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ABS is a plastic formed from acrylonitrile, butadiene and styrene. It's often referred to as an engineering material because of its superior mechanical and thermal properties compared to conventional plastics. 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 with coveted properties and thus widely used in industrial sectors such as the automobile or in commodities such as toys, electrodomestic products, etc. As a consequence of its widespread use in the industry, ABS was one of the first to be used in 3D printing together with PLA. Contrary to PLA, ABS can be easily post-processed by means of machining, polishing, drilling, gluing or painting without the need for special tools or products.
| Material | PLA Basic | ABS Basic |
|---|---|---|
| Biodegradable |  |
 |
| Hygroscopic | |
|
| Machining possible | |
|
| Coating possible | |
|
| Requires Hot bed | |
|
| Warping tendency | |
|
| Gives off odors | |
|
Table 1: Comparison of printing properties and characteristics of PLA and ABS Basic.
The ABS Basic filament is a 3D printing filament made in Europe according to highest standards and using quality raw matter. The main characteristics of ABS Basic are its resistance, toughness and opacity. ABS Basic is available in 1 kg spools and in diameters of 1.75 mm and 3 mm, formats compatible with a large number of FDM 3D printers on the market. ABS Basic Purple stands out from other filaments of the same material for its great value for money, offering very good results at an affordable and competitive price.
Image 1: Some of the colors of ABS Basic. Source: Filament2Print.
3D printing with the ABS Basic filament has some complexity compared to other materials. The optimal extrusion temperature for ABS Basic is around 230 ºC, slightly higher than PLA. ABS Basic Purple requires the use of a heated bed, which must be between 90-120 ºC. It's also recommended to cover the printer bed with Kapton Tape, BuildTak, DimaFix, Magigoo or with 3DLac to achieve a good adhesion of the first layer and thus avoid possible deformations such as warping.
General information |
|
| Material | ABS |
| Format | 1 kg |
| Density | 1.04 g/cm³ |
| Filament diameter | 1.75 / 3.00 mm |
| Filament tolerance | ± 0.05 mm |
| Filament length | (Ø 1.75 mm) ±339 m / (Ø 3 mm) ±136 m |
Printing properties |
|
| Printing temperature | 220 - 240 ºC |
| Print bed temperature | 90 - 120 ºC |
| Chamber temperature | ✗ |
| Cooling fan | ✗ |
| Recommended printing speed | - mm/s |
Mechanical properties |
|
| Elongation at break | (ASTM D638) 40 % |
| Tensile strength | (ASTM D638) 42 MPa |
| Tensile modulus | - MPa |
| Flexural strength | (ASTM D790) 68 MPa |
| Flexural modulus | (ASTM D790) 2255 MPa |
| Surface hardness | (ASTM D785) Rockwell 110 |
Thermal properties |
|
| Melting temperature | 200 ºC |
| Softening temperature | (ASTM E2092) 105 ºC |
Specific properties |
|
| Transparency | - |
Other |
|
| HS Code | 3916.9 |
| Spool diameter (outer) | 200 mm |
| Spool diameter (inner hole) | 55 mm |
| Spool width | 50 mm |
3D printing with ABS filament is slightly more complex than with PLA filament. In the case of ABS filament, it's necessary that the printing base is hot, between 90 ºC and 120 ºC. In addition, the extruder temperature must be between 215 ºC and 230 ºC depending on the color used.
It should also be remembered that ABS plastic suffers from the phenomenon called "warping", which causes the first layer of parts to peel off from the base of the 3D printer. For this reason, it's recommended to use Kapton Tape, BuildTak, DimaFix, Magigoo or with 3DLac to achieve a good adhesion of the first layer and thus avoid possible deformations such as "Warping".
When generating the print file, it's recommended to configure the “raft”, which consists of creating a first thick layer, like supports, that will not undergo this contraction and on which the piece will be printed. The downside to using the raft is that this first coat will look less smooth. It's recommended to lower the density of the “infill” parameter so that the piece stores less heat. Regarding the “brim” parameter (the membrane that is created around the piece) it's recommended to adjust it in thicknesses never greater than 5mm to help the first layer not peel off.
If you need to print very thin and tall parts, the material will not have enough time to harden in each layer of printing, and deformations could result. To solve this problem, we recommend printing at least 2 pieces spaced at the same time in the printer base. In this way, while the extruder moves from one piece to another in each printing layer, the plastic has enough time to harden, achieving a much better result. The article on our 3D printing blog explains about the main questions of 3D printing in PLA and ABS.
As for the temperature of the interior where it's going to print, it's recommended that it be controlled and that there are no drafts. Finally, we recommend printing with ABS Basic in a well-ventilated room, as the vapors that are released during printing with ABS filament are not entirely healthy.
Featured properties
Printing temperature
220 - 240 ºC
Filament diameter
1.75 / 3.00 mm
Density
1,04 g/cm³
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ABS filament with high strength, toughness and durability. Many colors available.