Materials

If you just got your first 3D printer and opened Amazon to buy filament, you were probably hit with dozens of options immediately. But two names keep coming up: PLA and PETG. The good news is that these are the two best filaments to start with — and for most people, they’re the only two you’ll ever need. Here’s what they actually are, how they’re different, and which one to reach for first. ...

If you’ve been printing in PETG and it’s working great, you might wonder why anyone would bother switching. The answer is simple: put a PETG part in direct sunlight for a few months and see what happens. PETG doesn’t handle UV exposure well. It yellows, gets brittle, and eventually fails. For anything that lives outside — a garden fixture, a car mount, a mailbox bracket — you need something built for it. That’s ASA. ...