The full 3D printing materials range we stock and print in-house in Bournemouth. PLA, PETG, ABS, ASA, TPU and polycarbonate filament, alongside carbon-fibre filament, glass-fibre composites and ESD-safe (electrostatic d… Every type of 3D printing filament printed in our UK workshop in Bournemouth. Pick by colour, by family, or jump straight to the spec.
"James handled the 3D printing for a functional heat resistant component we needed in batch production. He helped dial in the prototype first with their design service, then produced the final batch with really consistent results. Super fast 3D print turnaround and great quality across all the 3D printed parts. Will 100% be coming back."
"We needed a sit-in F1-car for an exhibition to showcase our new racing game. 3D Printing Express took our CAD, optimised it for strength and weight as we had no idea how it all worked! Turned out beautifully. They colour matched the finish and was looking like the real deal. On show day the cockpit ran non-stop, adults and kids jumped in. Multiple visitors asked who built it."
"We ordered a batch of 100 PA-12 parts from 3D Printing Express and could not be happier. Every part arrived consistent, dimensionally accurate, and ready for use straight from the box. The PA-12 gave us the strength and stability we needed for functional testing, with minimal post-processing required. Delivery was on time, communication was excellent, and their QC clearly made a difference."
Every grade in our 3D printing materials range is shown here. Tensile strength (how much force per area before it breaks) and the heat ceiling (the temperature it stops holding shape under load) are pulled from the verified manufacturer datasheets — the same numbers our UK 3D printing service quotes against. Real-world 3D-printed behaviour is sanity-checked per part — TPU is rubbery so it uses Shore hardness, not tensile.
| Grade | Family | Tensile XY | Heat ceiling | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PLA | Commodity · bio-sourced | 52.3 MPa | 60°C | Cosmetic, visual prototypes, cheapest |
| PLA+ | Commodity · toughened | 41.3 MPa | 55°C | Tough PLA · impact-loaded parts |
| PLA-CF | Commodity · CF-filled | 31.2 MPa | 54°C | Matt-black aesthetic, stiffness, zero-warp |
| PLA-Matte | Commodity · mineral-filled | 23.2 MPa | ~55°C | No-glare design-review models |
| PLA-Silk | Commodity · silk additive | 41.1 MPa | ~55°C | Glossy showpiece finish |
| PETG | Commodity · copolyester | 50.8 MPa | 78°C | Water-resistant, tough all-rounder |
| PETG+ | Commodity · PETG/PCTG | 37.9 MPa | 76°C | Impact-toughened PETG |
| ABS | Commodity · styrenic | 33.4 MPa | 100°C | Impact + heat, acetone-smoothable |
| ASA | Commodity · styrenic | 43.8 MPa | 103°C | Outdoor / UV-stable workhorse |
| PC | Commodity · polycarbonate | 69.1 MPa | 111°C | Impact + heat, transparent-capable |
| PC-ABS | Commodity · PC/ABS blend | 39.9 MPa | 112°C | Toughness + heat enclosures |
| TPU | Commodity · elastomer | Shore 95A | n/a | Flexible 3D printing |
| PA6-CF | Fiberon · CF nylon | 115.3 MPa | 215°C | Highest strength + stiffness |
| PA6-GF | Fiberon · GF nylon | 90.1 MPa | 191°C | Injection-mould replacement |
| PA12-CF | Fiberon · CF nylon | 77.4 MPa | 131°C | Impact-tough engineering nylon |
| PA612-CF | Fiberon · CF nylon | 91.9 MPa | 175°C | Outdoor / UV-tolerant CF nylon |
| PA612-ESD | Fiberon · ESD nylon | 84.3 MPa | 157°C | High-temperature ESD-safe |
| PET-CF | Fiberon · CF polyester | 65.9 MPa | 147°C | Stiff, dry, dimensional fixtures |
| PET-GF | Fiberon · GF polyester | 59.9 MPa | 133°C | Low-anisotropy, moisture-stable |
| PPS-CF | Fiberon · CF PPS | 59.4 MPa | 252°C | PEEK-adjacent, V-0 flame, chemical |
| PPS-GF | Fiberon · GF PPS | 64.1 MPa | 236°C | V-0 flame + dielectric, high-temp |
| PETG-rCF08 | Fiberon · recycled CF | 59.8 MPa | 66°C | Stiff + recycled-carbon sustainability |
| PETG-ESD | Fiberon · ESD PETG | 36.1 MPa | 72°C | ESD-safe electronics-bench tooling |
Numbers are from the verified Polymaker / Fiberon datasheets. Nylon strengths are dry-state — PA6/PA12/PA612 lose strength when they soak up moisture, the per-material pages show the wet-state figures. Recycled and bio-source detail is on the individual pages.
