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Plastic ABS (bulk/injection) vs. Wood Compare Plastic ABS (bulk/injection) vs. Wood strength, stiffness, weight and thermal properties.
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Plastic PLA Plastic PETG Plastic ABS Plastic TPU Plastic Nylon Plastic ABS (bulk/injection) Plastic Polycarbonate Plastic POM/Acetal Plastic Nylon PA6 Plastic Nylon PA66 Plastic PEEK Plastic PTFE Plastic UHMWPE Plastic HDPE Plastic Polypropylene Plastic PMMA Rubber Wood Aluminum Aluminum 6061-T6 Aluminum 7075-T6 Aluminum 2024-T351 Aluminum 5052-H32 Aluminum 7050-T7451 Steel Steel AISI 1018 Steel AISI 1045 Steel AISI 4340 Steel A992 Iron Titanium Titanium Ti-6Al-4V Stainless 304 Stainless 316 Stainless 303 Stainless 17-4PH Brass C360 Brass C260 Copper C110 Glass Nickel Inconel 718 Magnesium AZ31B-H24 Zinc Zamak 3 FDM ASA FDM Polycarbonate FDM PAHT-CF FDM HIPS SLA Resin Standard SLA Resin Tough 2000 SLA Resin Elastic 50A SLS PA12 Nylon DMLS AlSi10Mg Aluminum DMLS Ti-6Al-4V ELI Titanium DMLS 316L Stainless Steel DMLS 17-4PH Stainless Steel Concrete Brick Plywood Drywall Plastic ABS (bulk/injection) Bulk polymer (molded or machined) Plastic PLA Plastic PETG Plastic ABS Plastic TPU Plastic Nylon Plastic ABS (bulk/injection) Plastic Polycarbonate Plastic POM/Acetal Plastic Nylon PA6 Plastic Nylon PA66 Plastic PEEK Plastic PTFE Plastic UHMWPE Plastic HDPE Plastic Polypropylene Plastic PMMA Rubber Wood Aluminum Aluminum 6061-T6 Aluminum 7075-T6 Aluminum 2024-T351 Aluminum 5052-H32 Aluminum 7050-T7451 Steel Steel AISI 1018 Steel AISI 1045 Steel AISI 4340 Steel A992 Iron Titanium Titanium Ti-6Al-4V Stainless 304 Stainless 316 Stainless 303 Stainless 17-4PH Brass C360 Brass C260 Copper C110 Glass Nickel Inconel 718 Magnesium AZ31B-H24 Zinc Zamak 3 FDM ASA FDM Polycarbonate FDM PAHT-CF FDM HIPS SLA Resin Standard SLA Resin Tough 2000 SLA Resin Elastic 50A SLS PA12 Nylon DMLS AlSi10Mg Aluminum DMLS Ti-6Al-4V ELI Titanium DMLS 316L Stainless Steel DMLS 17-4PH Stainless Steel Concrete Brick Plywood Drywall Wood Natural Try it on a partA bracket to run stress or thermal on, free in your browser Open in LessCAD Open in LessCAD Mechanical Yield strength 45 MPa source typical, tensile stress at yield 23 °C not given (tensile used) Ultimate tensile strength not sourced 99 MPa source modulus of rupture (no direct tensile value) Compressive strength not sourced 46.6 MPa source compression parallel to grain (maximum crushing strength), 12% MC Flexural strength 65 MPa source typical, 23 °C 99 MPa source modulus of rupture (static bending), 12% MC Elongation at break 10 % source nominal strain at break, 23 °C not sourced Young's modulus (stiffness) 2.3 GPa source typical 12.5 GPa source bending MOE, parallel to grain Density 1,040 kg/m³ source typical not sourced Strength to weight 43.3 kN·m/kg not sourced Stiffness to weight 2.21 MN·m/kg not sourced Poisson's ratio 0.39 source typical, ABS family (Covestro Part and Mold Design guide, Table 3-1) 0.35 source mu_LR (red oak group, ~12% MC) Shear modulus 0.827 GPa 4.63 GPa 5.6x stiffer in shear Bulk modulus 3.48 GPa 13.9 GPa Speed of sound 1,487 m/s not sourced Thermal Thermal conductivity 0.17 W/m·K source typical 0.18 W/m·K source across grain, 12% MC (Table 4-7, approximate) Thermal expansion 80–110 µm/m·K source range 3.1–4.5 µm/m·K source parallel to grain, ovendry wood, range across species 100 mm part over a 50 °C swing 475 µm growth 19 µm growth 25x less Specific heat not sourced 1,700 J/kg·K source solid wood (all species), 12% MC, 27 C Heats up and cools (diffusivity) not sourced not sourced Thermal shock resistance 21.4 W/m 244 W/m 11.4x more resistant Max service temperature 94 °C source HDT 1.8 MPa (annealed 4 h/80 °C) not sourced Values for INEOS Styrolution Terluran GP-22 general-purpose injection-molding ABS, ISO typical values (TDS revision 08/01/2022) Northern red oak (Quercus rubra), clear straight-grained specimens at 12% MC, parallel to grain unless stated; USDA FPL Wood Handbook FPL-GTR-282 (2021) Ch. 4 and Ch. 5
Every value links to the document that states it. "Not sourced" means no citable source states it (or only a specification minimum); figures computed from it are left out too.
