Comprehensive guide to Bits From Bytes thermoplastic materials (2007-2012) and their modern equivalents
Building the Future with Proven Materials
Between 2007 and 2012, Bits From Bytes established itself as a pioneer in accessible desktop 3D printing, not only through innovative hardware like the RapMan and 3DTouch printers but also by curating a reliable selection of printing materials optimized for RepRap-derived systems. This materials catalog preserves knowledge about the thermoplastics that enabled thousands of makers, educators, and businesses to transform digital designs into physical objects.
The BfB materials range represented careful selection and testing to identify filaments that balanced printability, affordability, and mechanical properties suitable for diverse applications. While modern 3D printing offers vastly expanded material options, understanding the fundamentals established during this formative period provides valuable context for contemporary material science and helps users of vintage equipment maintain their machines effectively.
This archive documents the PLA and ABS materials that formed the foundation of early desktop 3D printing, exploring their properties, applications, and the printing parameters that ensured success. We also provide modern context, connecting historical knowledge to current material technologies and helping readers understand how today’s advanced filaments evolved from these proven basics.
Understanding Thermoplastic Filaments
The Foundation of FDM Printing
Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM), also known as Fused Filament Fabrication (FFF), relies on thermoplastic materials—polymers that become pliable when heated and solidify upon cooling. This reversible phase change enables the additive manufacturing process: melting filament, extruding it through a nozzle, depositing material layer by layer, and allowing each layer to cool and bond with previous layers.
The thermoplastic nature provides significant advantages for desktop 3D printing. Raw materials remain relatively inexpensive compared to other manufacturing inputs, filament production requires straightforward extrusion processes accessible to multiple suppliers, reprodu cibility and consistency improve as manufacturing techniques mature, and recyclability offers environmental benefits when properly managed.
However, this reliance on thermal transitions also imposes constraints. Printed parts soften at elevated temperatures, limiting applications in high-heat environments. Material selection significantly impacts print success rates, with some thermoplastics proving far more forgiving than others for novice users. Understanding these fundamental behaviors proved essential for successful printing during the BfB era and remains relevant today.
Material Properties That Matter
Several key properties determined whether a thermoplastic succeeded for 3D printing applications. Extrusion temperature defined the thermal range where material flowed properly—too low resulted in clogging, too high caused degradation. Layer adhesion strength determined whether successive layers bonded adequately to create structurally sound objects. Warping tendency indicated how much parts contracted during cooling, affecting dimensional accuracy and causing potential detachment from build platforms.
Mechanical properties like tensile strength, impact resistance, and flexibility varied substantially between materials, making certain thermoplastics better suited to specific applications. Surface finish capabilities influenced whether printed objects required extensive post-processing or emerged with acceptable aesthetics. Print speed compatibility affected production throughput, with some materials demanding slower deposition to achieve reliable results.
Temperature resistance of finished parts determined application suitability—parts intended for warm environments needed materials with higher heat deflection temperatures. Chemical resistance varied, with some thermoplastics vulnerable to solvents while others withstood harsh chemicals. Moisture sensitivity affected storage requirements and print quality over time.
PLA – Polylactic Acid Materials
The Beginner-Friendly Bioplastic
Polylactic Acid, universally known as PLA, emerged as the recommended starting material for 3D printing newcomers during the BfB era and maintains this status today. Derived from renewable resources like corn starch, tapioca roots, or sugarcane rather than petroleum, PLA offered environmental credentials that appealed to educators and environmentally conscious makers.
PLA’s printing characteristics made it exceptionally forgiving for beginners. The material extruded reliably at relatively low temperatures (190-220°C), within the capability of essentially all desktop 3D printers. Its minimal warping tendency meant prints adhered well to build platforms and maintained dimensional accuracy without requiring heated beds—though heated platforms at 50-60°C improved first layer adhesion. The material flowed smoothly through extruders with low risk of clogging, and it produced minimal odor during printing compared to ABS.
Layer adhesion proved excellent when printing within proper temperature parameters, creating structurally sound objects without delamination issues common with improperly tuned ABS prints. Surface finish quality emerged clean and consistent, with fine details faithfully reproduced. The material accepted various post-processing techniques including sanding, filling, and painting, though it lacked the solvent-smoothing options available for ABS.
