3D Printing Materials

ABS

Get a quote

At a glance

Process

FDM 3D printing

Lead Time

24 hours

Colors

Black, white, neutral

Resolution

0.25 mm

Price

$$

Applications

Strength & complex geometries

About the material

ABS is a plastic material that’s great for mechanical strength and early stage rough prototypes. ABS is a cost-effective material for initial prototyping applications, and with post-processing options it can offer better surface finish than PLA.

Material Properties

Tensile Strength

31 MPa (XZ Axis), 26 MPa (ZX Axis)

Elongation at Break

6%

Modulus of Elasticity

2200 MPa (320000 PSI)

Flexural Strength

58 MPa (8450 PSI)

Material Finish

ABS has a matte finish with distinguished extrusion lines as the result of low-resolution (0.1 mm) layering. ABS comes in three colors, which each vary slightly in terms of finish: Black, White, and Neutral.

Black ABS is somewhat more shiny than its Neutral and White counterparts and is comparable to the finish of black PLA.

ABS in color Neutral has a more milky finish, while White ABS has the least shiny finish of the three.

Design Recommendations

Max Part Size [x, y, z]

406 x 305 x 406 mm

Min Clearance + Gaps for Fit

0.5 mm

Min Wall Thickness

1 mm min
  • Internal Cavities: All internal cavities will have support material inside.
  • Threads and Inserts: For ABS, we recommend you use heat stake inserts. For more information, check out our article on The Best Fasteners for 3D Printed Parts.
  • Text Guidelines: Engraved text (indented) is recommended over embossed, since ABS is not able to capture fine details very well.

YOU MIGHT ALSO BE INTERESTED IN

A Guide to Prototyping Materials for Medical Devices

“Medical device” is a broad umbrella term that covers a huge variety of apparatus and equipment, such as Band-Aids, dental floss, blood pressure cuffs, defibrillators, MRI scanners, and much, much more. It’s probably no surprise that medical device design constitutes a major segment of the field of mechanical engineering, especially in the U.S., which is […]

Learn More

How to Read Material Data Sheets

To most people, plastics might seem all the same, but to an engineer, plastics come in families, have cousin materials, and have other materials that are as different as cats are from dogs. Of course, our clients expect us to worry about these details, and as nerds, the minute differences between materials are a source […]

Learn More