Polymaker FAQ
About Polymaker Materials
Overview of material options
Here at Polymaker, we currently offer dozens of material types under three different product families.
Polymaker Prime Materials includes a range of functional materials, such as strong PLA, ABS/ASA, TPU, and PETG.
The Panchroma™ product family features a wide array of amazing aesthetic colors and cool effects.
Fiberon™ is our line of fiber-reinforced engineering materials.
Each of these materials offers its own benefits, use cases, and limitations.
What are the differences between each material type?
To start with, PLA is the most common FDM 3D printing material. It is easy to print, affordable, and suitable for use cases such as toys and prototyping. However, PLA has lower heat resistance and standard PLA can break easily. PLA Pro and PolyMax™ PLA are excellent PLA options that offer added impact resistance. Panchroma™ PLA is our listing of amazing colors and color effects for any artistic endeavors.
ABS and ASA provide increased heat and impact resistance compared to standard PLA. ABS is the material used to make LEGOs, and you can think of ASA as similar to ABS but with added UV resistance.
PETG is your go-to material for easy printing, inexpensive chemical resistance. It is not the most chemically resistant material on the market but it is very cost effective. It is also easy to print and has a slightly higher heat resistance than standard PLA. The new Polymaker™ PETG has some of the best layer adhesion on the market as well!
TPU is a flexible material, and each of our TPU options has a Shore hardness rating, with lower numbers indicating softer materials.
Polycarbonate is a highly heat-resistant material, and we offer some PC options with unique applications. However, all polycarbonate materials can be challenging to print without a heated chamber printer.
Nylon is a great material when you need strength, but keep in mind that it is hygroscopic, meaning it can easily absorb moisture.
What is Panchroma™?
Panchroma™ is our product family offering dozens of amazing color effects. The majority of these options are standard PLA, although more exotic options are on the way.
This means that if you want anything from basic matte black PLA to sparkly PLA, and everything in between, Panchroma™ is the way to go.
All Panchroma™ PLA products will print on any printer without additional requirements, except for the glow-in-the-dark and luminous options. These options are slightly more abrasive than standard PLA and require an abrasion-resistant nozzle.
If you have an artistic endeavor then you can't go wrong with Panchroma™.
What is Fiberon™?
Fiberon™ is our new product family of engineering fiber-reinforced 3D printing materials. We offer strong filaments reinforced with carbon fiber and glass fiber.
Currently, every Fiberon™ material option can print without the need for an enclosure, which is uncommon for high-temperature resistant nylons. It is recommended to use an enclosure for large Fiberon™ ASA-CF08 to prevent warping entirely, and all products should have good ventillation while printing.
All Fiberon™ materials currently do require a hardened abrasive resistant nozzle to print with. The only current exception is our PETG-ESD, which is not abrasive.
Please note that the number after CF or GF in Fiberon™ material names indicates the content by weight. For example, PPS-CF10 contains 10% carbon fiber by weight while PPS-GF20 contains 20% glass fiber by weight.
Fiberon™ materials offer excellent performance with the best printability and cost-to-performance ratio on the market
Ultra Performance vs High Performance vs General Engineering Fiberon™ Materials.
We classify a Fiberon™ Material as Ultra Performance if it exceeds other material options on the market today in terms of engineering performance.
For example, we launched Fiberon™ with our PPS-CF10, the ultimate rigid and heat-resistant material currently available. After annealing, PPS-CF10 yields a material with an impressive heat deflection temperature of 250°C, far higher than nearly any other material on the market.
Interestingly, PPS-CF doesn't require an enclosure but does need a hotend capable of reaching slightly above 300°C, which is not standard on FDM 3D printing machines. Ensure your printer's nozzle can achieve at least 310°C before purchasing PPS-CF10.
High Performance materials are suitable for most engineering applications, cost-effective, and compatible with the majority of 3D printers, provided they have an abrasion-resistant nozzle. Fiberon™ PET-CF17 is a phenomenal all-around engineering material that is rigid, heat-resistant, and strong, suitable for many applications.
We also offer various carbon fiber and glass fiber nylon options with properties to suit different needs, such as needing electrical insulation. Keep in mind that nylon-based materials (those starting with PA) are hygroscopic, so we recommend using a filament dryer when printing them.
General Engineering Fiberon™ materials are excellent for basic engineering applications that don't require exceptional strength or heat resistance. They are relatively inexpensive and easy to print, requiring only a hardened nozzle if they contain abrasive reinforcement
Do you have a printer profile for my printer?
Unfortunately, if we do not have a profile listed on our Printer Profiles page, we do not currently offer one. We have recently added many Bambu Lab profiles to our products under those print settings tabs, although not all of our material options are covered at this time.