BfB PLA Product Range
Bits From Bytes offered PLA in two primary categories, each serving different aesthetic and functional needs.
Solid Colors provided opaque, vibrant finishes ideal for visual prototypes, educational models, and decorative objects. The standard palette included black, white, purple, yellow, blue, and green—covering primary colors and common neutrals. These solid colors printed with consistent appearance throughout, exhibiting no translucency even in thin-walled sections.
Black and white proved versatile for professional prototypes and functional parts where color-coding wasn’t essential. The neutral tones provided clean, business-appropriate aesthetics and served as excellent bases for painting and finishing. Colored options (purple, yellow, blue, green) enabled color-coding of components in multi-part assemblies, created visually distinct prototypes for presentations, and allowed creative freedom in educational and artistic applications.
Translucent Colors offered see-through or semi-transparent finishes that enabled unique applications impossible with opaque materials. The translucent range included clear, red, blue, and green variants. Clear translucent PLA enabled light-piping applications, functional components where internal features needed visual inspection, artistic creations exploiting light transmission, and lamp shades or decorative lighting elements.
Colored translucent filaments (red, blue, green) combined partial transparency with vibrant hues, popular for decorative items, LED light diffusers, and design objects where material depth and light interaction created visual interest.
PLA Printing Parameters
Successful PLA printing during the BfB era required attention to several key parameters, recommendations that remain largely applicable to modern PLA formulations.
Extrusion temperature typically ranged from 190-210°C, with 200°C representing a reliable middle ground for most brands. Lower temperatures around 190-195°C reduced stringing and oozing but risked insufficient layer bonding, while higher temperatures 205-210°C improved flow and layer adhesion but increased stringing risk. Users learned to tune temperatures based on specific filament batches and desired print characteristics.
Build platform temperature proved optional for PLA but beneficial. Unheated beds worked when properly prepared with tape or adhesive, enabling PLA use on budget printers lacking heated platforms. Heated beds at 50-60°C significantly improved first layer adhesion and reduced warping risk on larger prints.
Print speed flexibility represented one of PLA’s advantages. The material tolerated speeds from 40-80 mm/s reliably, with well-tuned systems achieving even faster speeds on simple geometries. Slower speeds around 30-40 mm/s maximized detail resolution and surface quality for intricate prints.
Cooling requirements differed from ABS. Active part cooling via fans dramatically improved overhang quality, bridging performance, and fine detail resolution. Most successful PLA prints employed 100% fan speed after first few layers, with fan activation delayed on initial layers to ensure bed adhesion.
PLA Limitations and Considerations
Despite its advantages, PLA exhibited limitations users needed to understand. The material’s low glass transition temperature around 60-65°C meant finished parts softened in warm environments—cars on summer days, proximity to heat sources, or direct sunlight exposure could deform PLA objects. This temperature sensitivity limited applications in elevated-temperature environments or outdoors during warm weather.
Mechanical properties, while adequate for many applications, showed brittleness compared to ABS. PLA parts resisted steady loads effectively but proved susceptible to shattering under impact or shock loading. The material’s stiffness precluded applications requiring flexibility, with PLA parts breaking rather than bending under stress.
Biodegradability, marketed as an environmental benefit, required specific conditions to actualize. PLA broke down in industrial composting facilities with controlled temperature and humidity but persisted essentially indefinitely in typical landfills or natural environments. Proper disposal required access to appropriate composting infrastructure, available primarily in limited regions.
ABS – Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene
The Durable Engineering Plastic
Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene, universally abbreviated as ABS, served as the workhorse material for functional 3D printing during the BfB era. The same thermoplastic used in LEGO bricks, automotive components, and durable consumer goods, ABS offered mechanical properties that made it suitable for parts subject to stress, impact, and temperature exposure.
ABS printing required more attention than PLA, with several factors demanding careful management. Extrusion temperatures ranged higher, typically 220-240°C with 230°C being standard. The material’s tendency to warp during cooling necessitated heated build platforms, usually maintained at 90-110°C. Adequate first layer adhesion proved critical, often requiring adhesion promoters like ABS slurry (dissolved ABS in acetone) or specialized bed preparation.
