ASA 3D PRINTING
ASA — acrylonitrile styrene acrylate — is what you reach for when a part has to live outside permanently. Mechanically similar to ABS but engineered specifically for UV resistance, ASA holds its colour and strength under direct sun for years where PETG yellows and ABS embrittles. Bicester3D supplies ASA prints at ±0.2mm tolerance, with most orders dispatched within 24 hours. The default choice for outdoor signage mounts, garden fixtures, automotive exterior parts, and weather-exposed sensor housings.
WHEN ASA IS THE RIGHT MATERIAL
- Outdoor signage and exterior mounts — holds colour and strength for years of direct sun.
- Automotive exterior parts — mirror housings, body trim, antenna mounts. Heat- and UV-tolerant.
- Outdoor electronics enclosures — weather stations, garden tech, surveillance equipment housings.
WHEN ASA IS THE WRONG MATERIAL
- Indoor-only parts — ABS or PETG do the job at lower cost without losing capability.
- Display models or visual prototypes — ASA's surface is functional, not finish-grade. Use PLA or SLA.
- Food or body contact — ASA contains styrene, never specified for food-contact applications.
ASA OR PETG OUTDOORS?
PETG holds up outdoors but yellows over years. ASA is engineered for permanent UV. The decision turns on how long the part needs to look new.
- ·Engineered for permanent UV exposure
- ·ABS-equivalent strength and heat tolerance
- ·Holds colour for years of direct sun
- ·Higher print temperature — enclosed printer required
- ·Holds up outdoors but yellows over time
- ·Easier to print, lower cost
- ·70–80°C heat ceiling vs ASA's 95°C+
- ·Right call when permanence isn't critical
Pick the right material for your part
ASA is our default for outdoor and UV-exposed parts. Browse our materials by use-case if your application calls for something different.
TECHNICAL DATA
| Property | Value | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Tensile strength | 40 MPa | Comparable to ABS |
| Elongation at break | 9% | Similar to ABS |
| Heat deflection temp | 95–100°C | Similar to ABS |
| Print temperature | 240–260°C | Slightly hotter than ABS |
| Bed temperature | 100–110°C | Heated bed required |
| UV stability | Excellent | Engineered for permanent outdoor use |
| Weather resistance | Excellent | Holds colour and strength over years |
| Chemical resistance | Good | Resistant to most acids, alcohols and oils |
| Warping tendency | High | Enclosed chamber required, like ABS |
WHAT WE PRINT IN ASA
Representative ASA work from the workshop queue — every project had at least a year of outdoor exposure as a hard requirement:
- External wayfinding signage for a Bicester business park — lettering, arrows and bracketry mounted on south-facing walls. Two-year service life specified.
- Roof-mounted weather-station housings for an agricultural monitoring deployment across three Oxfordshire farms — ASA replaced PETG enclosures that had begun yellowing after 18 months.
- Garden lighting fixtures — bespoke pendant housings for an exterior installation, finished in matte charcoal, holding colour through a full British summer.
- Automotive exterior trim prototypes — wing mirror caps and badge surrounds, tested against OEM ASA mouldings for surface and behaviour.
- Marine cockpit accessory mounts for a low-spray sailing application — chosen for UV plus light salt-spray exposure.
PRICING
Per-part pricing from £9. ASA runs ~40% more than PLA due to material cost and printer requirements. No minimum order, no setup fees.
Real projects in ASA
“Original cowls are unobtainable”: reprinting a 1997 Honda ST1100’s mirror cowls in ASA
A custom toolbox cover for a daily-commuter motorbike — replacing a part that was never there
GET YOUR ASA QUOTE
Upload your STL, STEP, or mesh file to the quote tool. Price returns in seconds. Card, invoice (trade accounts) and bank-transfer payment accepted. Most ASA orders are dispatched within 2 working days.
ASA FAQ
Same chemistry family, near-identical mechanical properties, near-identical print behaviour. The one meaningful difference is UV stability: ABS yellows and embrittles in sunlight within months; ASA is engineered to survive years outdoors. If your part lives indoors, choose ABS — it's cheaper and otherwise equivalent.
ASA is rated for multi-year direct UV exposure. Real-world performance depends on load, climate and finish, but ASA prints regularly survive several years in full sun without significant yellowing, embrittling or surface degradation. It outperforms PETG by an order of magnitude for permanent outdoor use.
No. ASA shares ABS's shrinkage behaviour during cooling — printing in an open machine causes warping and layer cracks. We print all ASA in enclosed machines with a stable chamber temperature.
ASA is available in our standard outdoor colour range — black, white, grey, with primary colours to order. Pigment stability is itself a consideration outdoors, so we'll flag if a requested shade is likely to fade. Specific colour matches may incur a minimum order volume.
No. No FDM print is food-safe once printed — layer lines harbour bacteria and the print process is not sanitised. Bicester3D does not certify any FDM prints as food-safe.