PLA or PLA+: What’s the difference?

As we know PLA is one of the most common filaments in 3D printing. But standard PLA has terrible thermal resistance and can lean a little too much on the brittle side instead of flexible. Many filament brands such as UJOYBIO have developed PLA+ or PLA Plus PLA filament materials to bridge the gap between PLA and other high-performance filaments. How exactly do these PLA Plus filaments perform and are they worth the hype? Is it worth it to upgrade from standard PLA?                                                      

What is PLA Plus? As the name implies, PLA Plus is a type of “enhanced” PLA. There is no standard method for this enhancement is achieved. In fact, different brands may market their enhanced PLA filaments in different ways. One brand’s “PLA Plus” may be equivalent to another brand’s “PLA Pro” No matter the name, a PLA Plus filament represents a premium type of PLA. This typically manifests via enhanced impact strength, improved heat stability and toughness, better layer adhesion, and superior visual appearance. The benefit of working with a PLA Plus filament is that you get all these upgrades while mostly retaining the ease-of-use that standard PLA has been known for.

How is it made? Describing exactly how PLA Plus filament is made is difficult since each brand probably takes its own unique spin on the concept. To enhance flexibility, it has been inferred that some PLA Plus filaments contain a healthy dose of TPU.

How it compares to standard PLA

Does PLA Plus really offer a premium compared to standard PLA? On this metric, PLA Plus does not disappoint. By improving standard PLA formulation with some additives, most PLA Plus filaments provide mechanical and thermal advantages without the challenges innate to working with high-temperature filaments. Compared to standard PLA, these are some of the major differences of a PLA Plus filament:

Higher Quality

UJOYBIO’s Hyper PLA filaments offers outstanding toughness, which exceeds 90% than other normal filaments on the market. The prints with our hyper filaments are not easily brittle. Its smooth, low-layer printing capability makes it perfect for crafting detailed models, artwork and precision engineering components. PLA is made from poly lactic acid, which is produced via starch fermentation during corn (or other plant) wet milling, it's a biodegradable and eco-friendly material. Dimensional accuracy ±0.02mm. UJOYBIO filament has wide compatibility due to the small diameter error, its suitable for almost all 1.75mm FDM 3D printers. The impact strength is 150% greater than other common filaments. Moreover, free clog/bubble/warping/string, easy to print and better layer adhesion makes exceptional delicate creations. UJOYBIO’s hyper PLA filament is a fully optimized eco-friendly 3D printing material designed specifically for high-speed printing. High impact strength, high interlayer adhesion and good toughness, which is four times higher than other basic filaments in the market. Moreover, our hyper PLA filaments are easy to print and offering 500mm/s printing speed. Hyper PLA filaments are perfect for professionals and new-user seeking efficiency and precision in their 3D printing projects.

Better heat stability

A low glass transition temperature is one of the weakest points of standard PLA. With PLA Plus, you can gain a boost in thermal stability by up to 15 °C. This puts PLA Plus at par with more heavy-duty filaments such as PETG.

More flexibility A common goal of combining standard PLA with additives was to reduce its brittleness and make it more flexible. This makes PLA Plus a little more robust and versatile in terms of applications.

Better strength and toughness Printing functional parts with PLA is often not a good idea. Not only is PLA brittle, but it lacks the toughness to withstand sustained loads and repeated motion. Many PLA Plus filaments address this by improving metrics such as tensile strength and impact strength.

Better surface finish

Some brands promise that their PLA Plus filaments naturally create a more radiant or glossy finish compared to standard PLA. This can surely be a selling point if you’re the type to finish your PLA prints until they look as good as possible. You could find such as metallic filament on UJOYBIO, is designed to mimic the surface texture of metal, so you are no need to spray or color the filaments. Instead, vibrant brightly colors are prepared for you. The color and gloss of items printed with metal filament are closely resemble those of real metal, which make them look more textured than plastic items. Also, you could find the silky-texture PLA filament, the model printed by UJOYBIO’s silk PLA filament has shinny and silk luster texture. The PLA silk filament’s printing surface is smooth without lamination.

Better overhang and bridging performance

With improved strength, you can also expect PLA Plus to perform better for overhanging features or bridges in your model. This is precisely because the improved material supports its own weight better and can develop more strength as it cools down. This is a property of PLA Plus you likely will have to experiment with to confirm.

Many filament brands have come up with enhanced PLA filaments – PLA Plus filaments, if you will.

Have you tried any of the PLA Plus filaments we have recommended? How has your experience been?