Every setting,
one page per material.
Nozzle and bed temperature, whether it needs an enclosure, whether it needs drying, and the fault people actually hit with it. These are typical manufacturer-published ranges for each material class, not numbers we measured.
All materials
| Material | Nozzle | Bed | Enclosure | Dry first | Level |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PLA | 180-220°C | 50-60°C | Not needed | Usually not | Beginner |
| PETG | 220-250°C | 70-85°C | Not needed | Yes | Beginner |
| ABS | 220-250°C | 100-110°C | Required | Yes | Intermediate |
| ASA | 235-255°C | 90-110°C | Required | Yes | Intermediate |
| PC | 260-310°C | 100-120°C | Required | Yes | Advanced |
| PEEK | 370-420°C | 120-160°C | Required | Yes | Expert |
| Nylon PA6 | 230-260°C | 70-90°C | Required | Yes | Advanced |
| Nylon PA12 | 240-270°C | 70-90°C | Required | Yes | Advanced |
| PA-CF | 260-280°C | 80-100°C | Required | Yes | Advanced |
| PETG-CF | 240-260°C | 80-90°C | Not needed | Yes | Intermediate |
| PCTG | 230-250°C | 70-85°C | Not needed | Yes | Beginner |
| CPE | 240-260°C | 75-90°C | Recommended | Yes | Intermediate |
| HIPS | 220-250°C | 100-115°C | Required | Usually not | Intermediate |
| PLA Silk | 195-225°C | 50-60°C | Not needed | Usually not | Beginner |
| PLA Matte | 195-220°C | 50-60°C | Not needed | Usually not | Beginner |
| PLA Wood | 190-220°C | 50-60°C | Not needed | Usually not | Intermediate |
| PLA Metal | 190-225°C | 50-60°C | Not needed | Usually not | Intermediate |
| TPU | 220-250°C | 30-50°C | Not needed | Yes | Intermediate |
| TPE | 210-240°C | 30-50°C | Not needed | Yes | Advanced |
| PVA | 190-220°C | 45-60°C | Not needed | Yes | Intermediate |
| PP | 220-250°C | 85-100°C | Recommended | Usually not | Advanced |
| PVB | 215-235°C | 60-75°C | Not needed | Yes | Intermediate |
| PLA-CF | 190-230°C | 50-60°C | Not needed | Usually not | Intermediate |
| PA-GF | 250-280°C | 80-100°C | Required | Yes | Advanced |
| ASA-CF | 240-270°C | 90-110°C | Required | Yes | Advanced |
| PC-CF | 260-300°C | 100-120°C | Required | Yes | Expert |
| PEI | 370-410°C | 140-180°C | Required | Yes | Expert |
| PPS | 300-340°C | 120-150°C | Required | Yes | Expert |
| Conductive PLA | 195-220°C | 50-60°C | Not needed | Usually not | Intermediate |
| Glow PLA | 200-225°C | 50-60°C | Not needed | Usually not | Intermediate |
| Magnetic PLA | 195-225°C | 50-60°C | Not needed | Usually not | Intermediate |
Beginner
Prints on a stock machine with no extra hardware.
PLA
Polylactic Acid
The default beginner filament. Prints cool, sticks well, warps very little, and needs no enclosure. It gives up heat resistance in exchange for all of that.
180-220°C nozzle · 50-60°C bed
PETG
Polyethylene Terephthalate Glycol
The usual step up from PLA. Tougher, more heat resistant, still printable without an enclosure. The trade is stringing and fussier bed adhesion.
220-250°C nozzle · 70-85°C bed
PCTG
Polycyclohexylenedimethylene Terephthalate Glycol
A close cousin of PETG with better impact strength and clarity. Prints at similar settings and strings less.
230-250°C nozzle · 70-85°C bed
PLA Silk
Silk PLA
PLA with additives that give a glossy, near-metallic sheen. It looks excellent and prints slightly weaker than standard PLA.
195-225°C nozzle · 50-60°C bed
PLA Matte
Matte PLA
PLA with a matting agent that hides layer lines. The most forgiving way to make a print look finished without sanding.
195-220°C nozzle · 50-60°C bed
Intermediate
Needs one thing you may not own yet, usually an enclosure or a dryer.
ABS
Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene
The classic engineering thermoplastic. Handles heat to around 80C and can be vapour smoothed with acetone. It warps hard without an enclosure.
220-250°C nozzle · 100-110°C bed
ASA
Acrylonitrile Styrene Acrylate
ABS reformulated to survive sunlight. Same strength and heat resistance, far better UV stability. This is the outdoor engineering material.
235-255°C nozzle · 90-110°C bed
PETG-CF
Carbon Fibre Reinforced PETG
PETG with carbon fibre added for stiffness and a matte black finish. Easier than PA-CF and it hides layer lines well. Still abrasive.
240-260°C nozzle · 80-90°C bed
CPE
Co-Polyester
An engineering co-polyester built for chemical resistance. Tougher and more chemically stable than PETG, with slightly better heat resistance.
240-260°C nozzle · 75-90°C bed
HIPS
High-Impact Polystyrene
Mostly used as a dissolvable support material alongside ABS. It dissolves in limonene, which lets you print overhangs that would otherwise be impossible.
