comparable to metals. | Aerospace components, medical implants. | 300-500 |
| PET-CF | 40-60% higher strength than PETG, and chemical corrosion resistance. | Tool handles, mechanical parts. | 45-70 |
Why Trust JS Team’s High-Strength Materials Guide?
JS Team boasts 15+ years of 3D printing experience, serving customers within a wide range of industries including aerospace, automotive, and healthcare.
For example, we recently completed production of over 1,000 high-precision 3D printing parts for an auto manufacturer, which achieved outstanding test performance specifications under rigorous vehicle testing. We have also provided customized 3D printing parts to the medical industry, meeting rigorous material strength and biocompatibility requirements of medical devices.
We collaborated on several advanced projects and possess long-term field experience and research in the properties, application conditions, and printing technologies of a broad portfolio of 3D printing materials.
This High-Strength Materials Guide, being a summary of our project expertise and technical research, includes such useful topics as material selection, performance testing, and printing methods. It is a reliable and handy guide that may help you avoid errors in the selection and use of high-strength 3D printing materials.
Choosing the JS team provides you with expert guidance after decades.Whether it’s the selection of 3D printing materials or the production of 3D printing parts, we can meet your needs and help your project progress smoothly.
Beyond Prototyping: Why Is “High Strength” The Future Of 3D Printing
In the past, 3D printing was applied only to prototyping, and material strength was not the first concern. More and more, however, with advancing technology, 3D printing is moving towards the production of functional parts, and “high intensity” has become a key requirement.
Automotive structural parts and industrial mechanical transmission parts have to withstand high external loads. Inadequate material strength in 3D printing might limit their applications in industry. High-strength 3D printing materials, however, can produce functional components that meet standards and beyond their fields of application.
Moreover, as consumers demand more durability, high-strength materials can meet requirements for outdoor products, electrical components, and other products and spur innovation. Therefore, “high strength” is a critical parameter in 3D printing to transition from prototype to production and is its future.
JS knows high-strength 3D printing technology and is able to provide high-strength 3D printed parts. You may want to produce in industry or produce products, and we can apply our knowledge to meet your requirement and promote your project.
How Is The Strength Of 3D Printing Materials Defined?
What is “high strength”?
In a user’s perspective, “high strength” means 3D printing parts are capable of working in complex and stressful conditions, extending their life and reducing maintenance costs.
For example, parts of machinery equipment can be supported with increased loads, thus making ordinary products more durable. Also, high-strength materials allow for complex structural geometries without the need to simplify the design for strength, allowing users to create more functional products.
What is the typical definition of high-strength materials?
There is no standard definition of high-strength materials, but they are usually measured by the following parameters:
- Tensile Strength: The maximum stress a material can withstand when pulled beyond which it will fail. Expressed in megapascals (MPa), it shows its tensile strength.
- Flexural Modulus: Resistance of the material to deflection under bending. The greater the value, the more rigid the material. Expressed in megapascals (MPa).
- Impact Strength: Resistance of the material to damage by sudden impact. The greater the value, the more toughness. Expressed in kilojoules per square meter (kJ/m²).
- Heat Deflection Temperature (HDT): Temperature at which a material will begin to visibly warp when exposed to a given pressure. The greater the value, the greater high-temperature stability. Expressed in degrees Celsius (°C).
In producing 3D printing parts,JS team rigorously tests all measures of material strength to ensure that we provide you with products that are of “high-strength” quality, meet your specifications, and provide you with peace of mind while in use.
Baseline: Why Is Nylon (PA) The Baseline For High-Performance Printing?
Why is Nylon the Benchmark
Nylon (PA) has emerged as the go-to platform for high-performance 3D printing because it strikes a flawless balance between performance, cost, and processability. It is capable of meeting the minimum high-performance requirements of 3D printing materials in most industries without the corresponding expected high cost and process complexities of high-end materials.
The general performance of Nylon is above average with good toughness, strength, and heat resistance and is therefore suitable for the manufacturing of functional parts. It is easy to print, universal to most 3D printers, and cheaper than PEEK and ULTEM and is therefore best suited for new high-performance market users as well as a benchmark against which other high-performance materials are measured.
Key Characteristics Analysis
As the benchmark material for high-performance 3D printing, nylon (PA) possesses the following primary characteristics:
Excellent Mechanical Properties: Nylon possesses excellent tensile and impact strength, capable of withstanding loads and impacts, resulting in robust 3D printing parts. It even possesses some flexibility, so it is less susceptible to brittle fracture.
