What Are the Strongest 3D Printing Filaments?

When it comes to strong parts, one of the most important choices that can be made is the material. Although the process of course plays an important role, the material used is what determines many of the characteristics of the final component. But how do you know which one to choose? Which 3D printing materials are the strongest?

First, it is necessary to define what strength is. Although often confused with durability, the two are not exactly the same. Strength of materials, as defined by the Encyclopedia Britannica, is “the ability of a material to resist mechanical forces when in use.” This includes a number of factors such as resistance, deformation and cracking.

Airwolf3D conducts a tension test (photo credits: Airwolf3D)

There are many different ways to test strength, including hardness, impact resistance, compressive strength, yield strength, fatigue strength and flexural strength. However, one of the most used metrics for materials is tensile strength. This is the maximum load that a material can support without fracture when being stretched, i.e. how much load or pulling force it can take before it is either permanently stretched or broken.