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Conductive filament is an emerging material type that\u2019s great for small DIY electronic projects or small circuits. Conductive means that electricity can flow through it, hence the filament\u2019s usefulness in projects like\u00a0key fobs<\/a>,\u00a0LED gloves<\/a>,\u00a0and even\u00a0auto-bed leveling sensors<\/a>.<\/p>\n This filament often has\u00a0PLA<\/a>\u00a0as a base material, but other materials (ABS<\/a>, for example) are also used. Most if not all conductive filaments contain graphitized carbon material or graphene, among other additives, which establish the filament\u2019s conductivity.<\/p>\n In this article, we\u2019ll discuss a little bit of the science behind conductive filament, its applications, and some of the best brands. In the latter sections, we\u2019ll give an overview of each filament, including relevant characteristics, printing tips, and where to buy them.<\/p>\n Conductive PLA needs a power source like a battery to transfer electricity. Although the filament can handle electricity, we recommend that you don\u2019t test its limits, as burning the plastic can release carcinogens. Electrical stress tests have shown that\u00a0conductive PLA can handle 0 to 60 volts at or under 100 mA<\/a>, but this varies depending on the brand.<\/p>\n Although the filament can\u2019t power your house, it can help with small projects, such as\u00a0custom PCBs<\/a>, circuits, or electronic components that can power small devices, for example LED lights or sensors. We say \u201csmall\u201d here because conductive PLA can only handle low-voltage devices. And by that, we mean projects that don\u2019t draw or require a lot of power to function. It\u2019s important to keep this in mind when considering applications.<\/p>\n Some conductive filaments are more equipped than others for handling certain voltages. For this reason, we\u2019ll compare products according to their level of electrical resistivity, which is an inverse measurement of conductivity.<\/p>\n Many who are familiar with electronics will already know resistance (measured in \u03a9), which is a fixed, component-specific value. On the other hand,\u00a0resistivity<\/a>\u00a0(measured in \u03a9\u00b7m) is a more general measure, describing how well a\u00a0material\u00a0<\/em>resists the flow of current. For the nerds out there, the resistance of an object depends on the object\u2019s resistivity and dimensions:<\/p>\n R =\u00a0\u03c1<\/em>(l<\/em>\/A)<\/p>\n where\u00a0\u03c1<\/em>\u00a0is resistivity,\u00a0l<\/em>\u00a0is the length of the object, and A is the object\u2019s cross-sectional area. Thus, a 100-\u03a9 resistor may have 100 \u03a9 of resistance, but the material it\u2019s made of could have any value for its resistivity.<\/p>\n Math aside, all you really need to know for this article is, the lower the resistivity, the more conductive a filament is, and vice versa. Also, we\u2019ll be presenting resistivity in terms of \u03a9\u22c5cm, which is what\u2019s most often provided by manufacturers.<\/p>\n The filaments on this list have a wide range of resistivity, so make sure you know what you\u2019re getting before buying. To help you gauge the significance of certain values, here are a few examples:<\/p>\n It\u2019s also important to know that a print using conductive filament may not be uniformly conductive along every axis. This is due to the fact that the material is printed continuously in the XY-plane, but layered in the Z direction. Thus, the material\u2019s molecules will be in better contact in the former case. To yield the best conductivity, keep this in mind as you decide how to orient a part.<\/p>\n Now that you know some electrical information, let\u2019s get to these shocking filaments!<\/p>\n Multi3D is a company built specifically around conductive materials. Aside from their two conductive filaments, they also offer conductive filament pellets. Multi3D\u2019s\u00a0Electrifi conductive filament<\/span>\u00a0isn\u2019t PLA but is similar in some of its properties.<\/p>\n Although it\u2019s a costly filament, it\u2019s got an excellent resistivity of just 0.006 \u03a9\u22c5cm. It can be printed with very low temperatures of just 130-160 \u00b0C, according to the manufacturer.\u00a0GreatScott on YouTube<\/a>\u00a0mentioned that this filament is good for mini-projects but isn\u2019t for high-current-load projects.<\/p>\n Protopasta is a popular filament manufacturer known for their premium quality filaments that have different finishes: matte, shiny, translucent, opaque, among others. They\u2019ve also released their own\u00a0conductive PLA filament<\/span>, which was developed thanks to crowdsourcing on\u00a0Kickstarter<\/a>.