Short answer: print PLA for most things — it's the easiest to print, the easiest to tune, and has by far the biggest range of colours and finishes. Choose PETG when you need real strength on an open-frame printer like the A1. ABS is the veteran all-rounder for enclosed printers, and ASA is the one Australians should pay special attention to — our UV levels destroy lesser plastics. TPU is a family of flexibles graded by hardness (worth understanding before you buy), and if you need serious engineering parts, the carbon-fibre materials that actually matter are PET-CF, PAHT-CF, PPA-CF and PPS-CF. This guide follows the same logic as Bambu Lab's official filament guide, with the Australian details added from our Sydney workshop.
PLA: the easiest — and the most creative
PLA's biggest advantage is simple: it's the easiest material to print and the easiest to tune. 190–220 °C nozzle, 50–60 °C bed, full cooling fan, no enclosure — stock profiles just work, and when something's off, the fix is usually one setting.
Its second superpower is variety. PLA takes modification better than any other filament, so the ecosystem is enormous: PLA Wood, glow-in-the-dark, metallic, sparkle, galaxy, rainbow, silk, matte, translucent, silk multi-colour, matte multi-colour, silk rainbow, matte rainbow, PLA Pure, stiffened PLA-CF, and foaming PLA Aero for ultra-light RC parts. No other material family comes close for colour and finish choice — our BIQU PLA range guide covers the value end of that universe.
The trade-off: heat. PLA parts soften around 55–60 °C, so nothing that lives in a parked car or full Australian sun.
PETG: the open-frame strength pick
Here's the decision most guides miss: if you print on an open-frame machine like the A1 or A1 Mini and need genuinely strong parts, PETG is your best choice — high strength and toughness at an everyday price, and unlike ABS or ASA it doesn't need an enclosure to print well. That combination of strength, printability and value is why PETG has become the default functional material for open-frame printers. Want the same toughness with a see-through look? PETG Translucent gives a frosted, light-passing finish that's tougher than translucent PLA.
Print at 230–250 °C, bed 70–80 °C, cooling fan reduced. Two habits keep it clean: dry it (PETG strings badly when wet — see our storage guide) and print on the textured plate, because it bonds aggressively to smooth PEI. Use it for brackets, clips, tool holders, containers and anything that gets dropped.
ABS: the original, still the best all-round value
ABS is the oldest mainstream 3D printing material — it was being extruded into parts before desktop printing existed — and decades of refinement show. For overall balance of mechanical performance against cost, it's still hard to beat: tough, heat-resistant to ~90 °C, easy to sand and post-process.
It asks for two things: an enclosed printer (P1S, P2S, X1, H2 series) to prevent warping and layer cracking, and ventilation while printing. Settings: 240–270 °C, bed 90–100 °C, minimal fan. See the Bambu ABS range.
ASA: the filament Australians should know about
Australia has some of the highest UV levels on Earth, and we live outdoors — gardens, 4WDs, boats, campsites. That's exactly the environment where ordinary plastics yellow, chalk and go brittle. ASA is engineered for it: essentially ABS re-formulated for UV resistance and weather resistance, keeping its colour and toughness through summers that destroy ABS and embrittle PETG.
If you print letterbox parts, garden fittings, car exterior clips, camping gear or anything that lives outside, ASA should be your default. It prints like ABS (enclosed printer, 240–270 °C, hot bed), so treat it as "outdoor ABS". For Australians, it's less a specialty material than a staple.
TPU: understand the hardness ladder before you buy
"TPU" isn't one material — it's a family graded by Shore hardness, and the grade changes everything about how it prints and what it's for.
What the numbers mean
Shore hardness comes in scales: A for soft, flexible materials, D for hard ones. Higher number = harder within a scale, and the scales overlap at the top — a very hard "A" material (95A) is roughly a soft "D" (~45D). When a spool says 95A, that's a car-tyre-tread kind of firmness; when it says D, you're into semi-rigid territory.
