Filament
ABS
A cheap, heat-resistant engineering plastic you can smooth with acetone vapour, but that warps the moment there is a draught and releases styrene while printing. Prusa treats it as an enclosure-required material and publishes 255 °C nozzle and 100 °C bed; Fillamentum gives 220–240 °C, an 80–105 °C bed and 1.04 g/cm³ density to ISO 1183 for its ABS Extrafill.
Safety and handling
This is the household filament where ventilation stops being a recommendation and becomes a requirement. Prusa warns that ABS 'releases fumes and substances that could pose a potential health risk', styrene among them, and asks for a well-ventilated room; at the same time an enclosure is needed to stop warping, so the correct combination is an enclosure with filtration or outdoor extraction, not a sealed box in a bedroom. Never print ABS where somebody sleeps. The acetone used for smoothing is flammable and so are its vapours: do it outdoors or under extraction, away from sparks, wearing nitrile gloves. The bed runs at 100–110 °C: it burns on contact.
Technical profile
- Nozzle temperature
- 220–255 °C
- Bed temperature
- 80–110 °C
- Heated bed
- Yes
- Enclosure
- Required
- Density
- 1.04 g/cm³
- Absorbs moisture
- Yes
- Drying
- 80 °C · 8 h
- Difficulty
- Advanced
Typical price per kilo in Mexico
Price not verified
Strengths
- Good toughness and mechanical strength for the price
- High heat resistance: 81 °C heat deflection at 1.8 MPa on ABS Extrafill
- Smooths with acetone vapour and bonds with solvent adhesives
- Easy to sand, drill and tap
- Low density (1.04 g/cm³): more parts per kilo than PLA or PETG
Weaknesses
- Severe warping: corners lift if the ambient temperature drops or a draught hits the print
- Emits styrene and other compounds that Prusa describes as a potential health risk
- Needs an enclosure and, at the same time, a ventilated room: two requirements you must solve together
- Poor UV resistance: it yellows and turns brittle outdoors
- Strong smell for the whole print
Common uses
- Cheap mechanical parts that see heat
- Housings and boxes that will be sanded and painted
- Prototypes destined for acetone smoothing
- Car interior parts, away from the windscreen
Related problems
Documented printing defects that show up with this material.
Work out your cost
How much material a part uses and what it costs to print, with the formula in plain sight.
- Quiz: which 3D printer suits me?
- Filament calculator: grams, metres and pesos
- Resin calculator: millilitres, grams and cost
- 3D print cost calculator in Mexican pesos
- 3D printer power consumption calculator
- 3D printing material comparator
- Nozzle and layer height reference
- Diagnostic tree: find your failure by symptom
- STL vs 3MF: which to use and how to convert
- 3D printer comparator
- 3D printing glossary search
Sources
- [1]ABS | Prusa Knowledge BasePrusa Research · Manufacturer · accessed July 27, 2026
- [2]Technical Data Sheet — ABS ExtrafillFillamentum · Manufacturer · accessed July 27, 2026
- [3]Bambu Filament Guide (ABS: 240–280 °C, secado 80 °C/8 h)Bambu Lab · Manufacturer · accessed July 27, 2026