One of the things holding 3D printing back is the limitation of the material used to print objects. A Chinese company, Polymaker, has developed three new printing materials that aren’t just regular plastic, but re-engineered plastic to be used as an “ink” with 3-D printers.

PolyMax

Polylactic acid (PLA), an amorphous polymeric material, is more brittle and will tend to splinter and break compared to ABS (acrylonitrile butadiene styrene).

The PolyMax PLA created by Polymakr is re-engineered with high mechanical strength. “The material exhibits over 9 times better impact strength and toughness than regular PLA.” says the team.

Compared with ABS, PolyMax PLA has the advantages of less unpleasant (even toxic) odour, it warp free properties and it also exhibits high impact strength, twice as strong as ABS.

PolyFlex

The second new material from Polymakr is PolyFlex, a soft and flexible filament that is said to be compatible with most desktop 3D printers, including MakerBot Replicator 2, Replicator 2X, Ultimaker, RepRap Prusa Mendel, MakerGear M2, Afinia / Up! Plus etc.

The PolyFlex is also easy to feed and the company says you can print with a normal printing speed in a range of 60 – 90 mm/min.

PolyWood

PolyWood is a wood-mimic PLA based printing material that contains no wood. It has a porous microstructure and the prints feature a rough surface that both looks and feels like raw, carved wood.

“We used a unique foaming technology that stabilizes the air bubbles inside the material (imagine tiny micro-balloons) – so you can maintain the porous structure during and after the printing.” write the team. The foamy structure allows you to print objects which can be used in, for example, heat insulation, sound insulation or anti-vibration etc.