Review: what materials can be 3D printed?

What materials to 3D-print ?

Every now and then I am being asked about it, so here is a post on the many materials that can be 3D-printed at home.

Smooth transition, from carbon-fiber reinforced PLA to ABS

It is not complete and will expand with time. It is no buyer's guide either, nor a technical document. Read it as a short generic survey of usable materials. There is also a post dedicated to materials most suited to artistic goals.


As for me and many others, I print mostly with PLA filament (see below). Even though I have a set of other materials (wood, rubber, Nylon and so on), I did not test all the following myself, mostly because each material requires its set of specific time-consuming trials and errors to achieve good quality. Mastering all of them would take me months, if not years!