ABS EF

ABS is a plastic formed from acrylonitrile, butadiene and styrene. It's called engineering plastic because it's a material with superior mechanical and thermal properties than conventional plastics, which also implies greater printing difficulties.

Due to its composition, ABS has the following properties:

• Acrylonitrile provides hardness, resistance to high temperatures, resistance to chemical products and rigidity.
• Butadiene offers temperature toughness, especially when it's low and impact resistance.
• Styrene provides more rigidity and mechanical strength.

The combination of these three building blocks makes ABS a plastic that is widely used in industrial sectors such as the automotive industry or in commonly used products (toys, household appliance casings, etc.). ABS is one of the most widely used materials for 3D printing, so it is not surprising that manufacturers are developing new materials based on ABS.

ABS EF is characterised by its thermal and impact resistance. Its specific viscosity for additive manufacturing enables the printing of high-precision details.

A smoothing solution or acetone can be used to smooth the surface of the printed parts. Nanovia ABS EF is certified free of estrogenic endocrine disruptors.

Its benefits include:

• Suitable for human contact applications (e.g. children's toys)
• Impact resistant
• RoHS certified (certified free of heavy metals)

3D printing with ABS EF filament has some complexity compared to other materials. The optimum extrusion temperature for ABS EF is around 250°C, slightly higher than PLA. ABS EF requires the use of a hot bed, which should be between 100 °C and 110 °C. It is also recommended to coat the printer bed with Kapton Tape, BuildTak, DimaFix, Magigoo or 3DLac to achieve a good adhesion of the first layer and to avoid possible deformations such as warping.