About our Products - 3DPrints4me

About our materials

Material Selection

Depending on the product intended use, we select the correct materials to provide a quality long-lasting item.

Vases

Most of our vases are printed in Silk PLA which is suitable for indoor use only. The main feature of this material is the sheen finish.

Outdoor use vases can be custom ordered.

Household goods

Most of our household goods are printed in PLA which is an environmentally friendly plastic suited to everyday indoor use. This plastic produces rigid durable products.

Do not put household goods into the dishwater or in extremely hot water as it can cause deformation and early product failure.

Outdoor Toys

Most of our outdoor toys are printed in PETG which is a strong impact resistant plastic. This is the perfect material for products that can impact the ground or other hard surfaces.

Outdoor toys are not meant to be left outdoors on a permanent basis.

Miniatures

Miniatures and figurines are printed using resin at 12K resolution. This provides super fine details.

Manufacturing Process

Goods are made using Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM). This process takes a spool of filament and melts the plastic and deposits it as the print head moves across the build surface.

This process fuses and bonds each layer to the previous layer. For goods with multiple colors the filament is swapped during the printing process. Print speeds are somewhat slow and it can take many hours to print a single object depending on the size and complexity.

A wide variety of materials with different physical properties can be used in FDM printing. Complex and unique shapes can be created.

In addition to final products, FDM is useful for rapidly creating prototypes that will be manufactured using other methods.

Physical Properties

PLA

Polylactic Acid (PLA) is a plastic suitable for indoor use. It is environmentally friendly as it is made of 80% renewable resources consisting of fermented plant starch from corn, cassava, sugarcane or sugar beet pulp. It is biodegradable and compostable with the proper equipment.

PLA is not suitable for outdoor or use in a high temperature environment (like a closed car in the sun) due to its limited UV resistance and low deformation temperature.

PLA is available in a wide variety of colors and finishes including standard, matte, and silk.

PETG

Polyethylene terephthalate glycol (PETG) has significant chemical resistance, strength and durability. PETG is more impact resistant and has a higher deformation temperature then PLA.

PETG is suitable for limited outdoor use as long as the object is not left outdoors permanently.

Its strength and durability make it suitable for outdoor toys.

ASA

Acrylonitrile styrene acrylate (ASA) is a durabnle, UV resistant plastic with a high deformation temperature suitable for objects that will be used outdoors continuously.

Due to its physical properties ASA is often used for parts that require heat resistance and strength.