PLA 3D printed part — FDM general purpose material
FDM
General Purpose

PLA

General purpose, biodegradable. Rigid, good surface finish. Not heat or UV resistant.

Max build size360 x 360 x 360mm
Tolerances±0.5mm
Lead timeFrom 1 business day
Applications
ProtoProd
01

Material spec

Most cost-effective option. Not suitable for heat or outdoor exposure.

RigidBiodegradableGood surface finish
Strengths
Lowest cost per part
Biodegradable
Good surface finish
Easy to post-process
Limitations
Not heat resistant (softens ~60°C)
Not UV stable — degrades outdoors
Brittle under impact
Colors
WhiteBlackGrayClearCustom Color
02

Performance profile

Flexible
Rigid
0.0030 GPa10.00 GPa
Textured
Smooth
60 Ra μm1 Ra μm
Low Detail
High Detail
500 μm25 μm
Brittle
Impact Resistant
12 J/m220 J/m
Low Temp
Heat Resistant
41 °C238 °C
Soft
Hard
2890
Small Build
Large Build
145 mm1200 mm
03

Applications

PLA is available on our and and and and services. Typical jobs:

Hardware Development

Iterate on enclosures, brackets, and assemblies.

Design Verification

Test form, fit, function before committing.

Investor Samples

Presentation-quality parts for demo day.

Bridge Manufacturing

Keep shipping while your injection mold is being cut.

Low Volume Manufacturing

Production runs below the injection molding crossover.

Production Parts

End-use nylon parts without mold tooling.

Replacement Parts

On-demand spares for legacy products.

Hardware Development

Iterate on enclosures, brackets, and assemblies without tooling.

Jigs and Fixtures

Assembly line tooling printed and delivered in days.

Functional Prototypes

Production-grade thermoplastics, working parts.

Large Format Prototypes

Oversized parts in a single print.

Hardware Development

Iterate on enclosures, brackets, and assemblies without waiting for tooling.

Product Design Validation

Test form, fit, and function with production-grade materials before committing.

Investor Samples

Presentation-quality parts that look and feel like the final product.

Pre-Production Testing

Validate tolerances, material behavior, and assembly flow at low volume.

Jigs and Fixtures

Custom tooling for your production line — printed and delivered in days.

End-Use Production Parts

Parts that go directly into products your customers buy and use.

Supply Chain Supplementation

Fill gaps in your supply chain without retooling or long lead times.

Bridge Manufacturing

Keep shipping while injection mold tooling is still being cut.

Low-Volume Serial Production

Hundreds to thousands of identical parts — no MOQ from a mold shop.

Replacement Parts Programs

On-demand spares for legacy products without warehousing inventory.

04

Design guidelines

Guidelines

Recommended parameters when designing parts for PLA on FDM.

Wall thickness
1.2mmMinimum recommended wall thickness
Support & overhangs
45°
50°Support requirements and max overhang angle
Holes
Ø 2.0 mmMinimum hole diameter
Tolerance
±
±0.5mmExpected dimensional accuracy
Minimum features
1.8 mmSmallest printable feature
Clearance
0.2 mmRecommended clearance between parts
05

Post-processing

Standard finishing included with every PLA order on FDM.

Included (standard)

Support removal— Breakaway supports manually removed and contact points cleaned. Dissolvable supports soaked in chemical bath.
Washing— Parts washed to remove residue, dust, or loose filament strands.
Surface cleanup— Support witness marks trimmed and sanded flush. Sharp edges deburred.

Optional (quoted separately)

+
Painting / priming— Filler primer, spot putty, and paint. Custom colors matched to Pantone or RAL.
+
Threaded inserts— Heat-set brass inserts for durable, repeatable threaded connections.
+
Assembly— Multi-piece builds bonded with structural adhesive. Seams filled and sanded.

View full post-processing details →

06

Shipping & delivery

Every FDM order ships from our production facility in Brooklyn, NY. Lead time starts at From 1 business day. Enter your zip code to see exactly when parts will arrive at your door.

Local Pickup

Same day, free. Brooklyn facility, Mon\u2013Fri 10am\u20135:30pm ET.

Courier

Same day across all five boroughs and northern NJ.

Nationwide Shipping

UPS Ground, 2nd Day Air, and Next Day Air. Tracked and insured.

All shipping options →

Mechanical properties

Tensile Modulus2.3 GPa
Tensile Strength (UTS)51 MPa
Elongation at Break2.9%
Flexural Modulus3.1 GPa
Flexural Strength83 MPa
Impact Strength (Izod)25 J/m
HardnessShore D 81
Density1.24 g/cm³

Physical & thermal

Heat Deflection (HDT)55°C @ 0.45 MPa
Surface Roughness15 Ra μm
Min Layer Height200 μm
Light TransmissionOpaque
Max Build Dimension360 mm
06

Compare PLA with others

Select up to 3 more materials to compare

Tap materials above to compare with PLA

PLA 3D printed part example 1 — FDM technology
PLA 3D printed part example 2 — FDM technology
PLA 3D printed part example 3 — FDM technology
PLA 3D printed part example 4 — FDM technology
PLA 3D printed part example 5 — FDM technology
PLA 3D printed part example 6 — FDM technology

Back to material stock

Compare specs, technologies, and applications across our full stock.

View Materials