PS vs. PLA
Both PS and PLA are thermoplastics. There are 14 material properties with values for both materials. Properties with values for just one material (15, in this case) are not shown.
For each property being compared, the top bar is PS and the bottom bar is PLA.
Metric UnitsUS Customary Units
Mechanical Properties
| Elastic (Young's, Tensile) Modulus, GPa | 1.9 to 2.9 | |
| 3.5 |
| Elongation at Break, % | 1.8 to 40 | |
| 6.0 |
| Flexural Strength, MPa | 62 to 80 | |
| 80 |
| Tensile Strength: Ultimate (UTS), MPa | 32 to 44 | |
| 50 |
Thermal Properties
| Glass Transition Temperature, °C | 100 | |
| 60 |
| Maximum Temperature: Mechanical, °C | 70 | |
| 50 |
| Specific Heat Capacity, J/kg-K | 1250 to 1400 | |
| 1800 |
| Thermal Conductivity, W/m-K | 0.14 to 0.22 | |
| 0.13 |
Otherwise Unclassified Properties
| Density, g/cm3 | 1.0 | |
| 1.3 |
Common Calculations
| Stiffness to Weight: Axial, points | 1.0 to 1.5 | |
| 1.6 |
| Stiffness to Weight: Bending, points | 40 to 45 | |
| 40 |
| Strength to Weight: Axial, points | 8.5 to 12 | |
| 11 |
| Strength to Weight: Bending, points | 22 to 26 | |
| 24 |
| Thermal Diffusivity, mm2/s | 0.11 to 0.15 | |
| 0.058 |