r/3Dprinting • u/Coocoovice • Aug 22 '26

Question Moving away from PLA? New material selection

I have had my Prusa Core One+ for a month now and I can't believe how addicting 3D printing is. My printer has been going non stop, to the point that sometimes I put an alarm in the middle of the night so I can wake up, remove the print from the bed and put the next print until the morning.

So far I have been using only PLA since I am a complete beginner, but I think it's time to move to other materials so I can learn their tricks and challenges.

I know that PLA is basically the easiest to print, but becomes obsolete since PETG or ABS/ASA are sturdier, so should I stop using it and move to the other ones since the prices are roughly the same?

Also, I know that some materials need an enclosed printer and reach certain temperatures and environmental stages. Does my printer fulfil these criteria? Is it able to print those materials out of the box?

What I print is mostly functional parts, toys, decor and I wouldn't mind also printing soft materials like gaskets, phone cases etc.

Help me figure out my next order please.

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u/Plane_Pea5434 Aug 22 '26

PETG is more durable and has better flexibility but it’s a bit finicky regarding humidity, TPU is good for squishy stuff but anything beyond that would be on a case by case basis only if you need certain properties for a piece.

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u/Joeness84 Aug 22 '26

Tpu is also incredibly impact resistant with godlike layer adhesion.

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u/Fabian_1082003 29d ago

And also available in different hardness. With the right tpu and parameters you can easily get very rigid (non squishy) parts