Send CAD or a sketch plus what the part has to do · load, temperature, environment, finish. We confirm the right grade within 24 hours.
Fixed price + lead time + grade recommendation + any anneal cycle. No design fees on standard quotes.
Calibrated nozzle, chamber and bed per grade. Hardened steel for carbon/glass composites, dried filament discipline included.
Anneal where the grade needs it, then sand, paint or smooth to spec. Dimensional check against CAD.
Tracked UK courier, tracking number the moment it leaves. Documentation pack on request.
Every job rides the queue toward our printer. Standard delivery is 5 to 7 working days, included with every order. Three paid tiers let you skip ahead when a deadline is tight:
Same materials, same QC, same engineer review · only the position in the schedule changes.
Skip the entire queue. We pause other work and print yours first. Best for hard deadlines.
Enquire for pricingJump near the front of the queue · same-day kick-off, no waiting on Standard jobs.
Enquire for pricingSkip a few jobs ahead · meaningfully faster than Standard, fits around our regular schedule.
Enquire for pricingJoins the back of the queue · same engineering bar as every paid tier, just longer wait.
No surchargeThere is no single best 3D printing material · it depends entirely on what the part has to do. For visual prototypes and cosmetic parts, PLA. For tough functional parts, PLA+ or ABS. For water-exposed parts, PETG. For outdoor parts, ASA. For high heat, the PPS family. For flexible parts, TPU. For the highest strength and stiffness, carbon-fibre nylon (PA6-CF). Tell us the job and we will spec the right grade.
Of the materials we print, carbon-fibre nylon (PA6-CF) has the highest mechanical envelope · tensile strength ~115 MPa X-Y and Young's modulus ~8,600 MPa, the stiffest grade in our range. PET-CF and the glass-filled engineering grades sit just below it. For real-world structural parts, the carbon and glass composites outperform unfilled grades even where a single lab number looks lower · what matters is how the printed part behaves, not just the datasheet.
TPU (thermoplastic polyurethane, Shore 95A) is the flexible 3D printing material in our range. It bends, compresses and returns to shape. The finished flexibility is set as much by design as by the material · wall count, infill density and pattern change how soft or firm a TPU part feels, and we tune those per part.
Start from the job, not the material. Answer five questions: (1) does it carry load or is it cosmetic? (2) what temperature does it see in service? (3) does it need to flex? (4) is it outdoor, wet, or chemical-exposed? (5) does it need ESD safety or flame rating? Those answers narrow the range to two or three. Send the brief and 3D Printing Express will guide you to the right material · material choice is part of the service, not an extra.
No. Manufacturer TDS (technical data sheet) values come from injection-moulded ISO test specimens, not FDM (fused deposition modelling) prints. An FDM part is layered and anisotropic, so it behaves differently · sometimes better, sometimes worse than the datasheet. We keep the verified TDS numbers as the cited baseline but sanity-check every recommendation against how the grade actually prints and performs. That practitioner layer is what you are paying for.
Yes. All our PLA and PETG print waste · failed prints, purge and support · is reclaimed and reprocessed in-house instead of going to landfill, at no surcharge. PETG-rCF08 additionally uses reclaimed carbon fibre. PLA is also bio-sourced from corn or sugarcane.
You'll hear back from our team within 24 hours · with a grade recommendation, the honest trade-offs, and lead-time confirmation. Material choice is part of the service.