The printing environment significantly affected success rates. Temperature variations caused by drafts or cooling fans led to layer separation, cracking, and warping. Many successful ABS users enclosed their printers to maintain stable ambient temperature around the print. Active part cooling, beneficial for PLA, proved detrimental for ABS—minimal or no cooling fan operation produced better results.
BfB ABS Product Range
Bits From Bytes curated an ABS selection balancing color options with practical considerations of inventory and customer demand.
Standard Colors included the essential palette for functional and prototype printing. White ABS represented the most popular single color, offering clean aesthetics for prototypes, models, and demonstration parts. The material accepted paint readily, making white an excellent base for custom finishing. Professional appearance and ease of seeing surface imperfections for quality control made white the default choice for many applications.
Black ABS provided the complement to white, preferred for finished parts requiring darker aesthetics, technical components where black conveyed professional engineering associations, and situations where hiding internal structure or avoiding transparency was desirable.
Colored ABS options expanded creative possibilities and enabled color-coding in multi-part assemblies. The available palette typically included primary colors (red, blue, yellow), secondary colors (green, orange), and potentially specialty colors based on market demand. These colored formulations enabled component differentiation in assemblies, color-coded prototypes for different versions or configurations, educational models requiring distinct sections, and finished parts matching specific aesthetic requirements.
ABS Printing Parameters
Successful ABS printing demanded more precise parameter control than PLA, with several factors requiring coordination.
Extrusion temperature typically fell in the 220-240°C range, varying by specific formulation and desired properties. Higher temperatures around 235-240°C improved layer adhesion and produced stronger parts but increased oozing and stringing. Lower temperatures around 220-225°C reduced stringing but risked inadequate layer bonding and potential delamination.
Build platform temperature proved critical for ABS success. Standard settings ranged from 90-110°C, with 100°C representing reliable middle ground. First layer temperature sometimes increased 5-10°C above standard to ensure strong initial adhesion. Inadequate bed temperature resulted in warping, part detachment, and dimensional inaccuracy.
Print speed for ABS typically remained more conservative than PLA, with 40-60 mm/s producing reliable results. Faster speeds risked inadequate cooling time between layers, leading to softening and deformation. Slower speeds around 30-40 mm/s maximized mechanical strength by ensuring complete layer bonding.
Cooling management differed fundamentally from PLA. ABS benefited from minimal or no active part cooling, with fans disabled or set to very low speeds (10-25%). The heated chamber approach, whether through enclosure or simply preventing drafts, maintained even temperature during printing and controlled cooling rates after completion.
ABS Advantages and Applications
ABS’s material properties made it the preferred choice for specific applications where PLA fell short.
Temperature resistance extended significantly beyond PLA, with ABS parts maintaining dimensional stability at temperatures up to 80-95°C. This enabled applications in warm environments: automotive interiors, outdoor use in summer conditions, proximity to heat sources, and functional parts in elevated-temperature machinery.
Mechanical properties provided superior impact resistance and ductility. Where PLA parts shattered under shock loading, ABS parts deformed or flexed, often surviving impacts that destroyed PLA equivalents. This toughness suited functional parts subject to handling, drops, or mechanical stress, components in moving assemblies, protective enclosures, and end-use parts rather than just prototypes.
Post-processing capabilities offered unique advantages. Acetone vapor smoothing transformed rough ABS prints into glass-smooth finished parts, eliminating layer lines and achieving injection-molded appearance. This technique enabled production-quality aesthetics from 3D printed parts, particularly valuable for customer-facing components or showcase models.
Parts could be solvent-welded using acetone or ABS slurry, creating permanent bonds between printed components. Combined with mechanical properties, this allowed creation of large assemblies from printed components. The material accepted painting, filling, and finishing treatments readily, with good adhesion and durability.
ABS Considerations and Challenges
The benefits of ABS came with challenges that made it less suitable for some users and applications.
Printing difficulty deterred beginners, with warping issues frustrating many first-time ABS users. Success required proper equipment (heated bed, ideally enclosed printer), careful parameter tuning, attention to environmental factors, and patience to develop technique. Educational institutions sometimes avoided ABS due to these complications, preferring PLA’s reliability for teaching environments.
Odor and ventilation represented practical concerns. ABS emitted noticeable styrene odor during printing, which some users found unpleasant or experienced as irritating. While not acutely hazardous at typical exposure levels, proper ventilation proved advisable, especially in enclosed spaces or extended printing sessions. This consideration affected where printers could be located and limited ABS use in some educational or residential settings.
