Prusa Promises Lighter Prints for Drones, Insulation, and More with Its Prusament PLA Lightweight

3D printing pioneer Prusa Research has announced a new entry in its Prusament line of fused filament fabrication (FFF, also known as FDM) printing materials: the Prusament PLA Lightweight, which it claims foams to deliver prints 65% lighter than its traditional PLA.

"Prusament PLA Lightweight is an actively foaming PLA designed for prints where low mass matters," Prusa's Jakub Kočí explains of the latest entry in the Prusament line. "In the nozzle, heat activates additives that expand the extruded polymer, allowing the same spool mass to produce substantially more printed volume than conventional PLA. This means it is possible to print 2-3 times more models from one spool than from the same weight of regular PLA."

Polylactic acid (PLA) is one of the most popular materials for FFF printing: it can be produced from renewable resources, is cheap, has a relatively low melting point, doesn't absorb environmental moisture as quickly as some alternative printing materials, and can be formulated to be biodegradable. The new Prusa PLA Lightweight has all of these benefits, plus one more: it foams up during printing — resulting in a lighter print, with less material passing through the nozzle.

Using Prusament PLA Lightweight, the company says, will deliver around 2–3 times as many prints from each spool compared with the company's normal PLA filaments. More importantly, the resulting prints will be up to 65% lighter — ideal for everything from drones, where weight matters, to soda-can cozies, where the foamed PLA acts as an effective insulator. "The lightweight properties are also great for making cosplay props and costume parts," Kočí adds, "as they are much more comfortable to wear."

Exactly how much lighter the print, and how much longer your spool lasts than normal, depends on print temperature. Below 215°C the material barely foams at all; printing at 235°C offers the maximum expansion. The trade-off: increased oozing, which means prints using Prusament PLA Lightweight usually need to be treated for stringing with a hobby knife and/or sanding. There's a note of caution, too, which may come as a surprise to those used to the non-toxic nature of PLA: printing above 250°C "may emit potentially dangerous fumes," Kočí warns. The material is also considerably more hygroscopic than normal PLA, and will need five hours of drying at 55°C prior to printing.

Prusa PLA Lightweight is available to buy in Army Green, Chocolate Brown, Galaxy Black, Natural, and Coral Orange, all of which will print increasingly paler as you up the foaming ratio, from the Prusa store at $56.99 per 1kg spool.