Makerbot PLA Filament vs Hatchbox PLA Filament

Since this filament was designed to be used with high-end, expensive Makerbot hardware, its mechanical parameters exceed the standards for regular PLA plastic, as shown in the raw datasheet of the material. It's properties are very well balanced; the filament is quite ductile, meaning tensile strength is a bit higher than that of standard PLA, while maintaining the same high material elasticity. While it isn’t a groundbreaking filament, you can be assured that there is no aspect of this product that can be considered substandard.

3D printing PLA poses fewer health risks than ABS.

As most Makerbot products, this filament has earned some popularity within the 3D printing community. While Makerbot recommends this filament with their own 3D printers, plenty of people have used this filament for non-Makerbot printers and are quite satisfied with the quality of the results.

Using a PLA filament does not require your 3D printer to have a heated bed.

This filament is available in 10 different colors, all of which offer consistent quality and looks.

Makerbot’s packaging keeps the filament inside safe from damage The thick cardboard box protects from mechanical damage while the vacuum-sealed film (together with an included silica pack) keeps the filament safe from air and humidity. This is very important, as filaments absorb water extremely fast.

Costing around $20 per kg, it’s a great affordable filament in its own right: it has a stated dimensional accuracy is ±0.05mm, guaranteeing that filament diameter is consistent all the way through. The majority of filaments around this price tag does not guarantee this level of accuracy.

For this filament's price, its packaging is pretty great. It comes with its own spool, uncommon for filaments in this price range. The spool is also vacuum sealed in a tight film and packed in a rigid cardboard box.

Hatchbox offers this filament in a total of 28 different colors, even if the exact colors available may vary for each of the versions (1.75 mm and 3.0 mm). Note that some of colors (like the wooden one) might cost a couple of dollars more than regular colors.

You can use this filament with printers that have either 1.75 mm or 3.0 mm extruders, since this filament comes in both sizes. However, the 3.0 mm version costs a few dollars more than the 1.75 mm one.