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Plastic ABS vs. Wood Compare Plastic ABS 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 3D printed (FDM) 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 38.1 MPa source typical not given (tensile used) Ultimate tensile strength 38.1 MPa source typical, peak stress (= stress at yield) 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 61.1 MPa source typical 99 MPa source modulus of rupture (static bending), 12% MC Elongation at break 4.6 % source typical not sourced Young's modulus (stiffness) 1.96 GPa source typical 12.5 GPa source bending MOE, parallel to grain Density 1,100 kg/m³ source typical not sourced Strength to weight 34.6 kN·m/kg not sourced Stiffness to weight 1.78 MN·m/kg not sourced Poisson's ratio 0.39 source base material: ABS family typical (Covestro Part and Mold Design guide, Table 3-1) 0.35 source mu_LR (red oak group, ~12% MC) Shear modulus 0.706 GPa 4.63 GPa 6.56x stiffer in shear Bulk modulus 2.97 GPa 13.9 GPa Speed of sound 1,336 m/s not sourced Thermal Thermal conductivity 0.17 W/m·K source base material: INEOS Styrolution Terluran GP-22 injection-molding ABS, typical 0.18 W/m·K source across grain, 12% MC (Table 4-7, approximate) Thermal expansion 80–110 µm/m·K source base material: INEOS Styrolution Terluran GP-22 injection-molding ABS, 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 21.2 W/m 244 W/m 11.5x more resistant Glass transition 101 °C source typical not sourced Max service temperature 86.6 °C source HDT 0.455 MPa (printed specimens) not sourced Values for Ultimaker ABS, 3D-printed specimens, XY (flat); Ultimaker S5 Pro, engineering intent profile, 0.15 mm layer height, AA 0.4 print core, 100% infill, Cura 4.9, printed one-at-a-time, conditioned >=24 h at room temperature. TDS v5.00, April 20, 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.
Plastic ABS is 3D printed: its properties depend on build direction and print settings; these are typical values.
Questions Is Plastic ABS stronger than Wood? Wood is stronger: its tensile strength is 99 MPa against yield strength 38.1 MPa for Plastic ABS (2.6x).
Which is stiffer, Plastic ABS or Wood? Wood is stiffer: Young's modulus 12.5 GPa against 1.96 GPa for Plastic ABS, so the same part in Wood deflects less under the same load.
Which conducts heat better, Plastic ABS or Wood? Wood conducts heat better: 0.18 W/m·K against 0.17 W/m·K for Plastic ABS.
Which expands less with temperature? Wood expands less: 3.8 µm/m·K against 95 µm/m·K for Plastic ABS.
Among 59 materials 1k 10k 0.1 1 10 100 Density (kg/m³) Young's modulus (GPa) Plastic PLA Plastic PETG 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 ABS (bulk/injection) 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 Stiffness against density 1k 10k 10 100 1k Density (kg/m³) Yield strength (MPa) Plastic PLA Plastic PETG 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 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 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 Strength against density