Environmental considerations made ABS less appealing to environmentally conscious users. Petroleum-derived rather than bio-based, ABS contributed to fossil fuel dependence and lacked biodegradability. While recyclable in principle, practical recycling infrastructure for mixed-color ABS prints proved limited.
Material Selection Guide
Choosing Between PLA and ABS
Understanding when each material excelled helped users make informed decisions for specific projects.
Choose PLA when:
- Learning 3D printing for the first time, as forgiving properties minimize frustration
- Printing detailed models where fine feature resolution matters most
- Working with printers lacking heated beds or enclosures
- Minimizing print failures is critical (educational demonstrations, time-sensitive projects)
- Environmental credentials matter to project or organization
- Parts will not experience elevated temperatures or require high impact resistance
- Quick turnaround matters more than ultimate mechanical properties
Choose ABS when:
- Functional parts will experience mechanical stress, impacts, or rough handling
- Temperature resistance is required (automotive, outdoor, warm environment applications)
- Acetone vapor smoothing will create desired surface finish
- Parts need solvent welding for assemblies
- Ductility and flexibility matter more than pure tensile strength
- Professional mechanical properties justify additional printing complexity
- Adequate printing equipment (heated bed, enclosure) is available
Application-Specific Recommendations
Different application categories favored specific materials based on their respective strengths.
Educational models and demonstrations typically benefited from PLA due to reliability, safety (no heated bed burns risk), minimal odor, color options for visual distinctiveness, and ease of achieving successful prints in classroom environments with varying supervision levels.
Functional prototypes and engineering evaluation often utilized ABS to better represent final production materials, enable mechanical testing under realistic conditions, demonstrate temperature resistance relevant to applications, and allow acetone smoothing for professional appearance.
Artistic and decorative applications leveraged both materials depending on desired effects. PLA offered translucent options for light-based artwork, excellent detail resolution for intricate designs, and wide color palette for creative expression. ABS provided smoothing capabilities for gallery-quality finishes and durability for handled or displayed pieces.
End-use functional parts primarily utilized ABS when applications permitted, given superior mechanical properties, temperature resistance for real-world conditions, and post-processing options for finished appearance. PLA served end-use applications when temperature and impact conditions remained benign and ease of replacement allowed using less durable material.
Material Storage and Handling
Preserving Filament Quality
Proper material storage significantly affected print success rates, with both PLA and ABS sensitive to environmental factors.
Moisture absorption represented the primary storage concern. Both materials absorbed water from air, leading to print defects including bubbling and popping during extrusion, poor layer adhesion, and stringing, inconsistent extrusion, and generally degraded surface quality. Humidity effects manifested more severely with PLA than ABS but affected both materials.
Storage best practices included keeping unopened filament in original sealed packaging until needed, storing opened filament in airtight containers or bags with desiccant packets (silica gel), maintaining low humidity storage environment when possible, and rotating stock to use older filament before newly purchased materials. Many users improvised food-grade storage containers with sealing gaskets and included reusable desiccant packets to maintain dry conditions.
Filament drying recovered moisture-affected material. Low-temperature food dehydrators effectively dried filament at 40-50°C for several hours. Some users employed dedicated filament dryers or built custom drying boxes. Oven drying required caution to avoid temperatures exceeding material limits (generally kept below 60°C for PLA, below 80°C for ABS). Signs that filament needed drying included visible bubbling during extrusion, brittle or fragile filament, excessive stringing, and poor layer adhesion despite proper printing parameters.
Filament Diameter and Tolerance
Bits From Bytes printers utilized 3mm filament diameter, the standard for RepRap-derived printers of the era. This contrasted with the 1.75mm diameter that subsequently became more popular in the industry. Understanding diameter significance helped users source compatible materials and troubleshoot issues.
3mm filament characteristics included more material cross-section requiring higher extrusion force and potentially more powerful drive mechanisms, greater resistance to flexing during feeding, beneficial for long filament paths, and slower response to extrusion changes due to greater thermal mass. The format suited the direct-drive extruders common on BfB printers.
