Which is better ABS or PLA filament?

Simplifying the myriad of factors that influence the use of one material over the other, broad strokes draw this comparison.

ABS - Its strength, flexibility, machinability, and higher temperature resistance make it often a preferred plastic for engineers, and professional applications. The hot plastic smell deter some as does the plastics petroleum based origin. The additional requirement of a heated print bed means there are some printers simply incapable of printing ABS with any reliability.

PLA - The wide range of available colors and translucencies and glossy feel often attract those who print for display or small household uses. Many appreciate the plant based origins and prefer the semi-sweet smell over ABS. When properly cooled, PLA seems to have higher maximum printing speeds, lower layer heights, and sharper printed corners. Combining this with low warping on parts make it a popular plastic for home printers, hobbyists, and schools.

Clem

Thank you Clem, I really appreciate the information

I will just add the Clem's response.  Another good thing about ABS is you can give it an acetone bath and make the print look as though it was cast using molds.  ABS needs to be used on any part that will be around any sort of heat.  Using PLA even around your cars heat on will cause it to deform.  PLA will need to be printed with a fan blowing across the part as its very good at retaining heat.  If you don't want a fan another thing that helps is to not have the print solid, add a like a honeycomb pattern to allow the material to print.  I have found that even with this a fan help drastically with the quality of the print.  I have had issue with Bowden extruders and PLA as PLA is a softer material and would compress in the tube but can be fixed with slower speeds and larger retractions.  As far as which one will give you better quality(PLA or ABS) i would say with the right machine settings they will be the same.

To answer your second part, what printer you will get is dependent on what you are going to be doing with the printer.  If you need large print volume then your selection will get narrowed down.  What style of printer do you want(Cartesian, Delta, Polar).  Are you looking to get very high resolution prints.  If your answer is yes then you would look at getting a Stereolithagraphy based printer not FFF/FDM.  The downside is small print volumes.  The last thing is do you want to build the printer yourself or do you want one that is ready to go the minute(well not fully true) you receive it.

Nate

Hey thanks Nate. I appreciate your input.

acetone bath is something everyone should try,specially those having low end printer.

My printer (Cel Robox) can do both PLA and ABS and I have both types of reel, but I only use PLA - it is stronger than I expected and I can operate the printer anywhere without objectionable smells. I print lots of things that need to be "structural". I find it is more or less comparable to the average low cost plastic consumer product. One advantage of PLA is you can get "clear" PLA which is great if you want LEDs to shine through or diffuse through the material.

If you want to printer a model with good look, I suggest PLA. If you want to print an item with high tension, I suggest ABS.

I've used my Geeetech printer for about 5 months, and it still performs perfect now.

http://www.geeetech.com/acrylic-geeetech-i3-pro-b-3d-printer-kit-p-917.html