Materials · Demanding
ASA
Like ABS, but made to live in the sun and weather without going brittle.
For outdoorsHandles heatHandles impacts
What changes most if you're coming from PLA:
What it's for
- Outdoor parts: garden, car exterior, bike, sensor boxes.
- Parts that get hot and also take sun.
What it's not for
- If you're just starting: it has the same difficulties as ABS.
- Large parts on an open printer: it shrinks and lifts.
If you're coming from another material
- Nozzle temperature220 °C 260 °C40 °C hotter. ASA needs more heat to melt properly; printed like PLA, the layers don't fuse and the part breaks easily.
- Bed temperature65 °C 100 °C35 °C hotter. A hotter bed keeps the base warm while the rest prints, so it doesn't shrink or lift at the corners.
- Part fan60–80 % 10–80 %Less air. This material prefers to cool slowly: with lots of fan the layers bond poorly or the part cracks.
- Max volumetric speed12 mm³/s 12 mm³/sSimilar: it prints at a similar speed.
- Softens at45 °C 100 °CIt handles 55 °C more before softening: good for parts that will sit in the sun or near something hot.
What it's like to print
- Like ABS: a very hot bed and ideally an enclosed printer.
- Its profile allows quite a bit more fan than ABS, which helps on overhangs.
- It also gives off a smell while printing: ventilate the room.
Starting values
From Bambu Studio's generic profile for the A1: they're meant for any brand, so they're cautious. They're a starting point; the calibration tests get you to your filament's own values.
| Nozzle | 260 °C (240–280) |
|---|---|
| Bed, textured plate | 100 °C |
| Bed, smooth plate (PEI) | 100 °C |
| Bed, cool plate | not recommended |
| Fan | 10–80 % |
| Max flow | 12 mm³/s |
| Softens at | 100 °C |
| Hardened nozzle | not needed |
Moisture
It absorbs some moisture; when damp it bubbles and comes out rough.
Drying time and temperature come from your filament's maker: every brand and blend is different, so we don't give numbers here. Look for them on the filament's label or the brand's data sheet.
The settings that change the most
- Bed on the Textured PEI PlateFilament › FilamentA hot bed so the base stays stuck.
- Brim typeProcess › OthersThe brim holds the corners while the part cools.
Typical problems:The corners liftThe part comes off the plateThe part breaks or the layers split
Calibrate first:1Temperature6Tolerances
The numbers come from Bambu Studio and the A1, but the material is the same on any FDM printer: on another machine or slicer, the values are similar and everything explained here still applies.
Other materials
PLAPLA SilkPETGPCTGTPUABSPC (polycarbonate)Nylon (PA)PP (polypropylene)HIPSFiber-filled (CF and GF)Soluble supports (PVA and BVOH)