| Grade | Feels like | How to feed it on a Bambu printer |
|---|---|---|
| TPU for AMS (Shore 68D) | Semi-rigid — flexes like a hard suitcase shell | Stiff enough for the standard AMS / AMS Lite / AMS 2 Pro — the only TPU that is |
| TPU 95A | Skateboard wheel / tyre tread | External spool, or the AMS HT's dedicated TPU outlet (keeps it dry while it prints) |
| TPU 90A | Firm shoe sole | AMS HT or external spool; add the TPU Feed Assist Module for reliability |
| TPU 85A | Soft shoe sole / gel grip | Feed Assist Module strongly recommended; slow speeds |
| TPU 60A (softest in mass production) | Pencil eraser / squishy phone case | Expert territory — very slow, very dry, direct feed only |
Printing the softer grades on Bambu machines
Two pieces of Bambu hardware changed the TPU game. The AMS HT is a single-spool unit with a dedicated TPU outlet that routes flexible filament straight to the extruder while keeping the spool dry — so 95A no longer has to sit on an open holder soaking up Sydney humidity. And Bambu's TPU Feed Assist Module is an active feeder for 85A–95A HF flexibles that pushes filament with controlled force instead of letting the extruder drag it: fewer buckles and jams, steadier extrusion, visibly cleaner surfaces. It fits the P1, X1, H2, P2S and X2D series and can take its filament from the AMS HT's TPU outlet — the combination is the most reliable way we know to print soft TPU.
Three things most people get wrong about TPU
Hardness isn't bounce. Elasticity (rebound) is a separate property — a 95A part isn't necessarily bouncy. If you want bounce, there are dedicated high-rebound materials like PLA-HR, famous for airless basketballs that actually bounce.
FDM TPU ≠ resin "flexible". Thermoplastic TPU printed on an FDM machine is tough, tear-resistant and keeps its elasticity for years. Flexible resins from SLA printers imitate the softness but generally have far lower tear strength and fatigue life — for functional flexible parts, FDM TPU wins.
Special jobs have special TPUs. For insoles and cushioning there are dedicated foamed/expanding TPU filaments that print a springy, EVA-like structure — different again from standard TPU.
Carbon fibre: the ones that actually matter
Chopped carbon fibre adds stiffness, but the base polymer decides whether the part is genuinely strong. The engineering-grade line-up worth your money: PET-CF, PAHT-CF, PPA-CF and PPS-CF. (We deliberately leave PETG-CF off this list — fibre in a PETG base adds stiffness but does little for real strength.)
- PET-CF — the sweet spot: high stiffness and ~120°C-class heat resistance, and unusually, it prints well without an enclosure — the rare engineering CF material an open-frame printer can handle. Dry it thoroughly first.
- PAHT-CF (nylon-CF): tough and wear-resistant where PET-CF is stiff; drinks moisture, so dry-box always.
- PPA-CF: a step up again — higher strength and heat for demanding structural parts.
- PPS-CF: the top of the pyramid — chemical resistance, flame resistance, high heat; wants high-temp hardware and know-how.
All of them are abrasive: fit a hardened steel nozzle before the first spool.
The Australia checklist
- UV: anything living outdoors → ASA, not PLA, not plain PETG.
- Humidity: coastal Australia sits at 60–80% RH — dry your filament and store it sealed (how). Half of all "bad filament" is wet filament.
- Hot cars: PLA dies on a dashboard. PETG survives; ASA doesn't care.
- Local stock: spools shipped from overseas can spend weeks in hot containers — Australian stock arrives in days, printable on arrival.
Quick chooser
| You're printing… | Use |
|---|---|
| Models, decor, colourful anything | PLA (pick your finish — silk, matte, wood, rainbow…) |
| Strong functional parts on an A1 | PETG |
| Strong parts on an enclosed printer | ABS |
| Anything that lives outdoors in Australia | ASA |
| Flexible parts | TPU — pick hardness from the ladder above |
| Stiff engineering parts, open-frame printer | PET-CF |
| Maximum toughness / heat / chemicals | PAHT-CF → PPA-CF → PPS-CF |
FAQ
What filament should I use for outdoor parts in Australia?
ASA. Australian UV is among the harshest anywhere, and ASA is built for UV and weather resistance where ABS yellows and PETG goes brittle. Print it enclosed.
What does 95A or 68D mean on TPU?
Shore hardness — A scale for flexible materials, D scale for harder ones, higher numbers harder. 95A feels like a tyre tread; 68D is semi-rigid. The softest mass-produced FDM TPU is about 60A.
Can I print TPU through the Bambu Lab AMS?
Through the standard AMS, AMS Lite or AMS 2 Pro, only TPU for AMS (Shore 68D) is stiff enough. Softer grades run from the AMS HT's dedicated TPU outlet or an external spool — and for 85A–95A, the TPU Feed Assist Module makes them print reliably.
Which carbon-fibre filament works without an enclosure?
PET-CF — it delivers engineering-grade stiffness and heat resistance yet prints well on open-frame machines, which is rare for this class. A hardened nozzle is still essential.
Browse 3D printer filament with Australian stock or the genuine Bambu Lab range. Still unsure? Ask our Sydney team — we're Australia's authorised Bambu Lab service centre, and we print every day.
