Engineered material systems / 2026
MAKE
REAL.
Filament, resin and engineering grades for 3D printing — with the print settings, the drying schedule and the batch published before you buy.
Zero → path → real. Printing in progress.
- material
- PA-CF ONYX / 01
- layer
- 0,16 mm
- nozzle
- 285 °C
- chamber
- 50 °C
01 / Choose
Start with the job, not the polymer.
Nobody needs PETG. People need a bracket that survives being dropped. Tell us what the part has to do and the finder works backwards to the grades that can do it.
- I need form and fit todayPrototype fastDimensional accuracy and clean surfaces at speed. Parts live indoors and get replaced by the next revision.
- The part has a job to doTake load and heatJigs, brackets, tooling and end-use parts that carry force, run warm, or both.
- Sun, rain, a hot carLive outdoorsUV stability and heat resistance for parts that leave the workshop and stay outside.
- It has to giveBend and sealGaskets, grips, bumpers, hinges and anything that needs to return to shape.
- Every edge showsHold fine detailResin work where surface finish and sub-100-micron features decide whether the part is usable.
- Not sure yet
Send us the part and the load. We will tell you which grade — including when the answer is a cheaper one.
Ask the Lab
02 / Materials
Seven families. One set of rules.
Every grade publishes the same fields in the same order, so comparing two materials is reading two columns rather than two marketing pages.
Polylactic acid
PLA
Fast, accurate, easy. Loses stiffness above roughly 55 °C.
- SKUs
- 8
- Heat
- 53–60 °C
- Price
- On request
Glycol-modified polyethylene terephthalate
PETG
Impact tolerant and water resistant. Stringy if you print it wet or fast.
- SKUs
- 11
- Heat
- 76–78 °C
- Price
- On request
Acrylonitrile butadiene styrene / acrylonitrile styrene acrylate
ABS & ASA
Heat resistant and UV stable (ASA). Warps without an enclosure.
- SKUs
- 5
- Heat
- 100–106 °C
- Price
- On request
Thermoplastic polyurethane
TPU
Elastic and abrasion resistant. Slow, and unforgiving of long Bowden tubes.
- SKUs
- 3
- Heat
- —
- Price
- On request
Polyamide, carbon and glass reinforced
Nylon & composites
The best fatigue and wear performance available on an FDM printer. Needs a dryer.
- SKUs
- 3
- Heat
- 215 °C
- Price
- On request
Polycarbonate and PC blends
Polycarbonate
Highest strength and heat resistance here. Also the least forgiving.
- SKUs
- 3
- Heat
- 111–114 °C
- Price
- On request
Photopolymer for MSLA and DLP
Resin
Unmatched surface finish and detail. Wear gloves and wash properly.
- SKUs
- 4
- Heat
- —
- Price
- On request
03 / Structure
One name across three ways of making.
ZORVA sells material. The Lab proves it. Studio and Makers build with it in public.
Material systems
ZORVA
Filament, resin and engineering grades, each shipping with the settings we validated and the batch it came from.
Experiment & proof
ZORVA LAB
Where settings are tested and written down. The Lab publishes what failed as readily as what worked, because a range you can trust is worth more than a number you cannot.
Community & projects
ZORVA STUDIO / MAKERS
Studio builds parts for clients on the same materials we sell. Makers is where the community's work gets credited and shared.
04 / Field notes
What we learned, written down.
Settings, comparisons and failures from the Lab and from Studio jobs. No launch announcements.
Branded or no-name, every new spool gets checked
Branded filament does not automatically print better than no-name filament; what it gives you is information — a data sheet, a measured diameter tolerance, a lot number and a starting print profile. With no-name filament you measure those things yourself. Any new spool deserves a check before a long print: the bag is still sealed, the diameter is measured on two perpendicular axes, the spool fits the holder or feeder, the material is dried if its type needs it, and temperature and flow are calibrated for that spool. New does not mean dry — Bambu Lab itself recommends drying its own PLA before use and requires it for TPU, PC and nylon.
- The difference between branded and no-name filament is the information you have before printing, not a promise about any one spool.
- Flow scales with the square of diameter: a 1.80 mm strand pushes out about 5.8 % more plastic than 1.75 mm. Measure on two perpendicular axes, because an oval strand read on one axis lies.
- A new spool is not a dry spool. Bambu Lab lists “drying recommended before use” for its own PLA and “required” for TPU, PC and nylon.
The race to multicolour without purge — four architectures, nine names, side by side
K3, SPARKX i8, Snapmaker U1, Bambu H2C, Prusa INDX and the H3C/P3C FCC filings compared: colour-change method, swap time, waste, chamber, materials, price.
HP MJF 1200 — Multi Jet Fusion made smaller, and what it changes about outsourcing
HP MJF 1200: 320 × 165 × 230 mm (12 L) build, PA 12, builds under 12 h, under $60,000, shipping early 2027. How MJF differs from SLS and what it really costs.
05 / Manifesto
Nothing real begins as real. So test it, break it, refine it.