What is the difference between PLA and ABS?

The full meaning of PLA is ‘Poly Lactic Acid,’ while ABS stands for ‘Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene.’ PLA happens to be one of the most used thermoplastic materials in 3D printing and also a biodegradable thermoplastic corn-based polymer which is made from sugar plants tapioca, sugarcane, and corn. It is eco-friendly material to use because it is a non-petrochemical plastic, and it can be recycled. On the other hand, ABS is an oil-based thermoplastic which has a glass transition temperature that is very high.

Thus, because it is composed of oil-based plastic, it is not eco-friendly like PLA. It requires a heated platform for building, and it might not be that easy to work on compared to PLA. The two materials actually happen to be the most popular filaments for 3D printing. However, PLA is much flexible and harder than ABS, and it has a temperature of about 180 to 220 degrees Celsius, which is of a lower melting point when compared to ABS.

When we are talking about 3D printing and its amazing applications, efforts should be made at talking about PLA and ABS, which are the important materials for 3D printing. PLA simply stands for Polylactic acid. it is mostly used in FDM 3D printing. It is a thermoplastic material that is soluble in water, and after it has been used, you can rinse it and it can be reused again. People prefer using it because it is a biodegradable material, that is, it can be decomposed by biological activities.

Another important feature of PLA is that; it can also be recycled to form new one. ABS simply stands for Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene. It is a thermoplastic material gotten from oil. As a result of this, it is not always used because of the dangers it could pose to the environment through air pollution. But it is mostly used for materials that will be absorbing greater amount of heat, so that the printed work can be clearly seen overtime.