<\/p>\n According to the manufacturer, their conductive PLA has a resistivity of 30 \u03a9\u22c5cm along the X- and Y-axes and 115 \u03a9\u22c5cm along the Z-axis. The filament has a 4.7-star rating on Protopasta\u2019s website. Multiple customers credited the filament for printing just as easy as regular PLA, but one customer reported that they experienced issues with the filament\u2019s conductivity.<\/p>\n You can watch this\u00a0filament review<\/a>\u00a0or this\u00a0project review posted by Adafruit<\/a>\u00a0to learn more about this filament.<\/p>\n Black Magic 3D is a distinguished 3D printer filament manufacturer that sells and distributes a few different materials, including\u00a0nylon<\/a>,\u00a0HIPS<\/a>,\u00a0flexibles<\/a>, and more. Their conductive PLA, known as\u00a0Conductive Graphene PLA<\/span>, is another excellent addition to this list. It has electromagnetic properties and radio-frequency shielding but comes with a costly price tag of $100 per 100 grams.<\/p>\n https:\/\/youtu.be\/zvMqLayQXv4<\/p>\n According to the manufacturer, Conductive Graphene PLA has a resistivity of 0.6 \u03a9\u22c5cm. They also say the filament has good mechanical properties and is stronger than ABS and regular PLA. It\u2019s recommended that you print this filament with a nozzle diameter larger than 0.5 mm and with a layer thickness of 0.1-0.2 mm.<\/p>\n Sunlu is a renowned 3D printing supply company that makes filament, 3D printers, and accessories. Their\u00a0conductive filament<\/span>\u00a0base is ABS, which means it should be more robust and heat-resistant than regular PLA. This filament has a tolerance of +\/- 0.02 mm and only comes in the color black.<\/p>\n Sunlu states that this filament is 100% bubble-free when printed. They point out that it can \u201creplace metal\u201d as a conductor; however, they don\u2019t provide any information regarding resistivity. Although there are only a few written reviews, the filament has a five-star rating on AliExpress.<\/p>\n Amolen<\/a>\u00a0specializes in making unique filaments such as their\u00a0glow-in-the-dark<\/a>,\u00a0color-changing<\/a>, and shiny filaments. As part of their portfolio, the company offers an excellent and affordable\u00a0conductive PLA<\/a>. It has a safe voltage maximum of approximately 35 volts, which was confirmed through multiple tests.<\/p>\n Amolen states that their conductive PLA has a steady tolerance of just +\/- 0.03 mm, and its raw materials are eco-friendly and sourced from the USA. They say the filament is high-quality and doesn\u2019t warp, bubble, or jam. A few reviewers on\u00a0Amazon<\/a>\u00a0noted that the filament wasn\u2019t as conductive as advertised, so keep this in mind.<\/p>\n 3dk.berlin<\/a>\u00a0is an online 3D printing supply store that sells filament, printers, extruders, and build plates. One of their filaments is a conductive PLA, known as\u00a03dkonductive<\/a>. According to the manufacturer, 3dkonductive has electromagnetic shielding properties and is anti-static.<\/p>\n This filament has a resistivity of 24 \u03a9\u22c5cm along the X- and Y-axes and 53 \u03a9\u22c5cm along the Z-axis. 3dk.berlin also states that it can be printed with a print speed of up to 90 mm\/s, which is very impressive.<\/p>\n Jaycar<\/a>\u00a0is an Australian e-commerce platform that mainly sells DIY electronic parts, including 3D printing supplies. They offer a\u00a0conductive PLA<\/a>, but not much information is provided regarding who manufactured the filament or what brand it is. We know, however, that the filament is graphene infused, odorless, and biodegradable.<\/p>\n According to the listing, this filament has a bulk resistivity of \u201c0.6 \u03a9\/cm\u00b3\u201d, which is somewhat misleading, as it\u2019s\u00a0not<\/em>\u00a0the same thing as resistivity. As far as we can tell, they mean to say that a cubic centimeter of their material has a resistance of 0.6 \u03a9. Doing the math, this would produce a resistivity of 6 \u03a9\u22c5cm.<\/p>\nThe Basics<\/h3>\n
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Voltage & Resistivity<\/strong><\/h3>\n
Comparing\u00a0<\/strong>Resistivity<\/h3>\n
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Multi3D<\/span><\/h3>\n
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Protopasta<\/span><\/h3>\n
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Black Magic 3D<\/span><\/h3>\n
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Sunlu<\/span><\/h3>\n
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Amolen<\/h3>\n
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3dk.berlin<\/h3>\n
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Jaycar<\/h3>\n
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