220-250°C nozzle · 100-115°C bed
PLA Wood
Wood-Filled PLA
PLA mixed with wood fibre. It sands and stains like timber and can be colour-shifted by changing nozzle temperature.
190-220°C nozzle · 50-60°C bed
PLA Metal
Metal-Filled PLA
PLA loaded with metal powder. Heavier in the hand, polishable to a real metallic finish, and abrasive enough to need a hardened nozzle.
190-225°C nozzle · 50-60°C bed
TPU
Thermoplastic Polyurethane
The flexible one. Rubbery, tough, and abrasion resistant, and the only common filament that survives being bent repeatedly. Printing it is a mechanical problem rather than a temperature one.
220-250°C nozzle · 30-50°C bed
PVA
Polyvinyl Alcohol
A support material that dissolves in plain water. It exists so you can print geometry that would otherwise be impossible to clean up, and it is useless without a second extruder.
190-220°C nozzle · 45-60°C bed
PVB
Polyvinyl Butyral
Prints about as easily as PLA and smooths with isopropyl alcohol rather than acetone, which makes glass-clear parts achievable without a solvent cabinet.
215-235°C nozzle · 60-75°C bed
PLA-CF
Carbon Fibre Reinforced PLA
PLA with chopped carbon fibre for stiffness and a matte black finish that hides layer lines completely. Easier than any other composite, and abrasive enough to need a hardened nozzle.
190-230°C nozzle · 50-60°C bed
Conductive PLA
Carbon-Loaded Conductive PLA
PLA loaded with conductive carbon black. It conducts well enough for a capacitive touch pad or a low-current sensor trace, and nowhere near well enough to be treated as wire.
195-220°C nozzle · 50-60°C bed
Glow PLA
Glow-in-the-Dark PLA
PLA carrying strontium aluminate phosphor, which charges under light and releases it slowly in the dark. It prints like PLA and wears nozzles like a composite.
200-225°C nozzle · 50-60°C bed
Magnetic PLA
Iron-Filled Magnetic PLA
PLA packed with iron powder. Parts are noticeably heavy, can be rusted deliberately for an aged finish, and are attracted to magnets, which is not the same as being magnetic.
195-225°C nozzle · 50-60°C bed
Advanced
Needs an enclosure, a dry box, and a hot end that runs well above 250C.
PC
Polycarbonate
The strongest and most heat resistant material most desktop printers can run. Genuinely tough, genuinely difficult, and it demands a hot end that can hold 300C.
260-310°C nozzle · 100-120°C bed
Nylon PA6
Polyamide 6
Tough, abrasion resistant and self-lubricating. Stronger than PA12 but noticeably thirstier, which makes it the harder of the two nylons to run well.
230-260°C nozzle · 70-90°C bed
Nylon PA12
Polyamide 12
The easier nylon. Absorbs less water than PA6 and moves less after printing, at some cost in stiffness.
240-270°C nozzle · 70-90°C bed
PA-CF
Carbon Fibre Reinforced Nylon
Nylon with chopped carbon fibre. Much stiffer and more dimensionally stable than plain nylon, and abrasive enough to destroy a brass nozzle in a single print.
260-280°C nozzle · 80-100°C bed
TPE
Thermoplastic Elastomer
Softer and stretchier than TPU, and harder to print for exactly that reason. Choose it when the part has to feel genuinely rubbery rather than merely flexible.
210-240°C nozzle · 30-50°C bed
PP
Polypropylene
Chemically inert, fatigue resistant, and the best material available for living hinges. It also refuses to stick to almost every build surface, which is the whole difficulty.
220-250°C nozzle · 85-100°C bed
PA-GF
Glass Fibre Reinforced Nylon
Nylon with chopped glass fibre. Tougher and less brittle than the carbon-filled version, at some cost in stiffness, and it keeps nylon impact resistance rather than trading it away.
250-280°C nozzle · 80-100°C bed
ASA-CF
Carbon Fibre Reinforced ASA
ASA with carbon fibre: UV stability and heat resistance, plus stiffness and a matte finish. The natural choice for an outdoor part that also has to hold its shape under load.
240-270°C nozzle · 90-110°C bed
Expert
Needs a high-temperature machine most desktop printers cannot match.
PEEK
Polyether Ether Ketone
The polymer family used in aerospace and in medical implants, though a spool of printing filament carries no such certification itself. It needs a 400C hot end and a heated chamber, so it is out of reach of nearly every consumer printer.
370-420°C nozzle · 120-160°C bed
PC-CF
Carbon Fibre Reinforced Polycarbonate
Polycarbonate with carbon fibre: the stiffest and most heat-tolerant material most desktop printers can reach, at the cost of needing every piece of hardware at once. Chosen when a part has to stay rigid while hot.
260-300°C nozzle · 100-120°C bed
PEI
Polyetherimide, sold as ULTEM
An aerospace-grade thermoplastic with a UL 94 V-0 flame rating and a glass transition around 186C. It needs a 400C hot end and a heated chamber, so it is machine-limited rather than skill-limited.
370-410°C nozzle · 140-180°C bed
PPS
Polyphenylene Sulfide
A semi-crystalline engineering polymer with excellent chemical and heat resistance. Usually sold carbon-filled, because neat PPS shrinks enough to be impractical on a desktop machine.
300-340°C nozzle · 120-150°C bed