Higher Heat Resistance: The heat deflection temperature of Nylon is typically between 60-100°C,so it will be able to maintain its shape and properties even at high temperatures. Unlike plastics like PLA, its heat resistance is an advantage, suiting the needs of a wider range of applications.
Excellent Chemical Stability: Nylon has excellent resistance to chemicals, greases, and oils, and this enables nylon components to function properly in some special chemical environments.
Excellent Processability: Nylon material has good fluidity, which can fill the print head well during 3D printing, with a smooth interlayer bonding. Surface quality and dimensional precision of printed parts are relatively high. Besides, nylon material can be processed further, e.g., polishing and dyeing, in a way that enhances further the performance and appearance of parts.
JS team provides high-quality online 3D printing service. Based on experienced print equipment, we fully exploit the properties of nylon material to produce high-performance 3D printing parts to meet your various requirements.
PLA Vs. PLA+: Your First Guide To High-Strength Materials
Both PLA and PLA+ are widely used 3D printing filaments, and beginners usually start with these two. The following is a comparison of their performance:
| Performance Indicator | PLA | PLA+ |
| Tensile Strength (MPa) | Approximately 50-60 | Approximately 65-80 |
| Impact Strength (kJ/m²) | Approximately 2-3 | Approximately 4-6 |
| Heat Deflection Temperature (°C) | Approximately 50-60 | Approximately 55-65 |
| Printing Difficulty | Low, easy to use, no heated bed or enclosed chamber required. | Relatively low, similar to PLA, with minor parameter adjustments needed for some brands. |
| Cost (USD per kg) | Approximately 20-30 | Approximately 25-35 |
| Application Scenarios | Prototypes, decorative items, low-strength daily necessities. | Daily necessities with certain strength requirements, small tools, etc. |
PLA+ is slightly superior to PLA in tensile strength, impact strength, and resistance to heat, resulting in more durable 3D printed components, but with a slight higher cost. Choosing PLA vs PLA+ requires a balance between demand and 3D printing price: Choose PLA for simple prototypes, choose PLA+ for durability.
Material Kings Overview: 5 High-Strength 3D Printing Materials That Outdo Nylon
Although nylon is the default material for high-performance 3D printing, more challenging applications require superior materials. The next five high-strength 3D printing materials outshine nylon:
Carbon Fiber Reinforced Nylon (CF-PA)
CF-PA is a carbon fiber and nylon composite, offering significant performance upgrades:
- Strength and Stiffness: Tensile strength and flexural modulus more than 50% higher than pure nylon, resulting in stiffer 3D printing parts.
- Dimensional Stability: Minimal shrinkage, high accuracy of parts, and excellent deformation resistance.
- Lightweight: Lighter than metal, best suited for weight-critical applications such as aerospace and automobile.
- Applications: UAV fuselages, auto body structural parts, etc. It costs $50-80 per kilogram but with lower impact strength than pure nylon.
Polycarbonate (PC)
PC possesses high performance with the following attributes:
- Excellent impact strength: 2-3 times that of nylon with excellent impact resistance, thus making it suitable in protective cases and parts of sporting equipment.
- Heat resistance: Deformation temperature under heat of 120-130°C, with excellent high-temperature stability.
- Light transmittance: Virtually glass-like with uses in lampshades and transparent cases.
- Applications: Electronic parts and medical device components. Printing requires temperatures of 250-300°C, a heated bed of 100-120°C, and a sealed chamber. It costs $35-50 per kilogram.
PC-ABS Alloy
PC-ABS alloy is a combination of the best aspects of PC and ABS with optimally balanced performance:
- Overall performance: It combines the heat and impact strength of PC with the excellent processability and fluidity of ABS to produce high-quality parts.
- Chemical resistance: Stronger than pure ABS or PC, suitable for harsh chemical environments.
- Applications: Electronic device housing, automotive interior, etc.Printing temperature of 240-280 ° C, heating bed of 90-110 ° C, cost of $40-60 per kilogram.
PETG and reinforced forms thereof (PET-CF)
PETG boasts excellent basic properties, and PET-CF is its carbon fiber reinforced version:
- PETG: High tensile strength, impact resistance, transparency, and low printing difficulty (220-250°C, hot bed: 70-90°C), suitable for simple every-day objects, cost: $25-40 per kilogram.
- PET-CF: 40-60% stronger than PETG, with higher rigidity and dimensional stability, suitable for tool handles and mechanical parts. Prevention from nozzle clogging is required when printing, and the price is $45-70 per kilogram.