Questions Is Plastic ABS (bulk/injection) stronger than Wood? Wood is stronger: its tensile strength is 99 MPa against yield strength 45 MPa for Plastic ABS (bulk/injection) (2.2x).
Which is stiffer, Plastic ABS (bulk/injection) or Wood? Wood is stiffer: Young's modulus 12.5 GPa against 2.3 GPa for Plastic ABS (bulk/injection), so the same part in Wood deflects less under the same load.
Which conducts heat better, Plastic ABS (bulk/injection) or Wood? Wood conducts heat better: 0.18 W/m·K against 0.17 W/m·K for Plastic ABS (bulk/injection).
Which expands less with temperature? Wood expands less: 3.8 µm/m·K against 95 µm/m·K for Plastic ABS (bulk/injection).
Among 59 materials 1k 10k 0.1 1 10 100 Density (kg/m³) Young's modulus (GPa) Plastic PLA Plastic PETG Plastic ABS Plastic TPU Plastic Nylon Aluminum Steel Iron Titanium Steel AISI 1018 Stainless 304 Stainless 316 Aluminum 6061-T6 Aluminum 7075-T6 Brass C360 Copper C110 Glass Steel AISI 1045 Steel AISI 4340 Steel A992 Stainless 303 Stainless 17-4PH Aluminum 2024-T351 Aluminum 5052-H32 Aluminum 7050-T7451 Titanium Ti-6Al-4V Brass C260 Nickel Inconel 718 Magnesium AZ31B-H24 Zinc Zamak 3 Plastic Polycarbonate Plastic POM/Acetal Plastic Nylon PA6 Plastic Nylon PA66 Plastic PEEK Plastic UHMWPE Plastic HDPE Plastic Polypropylene Plastic PMMA FDM ASA FDM Polycarbonate FDM PAHT-CF FDM HIPS SLA Resin Tough 2000 SLS PA12 Nylon DMLS AlSi10Mg Aluminum DMLS Ti-6Al-4V ELI Titanium DMLS 316L Stainless Steel DMLS 17-4PH Stainless Steel Plastic ABS (bulk/injection) Stiffness against density 1k 10k 10 100 1k Density (kg/m³) Yield strength (MPa) Plastic PLA Plastic PETG Plastic ABS Plastic TPU Plastic Nylon Rubber Aluminum Steel Iron Titanium Steel AISI 1018 Stainless 304 Stainless 316 Aluminum 6061-T6 Aluminum 7075-T6 Brass C360 Copper C110 Glass Steel AISI 1045 Steel AISI 4340 Steel A992 Stainless 303 Stainless 17-4PH Aluminum 2024-T351 Aluminum 5052-H32 Aluminum 7050-T7451 Titanium Ti-6Al-4V Brass C260 Nickel Inconel 718 Magnesium AZ31B-H24 Zinc Zamak 3 Plastic Polycarbonate Plastic POM/Acetal Plastic Nylon PA6 Plastic Nylon PA66 Plastic PEEK Plastic PTFE Plastic UHMWPE Plastic HDPE Plastic Polypropylene Plastic PMMA FDM ASA FDM Polycarbonate FDM PAHT-CF FDM HIPS SLA Resin Tough 2000 SLA Resin Elastic 50A SLS PA12 Nylon DMLS AlSi10Mg Aluminum DMLS Ti-6Al-4V ELI Titanium DMLS 316L Stainless Steel DMLS 17-4PH Stainless Steel Brick Plastic ABS (bulk/injection) Strength against density