Diameter tolerance proved critical for reliable printing. High-quality filament maintained tight dimensional tolerance, typically ±0.05mm or better. Variations in diameter caused inconsistent extrusion, over-extrusion in thicker sections causing blobs and artifacts, under-extrusion in thinner sections causing gaps and weak layers, and general print quality degradation. Users quickly learned that premium filament with consistent diameter justified cost premium over cheaper alternatives with poor tolerance.
Modern Context and Evolution
How Materials Have Advanced
The 3D printing materials landscape of 2025 differs dramatically from the BfB era, with innovation expanding options while maintaining backward compatibility with fundamental thermoplastics.
PLA evolution produced numerous specialty variants: PLA+, toughened formulations offering impact resistance approaching ABS while retaining PLA printability, high-speed PLA optimized for printers capable of 200+ mm/s printing speeds, specialty aesthetics including silk, matte, and metallic finishes, composite PLAs containing wood fiber, carbon fiber, or metal particles for unique appearances and properties, and temperature-resistant PLAs with heat deflection temperatures exceeding standard PLA by 30-40°C.
ABS improvements addressed historical challenges including reduced-warp formulations minimizing the enclosure requirement, ASA (Acrylonitrile Styrene Acrylate) offering similar properties with better UV resistance and reduced odor, and improved odor formulations reducing styrene emission during printing.
Entirely new material categories emerged that weren’t widely available during the BfB era, including PETG (Polyethylene Terephthalate Glycol-Modified) combining PLA ease of printing with better mechanical properties, TPU and flexible filaments enabling elastomeric parts, engineering thermoplastics like polycarbonate, nylon, and PEEK for demanding applications, and composite materials incorporating carbon fiber, glass fiber, or other reinforcements.
Compatibility with Vintage Equipment
Users maintaining BfB printers today can access modern materials while navigating compatibility considerations.
Modern PLA generally prints successfully on vintage equipment with minimal adaptation. Temperature ranges remain similar to historical formulations, the material continues not requiring heated beds (though beds help), and wide availability ensures easy sourcing. Some modern PLAs include additives that may require temperature tuning, and specialty variants might exceed original printer capabilities.
Contemporary ABS remains compatible with similar printing parameters, though formulations vary between suppliers more than during BfB era. Users should test small samples before committing to large spools and be prepared to tune temperatures and bed adhesion approaches for specific brands.
Alternative materials like PETG, TPU, or engineering thermoplastics may exceed original printer specifications. Extruder temperature limits, bed temperature capabilities, and mechanical drive systems designed for softer materials might not handle advanced filaments effectively. Users attempting modern materials on vintage equipment should research compatibility carefully and accept that some materials may prove impractical.
Sourcing Materials Today
For Vintage BfB Printer Owners
While Bits From Bytes no longer operates, maintaining vintage printers remains feasible through current filament suppliers.
3mm filament availability persists though 1.75mm dominates current markets. Several manufacturers maintain 3mm product lines: established brands like Polymaker, FormFutura, and ColorFabb offer 3mm options, RepRap-focused suppliers cater to vintage equipment owners, and specialty suppliers serve industrial and educational customers using older equipment. Generic commodity filament in 3mm remains available at competitive prices.
Quality considerations matter more when sourcing materials for older equipment. Diameter tolerance proves critical with vintage extruders having less sophisticated drive mechanisms, consistent formulation ensures repeatability between batches, and reliable suppliers reduce troubleshooting time. Investing in quality filament often proves more economical than wrestling with cheap material producing failed prints.
Modern equivalents matching historical BfB materials include: standard PLA in solid colors directly replacing BfB PLA solid range, translucent PLA replicating BfB translucent options, standard ABS matching BfB ABS formulations, and low-warp ABS formulations potentially improving success rates on vintage equipment.
For Modern Equipment Users
Those exploring 3D printing today find abundant material options across all major thermoplastics and specialty formulations. The fundamental knowledge about PLA and ABS documented in this historical archive remains relevant—modern materials build upon these foundations rather than replacing them entirely.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I use modern PLA filament in a vintage RapMan or 3DTouch printer?
Yes, modern PLA formulations generally work well with BfB printers. Ensure you’re purchasing 3mm diameter filament (not the more common 1.75mm), and start with printing parameters similar to historical recommendations (195-210°C extrusion temperature). Modern PLAs may have additives affecting optimal temperature, so conduct small test prints to verify settings.
