ABS 3D printing service
ABS is the traditional engineering thermoplastic: heat resistant, impact resistant, and machinable after printing. It is the material used for parts that will be drilled, tapped, glued or vapour smoothed, because it responds to all four. It shrinks as it cools, so large flat ABS parts need to be designed with that in mind or split into sections.
Get an instant price ABS is priced instantly. No account, no sales call.
What ABS is good for
- Engineering and automotive parts
- Parts that will be drilled or tapped
- Housings near warm electronics
- Parts to be glued or solvent bonded
What ABS is the wrong choice for
- Very large flat panels in one piece
- Outdoor parts in direct sun over months
- Parts where dimensional accuracy matters more than toughness
The long-form guide, with design rules and the alternatives side by side: ABS 3D printing, explained.
Designing for ABS
- Shrinkage is the constraint, not strength. A long thin part will bow; adding ribs or splitting it at a joint costs less than reprinting it.
- ABS accepts acetone smoothing, which turns a layered surface into a gloss one. Ask for it in the notes rather than assuming it.
ABS against the other materials
| Material | Heat | Stiffness | Impact | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PLA | Low | High | Low | Not suitable |
| PETG | Medium | Medium | Medium | Short term only |
| ABS | High | Medium | High | Not suitable |
| ASA | High | Medium | High | Suitable |
| TPU flexible | Medium | Flexible by design | High | Short term only |
| Nylon PA12 | High | Medium | High | Short term only |
| Polycarbonate | Very high | High | Very high | Short term only |
| PC-ABS | High | High | Very high | Not suitable |
| Carbon fibre filled | High | Very high | Low | Short term only |
| PETG CF | Medium | High | Low | Short term only |
| ABS CF | High | Very high | Medium | Not suitable |
| Wood filled PLA | Low | High | Low | Not suitable |
| Standard resin | Low | High | Low | Not suitable |
Printing ABS at 3Descu
| Scale | One of the largest 3D printing factories in Eastern Europe, 200+ printers |
|---|---|
| Process | FDM, filament extrusion |
| Maximum part size | 320 x 320 x 320 mm on the standard fleet, up to 500 x 500 x 500 mm on the large-format machines |
| Layer height | 0.12 mm to 0.28 mm, 0.20 mm by default |
| Minimum order | €20 |
| File formats accepted | STL, OBJ, 3MF, STEP, STP, up to 50 MB per file |
| Where it ships | Across the European Union, the United Kingdom, Switzerland and Norway, by courier from Romania |
| Uploaded files | Deleted 90 days after upload |
| Quality system | ISO 9001:2015 certified |
| Who prints it | TREIDESCUPRINT SRL, J18/753/2022, on its own machines |
Delivery
| Destination | Standard | Express |
|---|---|---|
| Romania | 1-2 business days | 1 business day |
| Bulgaria, Hungary | 2-3 business days | 1-2 business days |
| Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Greece, Austria, Croatia, Slovenia | 3-4 business days | 2 business days |
| Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia | 4-5 business days | 2 business days |
Get an instant price Upload a file and the price appears in under a minute.
What this page does not claim
There is no tolerance figure and no strength figure for ABS on this page. A printed part does not have the properties of the spool it came from, and this shop has not measured its own, so publishing a number lifted from a filament data sheet would be publishing somebody else's result as ours. What is missing and why is set out under design rules, and where a part needs one of those figures it is measured on a real printed sample rather than quoted from a table.
Get an instant price Upload a file and the price appears in under a minute.
Also known as acrylonitrile butadiene styrene. Material data sheets and a dimensional report can be supplied on request.