Polymaker PolyLite ASA 1kg 1.75mm Filament

• UV Resistant - With excellent weather resistance (UV, water and heat) PolyLite™ ASA is the ideal choice for printing parts that must survive in the harsh outdoors. Most plastics tend to become brittle and their colour turns yellow when exposed to UV radiation or sunshine but with PolyLite™ ASA the appearance and mechanical properties of your 3D prints are not influenced negatively by UV light.
• Water Resistant - PolyLite™ ASA is resistant to Environmental Stress Cracking (ESC). This allows printed parts to face the outdoors, high humidity and rain over long periods of time.
• ABS Alternative - PolyLite™ ASA performs better in both thermal and mechanical properties compared with general ABS filaments. It also features a Vicat softening temperature of 105°C which slightly exceeds ABS.
• Excellent Printing Quality - PolyLite™ ASA prints parts with a beautiful matte surface finish, suitable for printing production parts. Made with only the highest quality materials, PolyLite™ ASA delivers excellent printing quality and reliability.
• Uncompromised Quality - With Polymaker's industry leading quality control process and rigorous in-house testing, you can rest assured that PolyLite™ ASA will produce beautiful, reliable and accurate printed parts.

Printing Settings

The above are printing recommendations based on 0.4 mm nozzle. Please note ideal printing conditions may vary depending on your 3D printer setup. For high speed 3D printers, make sure to increase your extrusion temperature in order to use higher printing speeds.

ASA filaments benefit from a hot environment. When printing larger or higher density models it can be beneficial to pre-heat your build plate 20 - 30 minutes before printing. In colder climates a longer pre-heating time may be useful.

For other tips printing PolyLite™ ASA contact us!

Specification

Compatibility

PolyLite™ ASA has been engineered with compatibility in mind to print excellently on a wide range of professional 3D printers. This material requires a heated bed and we recommend printing with an enclosure or heated chamber for sizeable or thin models. 

Of course with thousands of unique 3d printer models on the market, we can't guarantee each filament type will work with every 3D printer. Slicer experience and setting adjustment is always required to get the most out of a material. Before jumping into an ambitious project we always recommend printing some known calibration tests to build or make adjustments to the filament profile.

Technical Data

All testing specimens were printed under the following conditions: Nozzle Temperature = 260˚C, build plate temperature = 90˚C, infil = 100%, cooling fan = OFF
All specimens were conditioned at room temperature for 24h prior to testing.

THERMAL PROPERTIES

MECHANICAL PROPERTIES

We have full MDS and technical data sheets for PolyLite™ ASA and all other Polymaker products. Contact us to enquire!

The typical values presented in Polymakers data sheet are intended for reference and comparison purposes only. Due to the nature of 3D printing they should not be used for design specifications or quality control purposes.

STORAGE & DRYING

All plastics are hygroscopic meaning they absorb moisture from the air which can affect printing quality and strength of printed parts. How quickly this absorption occurs depends on the material and your environment. PolyLite™ ASA filaments are dried and packaged in a vacuum sealed bag with desiccant to ensure the best printing quality. When not in use PolyLite™ ASA should be stored away from sunlight and sealed in the packaged resealable bag.

Although filaments can be dried, drying will speed up the aging process of the plastic. Preventing the filament from absorbing moisture in the first place is the best solution to keep your filament working to its maximum potential. For long term storage we highly recommend storing in a sealed container with dry desiccant that reduces the relative humidity to 10-20% RH.

In-house we manage our filaments with Polymakers PolyDryer™ which keep offers best-in-class sealing to protect filaments from absorbing moisture 

If you hear popping sounds and notice that the surface quality of your print is uneven or the colour is not consistent, this is a likely indicator that the filament has absorbed too much moisture. Spools of PolyLite™ ASA can be dried with Polymaker PolyDryer™ using power level 2. Alternatively if you have a convection oven that is accurate at low temperatures, users can dry filament in a preheated convection oven at 70˚C for up to 6 hours. Results may vary depending on the accuracy of your oven so please be conservative. For more information about filament drying please read our user guide.

