Conductive filament properties
Data taken from 13 datasheets from manufacturers in Spain, Europe, the United States and China, reviewed on October 26, 2026. The shaded bar marks the median of the declared values and each colored tick is a different datasheet. The scales are the same across the whole library, so you can compare materials at a glance.
Temperature and settings for printing conductive filament
| Setting | Typical value | Range in datasheets |
|---|---|---|
| Nozzle | 230–260 °C | 185–285 °C |
| Bed | 60–80 °C | 0–110 °C |
| Print speed | 40–350 mm/s | 40–350 mm/s |
| Drying temperature | 55 °C | 55–55 °C |
| Drying time | 6 h | 6–6 h |
Conductive and ESD vs PLA, PETG, and ABS: comparison
Medians from each material's datasheets. Click a material to see its full range.
Meters of Conductive and ESD per spool
Calculated with the median density from the datasheets (1.23 g/cm³). Real spools can vary by a few meters because of diameter tolerance.
What is a conductive filament
A conductive filament is an ordinary plastic, usually PLA, PETG or ASA, loaded with carbon particles (carbon black, graphene or nanotubes) that form paths for current. It does not conduct like a copper wire: its resistance is thousands of times higher. Conductive ABS exists, but today the real offering is mostly conductive PLA, PETG and ASA, which are the ones covered by the 13 datasheets analyzed.
Conductive vs. ESD-dissipative
There are two families with different uses, and the datasheets tell them apart by the type of resistivity they declare:
| Type | What the datasheets declare | What it is for |
|---|---|---|
| Conductive | Volume resistivity of tens of ohm·cm for a printed part in one datasheet, and on the order of 100 ohm·m in another | Touch sensors, capacitive switches, very low-power circuits, demonstrations |
| Dissipative (ESD) | Surface resistance between 104 and 109 ohms, depending on the product | Trays, housings and tools that handle discharge-sensitive electronics |
ESD materials are validated against standards such as ANSI/ESD S541 or IEC 61340, which one of the datasheets cites expressly. If the part has to meet an ESD requirement, check the datasheet of the specific product and measure the printed part.
Why conductivity depends on how you print
The datasheets that give printed-part values report them measured on bars under specific conditions, and warn that they are indicative. One datasheet shows that resistivity drops as the print temperature rises, and another that it is almost double vertically compared with in the layer plane. In other words: the layers act as small barriers, and conductivity is better along the extrusion lines than between layers.
How to print conductive filament
- Use the temperatures of its base: the median for the set is 230–260 °C at the nozzle and 60–80 °C at the bed.
- Carbon makes the filament more brittle. Avoid tight curves in the spool's path.
- A 0.4 mm nozzle or larger is better, to avoid jams.
- Design the conductive traces thick and short, and oriented in the print plane.
Frequently asked questions about conductive filament
Can you print circuits with conductive filament?
Only very low-power ones, such as lighting an LED or making a touch sensor. Its resistance is too high to carry normal currents, and it heats up if you try.
What is the difference between conductive and ESD filament?
Conductive filament aims for the lowest possible resistance. ESD only needs to dissipate static electricity in a controlled way, with much higher resistances, to protect electronic components.