Only two weeks ago we released our brand new lightweight 3D printing filament LW-PLA. With its active foaming technology it can reduce weight of a printed part with 65%, which makes it ideally suited for prints where weight matters. There are a lot of applications for this new material and one of them is for use in cosplay parts.

Parametric Cosplay Shoulder Armor by qxpmikeqxp / design

The Parametric Cosplay Shoulder Armor by Mike Lobsinger is a great example. We already know that 3D printing is extensively used by the cosplay community to make unique parts for ever more extravagant costumes. With larger sizes of the costumes weight becomes a factor of course and that is exactly where LW-PLA comes in.

We ran a comparison test with our regular PLA/PHA and LW-PLA:

Left: PLA/PHA, right LW-PLA

We printed on the Ultimaker 2+ witha  0.6mm nozzle and 0.1mm layer height for both materials. For the PLA/PHA we printed at 210C and a bed temperature of 50C with 100%. This resulted in a print of 120 grams. As for LW-PLA we printed at 245C with a 50C bed temperature and with 50% flow. The print ended up less than half at 54 grams!

Find out more on our dedicated landing page!

As you can see, LW-PLA is perfectly suited for lighweight prop making. It is easy to sand to create a smooth surface finish. At around 230C this material will start foaming, increasing its volume by nearly 3 times. Users can decrease material flow by 65% to achieve lightweight parts, or use the expanding properties to effectively reduce print time by using big layer heights or single extra thick perimeters.

Click here to read more on how to print with LW-PLA in our handy tutorial.

Reduce weight and make your cosplay and attributes lighter, more practical and comfortable. With LW-PLA you can dress like a superhero without needing the strength of a superhero.

LW-PLA is available now.