It is challenging for us to provide specific profiles for every slicer/printer/material combination. However, we have a dedicated community of thousands of Discord members who have created a wide range of profiles. It may be worth checking out our Discord community to see if someone has already created the profile you need.
What are your most up to date HEX codes and Transmission Distances?
You can find the most up to date list HERE
Get Detailed Further Help
If you have a question that our "Start Here" page or Filament Guide page can't answer, don't worry—we have several options to help. One of the best options is our intelligent AI chatbot. While AI might have a significant impact in the future, for now, we can leverage its intelligence and speed to our advantage.
You can ask this bot anything about Polymaker filaments, and it will likely find the answer. If it can't, we will train it to do so in the future. If you have a project with specific requirements, just ask the bot for its suggestions. This chatbot is located by clicking on "Ask" at the top of this Wiki, or you can you find it on our US or Canada stores on the bottom right hand side.
The bot cannot assist with order or shipping issues, but it can likely help with your material-related questions. If it can't assist, feel free to ask it to connect you with an agent, leave your email address, and one of our representatives will reach out either immediately or within one business day.
Additionally, we recommend checking out our Materials app for detailed material properties. You can also visit our "Contact Us" page to contact us directly.
What are Creator Spools?
Polymaker works with some awesome creators to make unique spools and colors just for them and their followers! This includes:
3D Print General FDE PLA Pro
Loyal Moses Sparkle Green PLA Pro
Hedgehog Makes Galaxy PLA
These spools are the same formula as their base material - 3D Print General and Loyal Moses spools are PolyLite PLA Pro and Hedgehog Makes is Panchroma Galaxy PLA.
Other Common Questions
Do you offer filament swatches or samples?
We regret to inform you that we do not currently offer filament swatches or sample spools of individual materials. We are working on creating swatches this year and plan to add more sample options, but we do not have a specific ETA for these at the moment.
If you are planning to purchase bulk quantities, please let us know your expected order quantity by emailing us at [email protected].
To note, a third party does currently make swatches of our products, if you were interested you can find that HERE.
Are there any food safe materials?
Unfortunately, we do not have any data regarding whether a material is food-safe. As of now, no 3D printing material on the market is FDA food-safe compliant. This is because to be certified as food-safe, the actual object needs to be certified, not just the base material. The shape, bed used, environment in which the object was made, and many other factors contribute to obtaining a food safety certificate. Currently, there is no specific certification that the FDA offers for 3D printing.
Moreover, even if the material itself is food-safe, the printing process will likely cause the object to no longer be food-safe. This is due to the layers that 3D printing creates and the extrusion process. The gaps between layers can allow bacteria to build up, making it nearly impossible to clean perfectly. As a result, the object may be food-safe for one use, but getting it perfectly cleaned for reuse is not an easy task due to these small gaps between layers.
Do you offer sponsorships or donations?
Yes, we do! Please email us at [email protected] and include the following information:
Your donation or sponsorship request
A brief description of your project, channel, or organization. Any additional details are helpful.
Links to your website, social media accounts, or any other platforms where your prints may be shared.
The amount of material you need to complete your project. If this is an ongoing sponsorship, please estimate how many spools you would require per month.
Any other relevant information that can help us determine if partnering with Polymaker is a good fit.
Please note that we do not offer sponsorships or donations for projects that involve selling the filament you receive or selling the prints made with the material.
What is the Shelf Life of Your Material?
The shelf life of our materials is 3 years if the spool has remained unopened at room temperature, with no sunlight and controlled humidity environment (30-40%).
If opened and put back in the resealable bag at room temperature, no sunlight and controlled humidity environment (30-40%), then we would say 2 years shelf life.
What is the tolerance for the diameter of Polymaker filament?
Tolerance of our filaments is ±0.03 mm. Anything outside of ±0.05 mm would not be possible due to our manufacturing processes.
Less Common Questions
Do you have any information on VOC or harmful toxic fumes for printing your material?
As of right now we are doing our best to collect data on the industry as a whole since there is very limited information in this regard. Our current recommendation is to have good ventilation no matter what material you are printing with - even with PLA. This means our recommendation for all materials would be the same - always print in a well ventilated area and it is not generally recommended to be in the same room as the material being printed.
We have no data or reason to believe any material is overtly toxic requiring any PPE, though we will always say that you will want to print in a well ventilated area regardless.
What chemical resistant material options do you Have?
If you are looking for amazing chemical resistance, we can recommend a few options:
PolyLite™ PETG: A very inexpensive and easy material to print. The biggest issue is that it is not very mechanically strong - so I would not recommend it for any application having loads or being impacted.
Polymaker™ PETG: A new formula of PETG that will be very similar to PolyLite™ PETG when it comes to chemical resistance - but will have better layer adhesion and ability to print fast.