FAQ

Q: How does PolyLite™ ASA compare to ABS?
A: Like Polymaker's other products, PolyLite™ ASA is engineered specifically with 3D printing in mind. When compared to ABS, PolyLite™ ASA offers superior stiffness and tensile strength. Through their experience developing a series of ASA plastics for one of the worlds largest construction companies; Shanghai Construction Group, Polymaker has mastered the properties, compounding formulas and production techniques of ASA. As a result, PolyLite™ ASA gains several advantages over other ASA filaments including exceptional inter-layer adhesion.

Q: Do I need an enclosure to print PolyLite™ ASA?
A: This is really dependent on the ambient room temperature, size, geometry and infil density of your parts. The general rule of thumb is that the larger your project is, the more important an enclosure or heated chamber becomes. When printing without an enclosure it is important to keep the printer away from cold drafts that could impact the print.

Q: Can I post-process PolyLite™ ASA with acetone?
A: In short, yes PolyLite™ ASA can be smoothed with acetone although we highly recommend considering safer alternatives.
WARNING: Acetone is a dangerous chemical that requires handling with the necessary safety precautions. It is not a process we recommend and there are many methods which can pose a undue and serious fire risk which can cause damage to your health, property and even result in death. See Exhibit 1 - "reddit.com - TIFU by almost burning my house down trying to smooth out a 3D print"

Q: Can ASA be printed at large scales without warping?
A: A stable high temperature environment is required to print larger ASA parts without warping. Whether a part is susceptible to warping will vary on how the residual stress releases within the parts geometry. Most users print ASA with the heated bed set to 100˚C with an enclosure to passively heat the surrounding environment. This effectively reduces the internal stresses cause warping or cracking. To guarantee that ASA can be printed at any size without warping, 3D printing with a professionally designed heated chamber is required.

Q: Should I rewind this filament if I want to use it with a different spool?
A: We strongly advise against tampering with the product by rewinding. See our article for full details about the risks. All Polymaker filaments are wound with tension but without strain. Rewinding completely rearranges the curvature of the winding and this strain over time can cause most plastics to catastrophically break. If for some reason your printer is locked into fitting less than standard sized spools, there may be safe printable adaptors or external mounting solutions available.

Don't know where to start? Or which filament will suit your application? We have a broad range of support options including telephone support. Contact us today!

Applications

PolyLite™ ASA has quickly grown to become a popular and cost-effective engineering material for applications requiring high heat resistance, weather resistance or a good balance of strength, toughness and stiffness. Weather resistance can be broken down into 3 factors: UV resistance, water resistance and thermal stability of which ASA outperforms many other plastics. Compared to other materials PolyLite™ ASA is resistant to environmental stress cracking which allows printed parts to face the outdoors, high humidity and rain over long periods of time.

PolyLite™ ASA is sometimes used for decorative models but is often chosen for technical projects such as:

• Functional prototypes.
• Plastic 3D printer parts and upgrades.
• Spare and replacement plastic parts.
• Bespoke and custom automotive parts.
• Manufacturing end-use products.
• Plant pots, homewares and outdoor furnishings.
• Signwriting logos and text.
• Brackets and manufacturing aids.
• Cases and housings for outdoors.
• Assemblies which require gluing or painting.
• Anemometers and research equipment.

Like ABS and other high temperature plastics, it's possible to print ASA without an enclosure but models will be printed with greater stress and a higher chance of warping as the size of your part increases. For most applications it is recommend to print with an enclosure and for large or dense printing projects a printer with a controlled heated chamber will be required.

​Matt Tyson from 3D Printing Solutions visiting the worlds 3d printed pedestrian footbridge with representatives from Polymaker, Shanghai Construction Group and Coin Robotics.

R&D for PolyLite ASA began when Polymaker developed and produced the 3D printing material for the world largest 3D printed pedestrian footbridge project. Shanghai Construction Group. invited Polymaker  to join this project from the very beginning to help develop a custom ASA 3D printing material for the bridge. During the whole processes, through plenty of tests and experiments, Polymaker has mastered the properties, compounding formulas and production techniques of ASA. As a result, PolyLite™ ASA gains several advantages over other ASA filaments. Polymakers engineers have developed an ASA filament with exceptional interlayer adhesion. PolyLite™ ASA displays better layer-bonding performance than similar products.