3D Printing Materials: Plastic, Metal, and More - Shapeways
Materials for every stage of any project
From strong plastics to polished metals, Shapeways’ materials can bring your 3D print ideas to life.
CNC
CNC machining produces precise metal and plastic parts with tight tolerances and excellent surface finishes. It is ideal for prototypes, end-use components, and production applications requiring high accuracy and reliability.
Aluminum
POM-C
Stainless Steel
Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM)
Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM) is a popular 3D printing technique that builds objects layer by layer using a thermoplastic filament. The filament is melted in a heated nozzle and deposited onto a build platform, where it solidifies to create the desired shape. Known for its affordability and versatility, FDM is widely used for prototyping, functional parts, and hobbyist projects.
ABS
ASA
PC (Polycarbonate)
PET
PETG
PPA-CF
PPS-CF
ULTEM 9085
Lost Wax Casting
Lost wax casting is a manufacturing process that produces highly detailed metal parts with excellent accuracy and surface quality. It is well suited for complex geometries, fine features, and applications requiring precision metal components.
Bronze
Copper
Gold
Gold Plated Brass
Platinum
Rhodium Plated Brass
Silver
Tin Brass
Material Jetting
Material Jetting operates in a similar fashion to 2D printers. In material jetting, a printhead (similar to the printheads used for standard inkjet printing) dispenses droplets of a photosensitive material that solidifies under ultraviolet (UV) light, building a part layer-by-layer.
High Definition Full Color
MJP – Visijet – 3D Printing Material
Multi Jet Fusion [MJF]
Multi Jet Fusion (MJF) begins with a thin layer of powdered material being deposited across the build platform. Droplets of fusing and detailing agents are applied along with thermal energy on top of the powdered material to define the part’s geometry.
Nylon 11 [PA11]
Nylon PA12
Nylon PA12 Full Color
Nylon PA12 Glass Beads
Polypropylene [PP]
Thermoplastic Polyurethane [TPU]
Selective Laser Sintering [SLS]
Selective laser sintering (SLS) uses a laser as the power source to sinter powdered material, aiming the laser automatically at points in space defined by a 3D model, binding the material together to create a solid structure.
Carbon-Reinforced Lightweight Nylon PA12
Nylon 11 [PA11]
Nylon 12 [PA12]
TPE
Stereolithography [SLA]
Stereolithography (SLA) creates parts in a layer by layer fashion using photochemical processes by which light causes chemical monomers to link together to form polymers. Those polymers then make up the body of a three-dimensional solid.