Why did 1.75mm filament become more popular than 3mm?
The industry shifted to 1.75mm for several reasons: reduced extrusion force requirements allowed lighter, more compact extruder designs; faster response to extrusion changes improved print quality; better suited to bowden-style extruders where filament travels through tubing; and easier to drive with smaller motors. However, 3mm remains available for equipment designed around it.
Is PLA really biodegradable as marketed?
PLA is biodegradable under specific conditions—industrial composting facilities with controlled temperature (55-70°C) and humidity. In these environments, PLA breaks down within weeks to months. However, PLA persists essentially indefinitely in typical landfills or natural environments lacking these conditions. True biodegradability requires access to proper composting infrastructure.
Can I mix PLA and ABS in the same assembly?
Yes, mechanically joining PLA and ABS parts works fine for assemblies. However, you cannot solvent weld PLA to ABS, and they don’t co-print well in multi-material setups due to different temperature requirements. Mechanical fasteners, adhesives suitable for both materials, or friction fits enable mixed-material assemblies.
How long does stored filament remain usable?
Properly stored filament (sealed with desiccant) remains usable for years. Exposure to humidity degrades quality over months, but drying can recover functionality. Signs filament has degraded include brittleness indicating moisture absorption or UV degradation, discoloration suggesting chemical changes, and reduced mechanical properties in printed parts. Filament that snaps easily during handling has likely degraded beyond recovery.
Why does my ABS print keep warping?
ABS warping typically stems from inadequate bed temperature (try increasing to 100-110°C), insufficient bed adhesion (apply ABS slurry or equivalent), drafts or temperature variations (enclose printer or eliminate airflow), inadequate first layer squish (reduce Z-offset slightly), or attempting prints too large for equipment capabilities. Systematic adjustment of these factors usually resolves warping.
Can I recycle failed 3D prints?
Both PLA and ABS are theoretically recyclable, but practical options vary by location. Some filament manufacturers accept failed prints for recycling into new filament. DIY recycling using filament extruders remains challenging for home users. Some communities have 3D printing waste collection programs. Check local recycling guidelines—many curbside programs don’t accept 3D printing waste due to contamination concerns.
What’s the shelf life of unopened filament in original packaging?
Unopened filament in sealed packaging typically remains usable for 1-2 years or more. Vacuum-sealed packaging with desiccant provides best protection. Storage in cool, dry environment extends shelf life. Even if packaging seems intact, filament stored for multiple years may benefit from drying before use.
Are there food-safe 3D printing materials?
Some manufacturers offer food-safe certified filaments, but food safety depends on multiple factors: filament composition, additives and colorants, printer cleanliness, and layer surfaces harboring bacteria. For food contact applications, verify filament safety certification, use dedicated printers never used with non-food-safe materials, apply food-safe coatings to seal layer lines, and consider replacing food-contact parts regularly.
How do I know if my filament has absorbed too much moisture?
Symptoms of moisture-saturated filament include visible steam or bubbling during extrusion, popping or crackling sounds, excessive stringing, poor layer adhesion despite proper settings, and brittle filament that snaps easily. Drying in food dehydrator at 40-50°C for 4-6 hours typically resolves these issues.
Related Historical Documentation
Explore more about Bits From Bytes 3D printing legacy and materials usage:
Printer Documentation:
- RapMan 3.1 3D Printer – Hardware using these materials
- RapMan 3.2 Kit – Next generation printer
- 3DTouch printer – Consumer-focused model
- Complete BfB Wiki Archive – Full historical documentation
Software and Processes:
- Skeinforge Guide – Slicing software for these materials
- G-Code Reference – Understanding print commands
- Print settings optimization
Educational Resources:
- Teaching Resources – Educational applications
- Material science for educators
- Student project guides
Technical Guides:
- Troubleshooting print issues
- Calibration procedures
- Upgrade and modification guides (coming soon)
For questions about historical BfB materials, sourcing filament for vintage equipment, or understanding material properties, visit our main documentation hub.
This article preserves historical knowledge about Bits From Bytes 3D printing materials from 2007-2012. While we strive for accuracy in representing period specifications and practices, modern safety standards and best practices should be applied when working with any materials or equipment. Material recommendations reflect historical period and may not represent optimal choices for contemporary applications.
Last updated: November 2025