Polyaryletherketone (PAEK) Family – Represented by PEEK/PEKK
The PAEK family comes with PEEK and PEKK offering the best performance:
- Heat Resistance: Being 150-180°C in heat deflection temperature, they withstand long-term exposure to temperatures and are suitable for applications in the petrochemical and aerospace industries.
- Mechanical Properties: Strength similar to metals, high-temperature performance stability, wear and fatigue resistance, and prolonged part life.
- Biocompatibility: Suitable for medical use, e.g., orthopedic implants.
- Applications: Precision machine parts and high-performance electronics require industrial-grade 3D printers (400°C + print temperature, 120°C + chamber temperature) costing $300-500 per kilogram.
Unleashing Potential: Optimal Settings And Techniques For Printing High-Strength Materials
Extract the most out of high-strength 3D printing materials by fine-tuning the proper print settings and techniques:
Key Printing Parameters
Different high-strength materials have different parameters. Common materials are listed below for reference:
- Carbon Fiber Reinforced Nylon (CF-PA): Print temperature 250-280°C, heated bed 80-110°C, speed 30-50mm/s, layer thickness 0.15-0.2mm to ensure strength and precision.
- Polycarbonate (PC): Temperature of print 250-300°C, heated bed 100-120°C, chamber temperature 50-80°C, print speed 40-60mm/s in order to minimize warping and cracking of the parts.
- PEEK/PEKK: Temperature of print 380-420°C, heated bed 120-150°C, chamber temperature 120-180°C, print speed 20-40mm/s, ensuring full material fusion.
Practical Printing Tips
Pretreatment of Material: Most high-strength 3D printing materials such as nylon and PETG are hygroscopic. Preheat prior to printing (nylon at 80-90°C for 4-6 hours, PETG at 60-70°C for 2-3 hours) to reduce bubbles and stringing.
Selecting the Right Extruder: In the case of printing carbon fiber-reinforced products (such as CF-PA and PET-CF), using a hardened steel nozzles or ruby nozzles is recommended. Brass nozzles will wear out and clog easily, affecting print quality and the extruder’s lifespan.
Support Structure Insertion: In the case of 3D printing parts with complex geometry and overhangs, there is a requirement for the proper support structures(Tree or linear). Also, pay attention to modifying the support density to avoid overly dense supports that are difficult to remove, or sparse supports that do not work well in support.
Post-processing Optimization: After printing, appropriate post-processing of the part can further enhance its performance. As an example, warming up a nylon part in water can restructure its molecules into more crystalline ones and, as a result, strengthen and toughen it.
JS Case Study: How To Reshape Aerospace Testing Fixtures Using PEI (ULTRAM) 3D Printing
Client Challenge
An aerospace test lab needed a custom sensor bracket fixture for a high-temperature test stand. The fixture had to withstand 150°C airflow and extreme vibration. Standard aluminum fixtures took four weeks to produce, weighed a lot, and were expensive, and weren’t easy to create lightweight structures and thus weren’t appropriate for the fast testing project requirements.
JS’s Solution: Polyetherimide 3D printing (ULTEM 9085 resin)
Material Selection Reasons
1.Extremely High Heat Resistance: ULTEM 9085 resin has a heat deflection temperature (HDT) of over 210°C, far exceeding the client’s required high-temperature condition of 150°C. It guarantees that the fixture is able to maintain stable shape and performance under sustained high heat, without deforming or damaging.
2.High Strength-to-Weight Ratio: ULTEM 9085 resin is considerably lighter in weight than aluminum. Fixtures produced with this material are over 50% lighter than their traditional aluminum counterparts, effectively reducing the test platform’s load, improving its flexibility and service life, while also facilitating the installation and disassembly of fixtures.
3.Intrinsic Flame Retardancy: ULTEM 9085 resin has flame retardancy of V0 level, and self-extinguishes very quickly when exposed to open flames without yielding large amounts of smoke or toxic gases. It meets stringent aerospace safety standards for testing, ensuring safety for individuals and equipment involved in testing.
4.Quick Manufacturing: 3D printing is utilized to manufacture this fixture, with significantly reduced production cycle time. From design verification to complete production, the whole process requires just a couple of days, compared to the traditional four-week manufacturing cycle of typical aluminum fixtures. This tremendously accelerates the testing project of the customer and allows them to complete their testing activities on schedule.
