Key Facts: 3D Printers & Filament
This page is Filament Lab's maintained fact reference — the spec and material facts our guides are built on, restated in plain prose. We report manufacturer-published specs, never health claims beyond general ventilation guidance.
Nozzle and bed temperatures by material
PLA prints at 190–220°C nozzle / 50–60°C bed and needs no enclosure. PETG runs hotter at 230–250°C nozzle / 70–85°C bed. ABS and ASA both need 220–255°C nozzle and a hot 95–110°C bed, plus an enclosure to control warping. Nylon needs the widest range (240–270°C) and is the most moisture-sensitive material in the lineup. PC runs hottest of all at 260–310°C and requires an all-metal hotend. The full normalized table, with a source column, is The 3D Printing Numbers.
Why filament needs drying
PETG, nylon, TPU, and PC are hygroscopic — they pull moisture from the air even sitting on an open spool holder, and printing them wet causes stringing, popping/crackling sounds, and pitted or weakened layers. Nylon is the most sensitive, absorbing enough moisture in hours to affect a print; PLA is the least sensitive but not immune over months. Drying temperatures range from ~40°C for PLA up to ~75–90°C for nylon, for 4–12 hours depending on material. Full explainer: Why Does My Filament Need Drying?
The print-speed marketing gap
A printer advertised at "600mm/s" is quoting a firmware/motion-system ceiling, not a sustained quality print speed. Realistic quality-checked speeds for clean outer walls on the same class of machine typically run 100–300mm/s, depending on part geometry, acceleration limits, and how much visible ringing you'll tolerate. CoreXY machines generally hold visible quality higher than bedslingers at the same nominal speed because only the lightweight toolhead accelerates, not the bed. Full breakdown: Is "600mm/s" Real?
Nozzle size and layer height
The 0.4mm nozzle is the standard default on the overwhelming majority of consumer printers, with a usable layer-height range of roughly 0.12–0.32mm (0.2mm most common). The rule of thumb is a maximum layer height of about 0.75–0.8× the nozzle diameter. Larger nozzles (0.6mm, 0.8mm) trade fine detail for meaningfully faster bulk deposition; smaller nozzles (0.2mm) trade speed for fine detail and carry higher clog risk. Full guide: What Nozzle Size Should I Use?
Bedslinger vs CoreXY vs delta
A bedslinger (Cartesian, moving-bed) design must accelerate the bed's own mass on one axis, which caps realistic quality speed below a CoreXY machine, where only the lightweight print head moves in X/Y. Delta printers can be very fast vertically but trade a compact footprint for height and a typically cylindrical build volume. Bedslingers remain the cheapest and most repairable class; CoreXY is now common in enclosed consumer machines. Full comparison: Bedslinger vs CoreXY.
Enclosures
An enclosure's job is stabilizing ambient chamber temperature to reduce warping on materials like ABS/ASA/PC — it is not primarily a fume-safety device. A passive (non-heated) enclosure helps warping but does little for ventilation on its own; pair it with active exhaust/filtration or open-window airflow for materials that emit noticeable fumes. Full explainer: Do I Need an Enclosure?
All-metal vs PTFE-lined hotends
A PTFE-lined heat break has a safe ceiling around 240–250°C before the PTFE begins to degrade, which is fine for PLA/PETG but risky for ABS/ASA/nylon/PC. An all-metal heat break removes that ceiling, typically reaching 300°C+, but usually needs retraction and cooling settings retuned after installation to avoid heat creep.
Build-volume classes
Compact printers (≤180mm cube) are common on affordable CoreXY minis and are the tightest class to check against your model's bounding box before buying. Standard printers (~220×220×250mm) are the most common consumer build volume across both kinematics classes. Large printers (300mm+ per axis) enable big single-piece prints but make frame rigidity harder to maintain at speed.
How these facts are maintained
These facts are drawn from filament manufacturer TDS sheets and printer manufacturer published specifications, reviewed against our guides and updated on the date shown above when specs or the market change. We do not publish prices or star ratings, every pick names an honest drawback, and we report material/mechanical facts — never health-outcome claims beyond general ventilation guidance. Our full methodology is at How We Evaluate.