PolyMax™ PETG: Similar to PolyLite PETG - but with added mechanical strengths
Overall PETG is chemically resistant to most chemicals but less resistant to strong acids. We then have:
Fiberon™ PPS-CF10: Exceptional chemical resistance and heat resistance - but it does require a hotend that can reach 310C-350C. PPS is the best for chemical resistance that we offer.
Fiberon™ PPS-GF20: similar chemical resistance as PPS-CF10.
Fiberon™ PET-CF17: PET generally has a good chemical resistance so this blend will as well.
Please also refer to this chart below:
What material do you suggest for cold temperatures?
As of right now we do not have a ton of data for low temperature. We do know that PolyMax™ PC will work well in low temperature, it is just our tests were at -30C. You can find this information in our TDS for PolyMax PC - showing it still maintains good impact strength.
We then know that ASA can perform well in (-10) - (-20C) temperature ranges - but again, we do not have any data in temperatures below that.
If you have any other unique requirements - please reach out to us at [email protected]
Is it Possible to Recycle 3D Printed Plastic?
We are sorry to say but we unfortunately do not know of a great recycling option for 3D printed plastic at this time. This is certainly something we have been investigating just we do not have a great solution at this time.
Do any filaments have BPA?
Bisphenol A is commonly used to polymerize into PC materials. Products made from polycarbonate can contain the precursor monomer bisphenol A (BPA).
Whys is the glass transition temperature (Tg) lower than the Heat Deflection Temperature (HDT) for some materials?
The glass transition temperature (Tg) refers to the temperature at which the amorphous regions of the polymer soften. However, HDT is a measure of the material’s ability to bear loads at elevated temperatures, which is more influenced by the crystalline regions and fiber reinforcement. Since the crystallinity increases during annealing, the HDT can surpass Tg as the material remains structurally stable at higher temperatures under load.
Annealing encourages increased crystallinity in the polymer. For PACF, this means the crystalline regions within the material become more organized and dense. These crystalline regions have a higher thermal stability than the amorphous regions, allowing the material to maintain its shape and stiffness at higher temperatures, even above its Tg.
Spool Questions
What are your spool dimensions?
0.5kg cardboard spool: Spool Inner Hole Diameter: 55±1mm Spool Diameter: 200±1mm Spool Width: 65.6±2mm Spool Weight: 190±7g
0.75kg cardboard spool: Spool Inner Hole Diameter: 55±1mm Spool Diameter: 200±1mm Spool Width: 50.6±2mm Spool Weight: 125±7g
1kg cardboard spool: Spool Inner Hole Diameter: 55±1mm Spool Diameter: 200±1mm Spool Width: 65.6±2mm Spool Weight: 140±7g
2kg cardboard spool: Spool Inner Hole Diameter: 55±1mm Spool Diameter: 250±1mm Spool Width: 117.2±2mm Spool Weight: 370±18.5g
3kg cardboard spool: Spool Inner Hole Diameter: 55±1mm Spool Diameter: 250±1mm Spool Width: 117.2±2mm Spool Weight: 425±21.3g
5kg plastic spool: 32mm/300mm/160mm/819g Spool Inner Hole Diameter: 32±1mm Spool Diameter: 300±1mm Spool Width: 160±1mm Spool Weight: 819±30g Spool Material: PP
Can you offer 1KG Fiberon spool options?
Unfortunately we are not offering 1KG Fiberon™ options and this has to do with the increased chance of carbon fiber and glass fiber filament snapping on the spool. Since carbon fiber and glass fiber filament is more brittle, we spool these with a larger core. This larger core means that 1KG of filament will not fit on a 1KG spool.
We do currently offer our Fiberon™ PET-GF15 in a 1KG spool though because it is less brittle than other options.
Do you sell refillable spool options?
Yes! We now offer refill options for select Panchroma™ PLA spools with more options coming.
Do you offer custom spools or unique spool sizes?
Yes, we have the capability to create custom spools in any material, color, diameter, and spool size. However, we do have a minimum order quantity (MOQ) of 1,000KG for this service.
If you are interested, please email us at [email protected] and include all relevant details in your request.
Are Polymaker cardboard spools recyclable?
Yes, Polymaker cardboard spools are recyclable and accepted by most paper mills.
Does the glue that you use affect the recycling?
We use cornstarch glue and white latex glue to product the cardboard spool. Both of of the two glues are water-soluble. According to FEFCO’s (Corrugated Packaging Recyclability Guidelines Design for circularity), fillers and binders are normal constituents of the papermaking process and can usually be dealt with by paper mills.
https://www.fefco.org/sites/default/files/Guidelines/FEFCO-Recyclability-Guidelines%20Final.pdf
Last updated
Was this helpful?