Feb. 12, 2020

Beyond the limitations of PLA

Along with ABS and PETg, PLA remains one of the most widespread polymers for 3D printing filaments because of its affordable cost and ease of use.

However, this polymer has technical limitations that make it unsuitable for more extreme and functional applications. Its weak points indeed include poor resistance to heat, UV rays and hydrolysis.

With the benefit of LATI’s R&D experience in special products, the LATI3Dlab team has spent a long time developing a new product for the “AM” family of materials, specific for Additive Manufacturing. The product is LATIGEA AM B20 UVH TES/10, a PLA-based engineered compound which, while preserving the process conditions typical of PLA, is able to remedy all the usual shortcomings of this polymer.

The characteristics of the grade proposed are excellent:

• Improved filament processability, even in the printing phase;
• Excellent mechanical resistance and filament flexibility, no longer subject to breakage;
• Limited shrink and excellent dimensional stability;
• Resistance to UV rays and hydrolysis, which makes the material usable also for outdoor applications;
• Rapid annealing (just a few minutes at 100°C for the 3D printed piece), ensures even better mechanical performance and thermal resistance at over 100°C (compared to the 50-55°C of traditional PLA);
• Exceptional aesthetics (almost indistinguishable deposition layers) and excellent colourability;

LATI3Dlab is available to clarify your doubts or answer your technical questions and provide samples for testing or validation.

info@lati3dlab.com