Execution Process
After the mounting specification and sensor size were confirmed with the client,JS designed an assembled hollow bracket using 3D design software,balancing installation stability and weight reduction requirements. Subsequently,we using an industrial grade FDM printer, with controlled print temperature of 390-410°C and chamber temperature of 130-150°C to attain interlayer adhesion. The supports were removed and parts smoothed through post-processing.
Results
The laboratory received the fixture within 5 days, with a time saving of 87.5% and cost saving of 30% compared to the conventional machining. The fixture performed steadily under experimental conditions of high vibration and temperature, and sensor data were accurate, fully reflecting the advantage of 3D printing in the manufacturing of customized parts and JS capability in high-strength 3D printing materials and custom 3D printing manufacturing.
Dedicated personnel with many years of experience in custom 3D printing manufacturing, the JS team can provide economical solutions to aerospace, automotive, and other industries’ clients. If you have a need for 3D printing parts for special scenarios,utilize our online 3D printing services for prompt, top-level output.
FAQs
Q1: Are these materials printed on a special machine?
Printing of high-strength parts like PC, PC-ABS, and carbon fiber nylon is typically sufficient on a high-end desktop 3D printer with a sealed chamber, which will meet the needs of ordinary industrial prototypes or simple functional pieces. Printing of ultra-high-performance materials like ULTEM and PEEK, however, is required using an industrial-specific 3D printer because the materials might require print temperatures of 400°C+ and chamber temperatures of 120°C+, far beyond the capability of ordinary equipment.
Q2: How expensive are these high-strength materials?
Prices of different high-strength 3D printing materials vary significantly, and increase with performance. Nylon is an entry-level material that is cheap in kilograms but has high value, and suitable for customers who need plain high-strength products at affordable prices. Carbon fiber nylon is more expensive but suitable for applications that incur high stiffness requirements. PEEK and ULTEM are prohibitively expensive, hundreds per kilogram, and used only for the most critical high-value applications like aerospace.
Q3: Would I prefer pure nylon or carbon fiber nylon?
The decision is application scenario dependent. If your 3D-printed components need to be more stiff, dimensionally stable, and print fast (carbon fiber mitigates material shrinkage), e.g., mechanical transmittance components, use carbon fiber nylon. If components need to be more impact-resistant and ductile, e.g., impact-susceptible housings, use pure nylon.
Q4: Is PLA+ truly much stronger than PLA?
Yes, but the degree of improvement varies by brand and type. High-end PLA+ has the greatest amount of toughness (impact resistance) improvement, with components less prone to cracking and able to handle small everyday impacts. Its tensile strength can be 15-30% better, but the improvement in heat resistance is limited and its heat deflection temperature no better than PLA, so only suitable for low-temperature use.
Summary
High-strength 3D printing materials increasingly narrow the gap between end products and prototypes, as well as between metals and plastic, and enable designers to achieve unprecedented liberty of design in creating parts featuring challenging-to-implement geometries and increased functionality, creating new possibilities for the use of 3D printing in industrial, aerospace, medical, and other fields.
No matter if you require extra strength, better heat tolerance, or optimal cost savings, there is always a high-strength 3D printing material that can meet your needs.With expert technology, abundant experience, and high-standard online 3D printing services, JS provides one-stop support from start to finish to assist you in realizing your creative idea as high-performance 3D printed components.
Don’t restrict your designs to “possible.” Post your 3D model file today to our web-based intelligent quotation system and we will provide you with a step-by-step quotation and open 3D printing prices to make your 3D printing endeavor a success.
Disclaimer
The content of this website is for reference only. JS services expressly disclaims any representations or warranties, express or implied, as to the accuracy, completeness or validity of the information provided. Any performance parameters, geometric tolerances, design features, material specifications or processes mentioned should not be considered as any commitment or guarantee by JS for products offered by third-party suppliers or manufacturers on its network or other channels. Buyers seeking quotes for parts are responsible for confirming their specific needs and product suitability. If you have any questions or need further information, please contact JS directly.
JS Team
JS is an industry-leading companyFocus on custom manufacturing solutions. We have over 20 years of experience with over 5,000 customers, and we focus on high precisionCNC machining,Sheet metal manufacturing,3D printing,Injection molding,Metal stamping,and other one-stop manufacturing services.
Our factory is equipped with over 100 state-of-the-art 5-axis machining centers, ISO 9001:2015 certified. We provide fast, efficient and high-quality manufacturing solutions to customers in more than 150 countries around the world. Whether it is small volume production or large-scale customization, we can meet your needs with the fastest delivery within 24 hours. chooseJS TechnologyThis means selection efficiency, quality and professionalism.
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