PLA, or Polylactic acid, is a popular 3D printing material favored by users worldwide because its made from natural materials. PLA filament is a plastic material that is corn based – meaning that it is derived from organic biodegradable material, with cornstarch being one of the most common materials that make up the bulk of PLA production worldwide. It’s a thermoplastic aliphatic polyester (basically meaning biodegradable) that is one of the most popular materials used in additive manufacturing processes. Oftentimes, one of the first few projects that users create on their new 3D printer would be some sort of mug or a shot glass of some sort. As users become more experience with 3D printing, they’ll begin to make miniatures, figurines, and even cosplay costumes and props. The organic foundation makes PLA biodegradable and compostable – making it great for printing food-safe objects and kitchenware such as coffee mugs, shot glasses, plates, bowls and pet food dishes. PLA has been widely adopted by the food industry to produce food packaging – substituting plastics that are made from fossil fuels as those are harmful to humans. In recent years, there are several versions of PLA that have been developed over the years, with aluminum, wood fibers or even bronze particles becoming more commonplace as a component of PLA filament during production. Compared to ABS (Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene) which is another popular non-toxic plastic, PLA is more heat-sensitive and more fragile, with a glass transition temperature (aka melting point) of about 150 ºC (300 ºF) However, one of the great things about PLA is that the material itself is less prone to contracting during cooling – giving it a lot more geometric stability. That allows for more precise 3D printing of objects with detailed and defined shapes. PLA is processed via injection molding, casting, blown film, thermoforming, extrusion and fiber spinning methods which makes it highly flexible, versatile, and easy to work with. First, the lactic acid that naturally occurs in bacterial fermentation of vegetables such as corn, sugar cane or cassava is mixed with enzymes and heated, breaking down into D-glucose. This raw component is then polymerized and turned into PLA filament to be used in a wide array of applications.
