Best Lightweight Pla – Top 5 Picks & Review

Rating: 8.7/10

Introducing the Polymaker Light Weight PLA Filament in a sleek grey color. This 1.75mm filament, weighing 0.8kg, is designed to make your 3D prints lighter and stronger. It’s part of the PolyLite series, known for its quality. This filament is great for hobbyists and professionals alike, especially those working on projects where weight matters, like model airplanes.

What We Like:

• It’s super light! This filament is much lighter than regular PLA, making your prints easier to handle and fly.
• It prints just like regular PLA. You don’t need special settings, and it works with most 3D printers.
• No messy foam. Unlike other lightweight filaments, this one won’t foam up during printing, giving you clean results.
• Strong prints. It makes your creations stiff and prevents them from breaking.
• Sticks to the bed well. It has great adhesion, meaning fewer problems like warping or jamming.
• Looks nice. It has a matte finish that hides layer lines and is easy to paint.
• Comes in many colors. You can choose from seven different colors to match your project.
• No tangles or moisture. The filament is wound neatly and comes sealed to stay dry and ready to print.

What Could Be Improved:

• You need to remember to turn off the fan for the first layer. This is important for the best bed adhesion.

This Polymaker Lightweight PLA is a fantastic option for anyone looking to create lighter, more rigid 3D prints without the usual hassles. Its ease of use and excellent results make it a top choice for your next project.

Rating: 8.7/10

Introducing the OVERTURE Air PLA Filament, a game-changer for your 3D printing projects! This special filament is like regular PLA, but it’s lighter. It uses a unique foaming process that makes it weigh about 80% of what normal PLA does. This means your printed objects will be lighter too!

What We Like:

• Super Lightweight: Perfect for projects where weight matters, like drone parts or cosplay accessories.
• Stable Foaming: The filament is pre-foamed, which helps make prints more consistent and reduces annoying stringing.
• Great for Specific Uses: Ideal for printing lightweight models like drones, RC planes, and props.
• Good Mechanical Strength: It’s strong enough for many applications, with a density of 0.9 g/cm³.
• Works with Many Printers: This filament is compatible with most common 3D printers, making it easy to use.
• Precise Dimensions: It has a high dimensional accuracy of +/- 0.02mm, ensuring your prints come out just right.
• Eco-Friendly Spool: Comes on a cardboard spool, which is better for the environment.

What Could Be Improved:

• Potential for Different Settings: Because it’s foamed, you might need to adjust your printer settings slightly compared to regular PLA.
• Not for Extreme Strength: While it has good mechanical properties, it may not be the best choice for parts that need to withstand very heavy loads.

This OVERTURE Air PLA filament offers a fantastic way to create lighter, more efficient 3D prints. Its unique properties make it a stand-out choice for hobbyists and creators alike.

Rating: 9.3/10

The OVERTURE Air PLA Filament in Air Light Gray is a game-changer for 3D printing. This isn’t your average PLA. It’s a special “foamed” PLA, making your prints incredibly lightweight. Think about printing drone parts or cosplay props that feel much lighter. Plus, it comes on a cardboard spool, which is a nice touch for the environment.

What We Like:

• Super Lightweight: This filament is about 80% the weight of regular PLA, making your prints much lighter.
• Stable Prints: The pre-foaming process means the filament is more consistent. This helps prevent annoying “stringing” during printing.
• Great for Specific Projects: Perfect for building light models like drones, RC planes, or cool cosplay accessories.
• Reliable Quality: Overture has years of experience, so you get good quality filament that works with most common 3D printers.
• Accurate Dimensions: It has a dimensional accuracy of +/- 0.02mm, meaning your prints will be precise.

What Could Be Improved:

• Specific Applications: While great for lightweight items, it might not be the best choice for parts that need to be super strong and rigid.
• Foaming Adjustments: Users might need to fine-tune their printer settings slightly to get the best results with a foamed filament.

This OVERTURE Air PLA Filament offers an exciting new option for lighter and more unique 3D prints. It’s a fantastic choice for hobbyists and creators looking to push the boundaries of what they can print.

Rating: 9.3/10

The eSUN PLA LW PLA 3D Printer Filament is a special kind of plastic for 3D printers. It’s designed to be super light, strong, and easy to paint. This filament is perfect for making things like model airplanes, drones, and even cool cosplay props. It uses a neat trick called “foaming technology” to make your prints lighter without sacrificing strength.

What We Like:

• High Foaming Volume Ratio: This filament can puff up a lot, making prints much lighter. One spool can do the work of over two spools of regular PLA!
• Clog-free & No Warping & Less-tangle: The filament is wound neatly, so it won’t get tangled or break. It melts smoothly and feeds without getting stuck in your printer. It also prints well without needing a special heated box.
• Easy to Paint & Wide Application: Painting on this filament is a breeze, and the paint sticks really well. This makes it ideal for detailed models and props.
• Good Interlayer Adhesion & Matte Printing Effect: Your printed layers will stick together nicely, and you can control how much it foams by changing the printing temperature. The finished prints have a cool, matte look and are tough.
• Foaming When Printing: As it prints, the filament expands, making your models lighter. This is great for airplanes because it helps them fly better with less weight.

What Could Be Improved:

• Temperature Sensitivity: While you can control foaming with temperature, finding the perfect setting might take some trial and error.
• Specialized Use: Its unique foaming properties make it best suited for specific projects like lightweight models, so it might not be the go-to for every single print.

This eSUN PLA LW filament offers an exciting way to create lighter, stronger, and more detailed 3D prints. It’s a fantastic choice for hobbyists and creators looking to push the boundaries of their 3D printing projects.

Rating: 8.6/10

Take your 3D printing projects to new heights with SainSmart’s Lightweight LW-PLA Filament. This innovative filament is designed to dramatically reduce the weight of your prints, making it ideal for hobbyists building RC planes, drones, and intricate cosplay pieces. Its unique active foaming technology allows for incredible customization, giving you control over density and strength like never before.

What We Like:

• Massive Weight Reduction: The filament’s active foaming technology cuts down print weight by more than half compared to regular PLA. This means lighter RC planes and drones, which fly better and stall slower.
• On-Demand Foaming Control: You control the foaming! Adjusting temperature, print speed, and flow rate on your printer allows you to change how much the filament expands. This gives you variable density and a great strength-to-weight ratio exactly where you need it.
• Endless Customization Options: The filament starts expanding above 210℃. By changing print settings on different parts of your model, you can create sections with different densities for unique looks and performance.
• Print More with Less: The foaming expansion lets you print with up to twice the material flow. This means one spool of LW-PLA can produce as much as two spools of regular PLA, saving you material and money.
• Perfect for RC and Cosplay: It bonds layers well, resists drops better, and is easy to repair. This makes it a top choice for RC planes, drones, and detailed cosplay models.

What Could Be Improved:

• Requires Specific Settings: Achieving the best results requires careful tuning of print temperature, speed, and flow rate, which might take some practice for beginners.
• Expansion Can Be Tricky: While controllable, the foaming process needs attention to avoid over-expansion or inconsistent results across a print.

SainSmart’s LW-PLA filament opens up exciting possibilities for lightweight and high-performance 3D prints. It’s a game-changer for anyone serious about RC aircraft, drones, or detailed cosplay creations.