An overview and collected information on the various thermoplastic formulations used in FDM printing.
An environmentally safe (relatively) thermoplastic that is easy to print with. It is made from corn starch, cassava roots, or sugarcane (pretty much any carbohydrate source). PLA is recyclable (you can melt it down and spin it out into new filament). It prints at reasonably low temperatures does not need a heated bed (though it helps). The low melting point (150-160C) and glass transition (60-65C) mean that it is not suitable for applications that will be exposed to heat, it may soften if left in a car on a hot day.
A good choice for functional prints. It has a higher melting point than PLA and is very resistant to solvents.
This was the first popular printing filament. it’s strong, tough, affordable, and it’s easy to modify the parts after printing. But it is a bit tricky to print, it needs a heated bed and is prone to warping and cracking during printing. Some folks use enclosed printers to avoid drafts that can mess up prints in progress.
Nylon is very tough and lightweight. It melts at a high temperature, so you may want to use an all metal hot end. It is commonly used when printing parts that need to be durable and need to survive mechanical wear and tear. These are the times when the strength of the more traditional PLA or ABS just won’t cut it. It has an excellent strength to flexibility ratio, resulting in products that are very strong yet have a small bit of flexibility.