Circularity potential
Ultra low
Strength
Medium
Production energy
High
Stiffness
Low
Embodied CO2
Medium
Density
Medium

Acrylic styrene acrylonitrile (ASA) is a transparent thermoplastic with superior resistance to weathering. It provides a lasting paint-free finish and high-gloss appearance. Similar to acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS), and used in the same type of applications, ASA is the material of choice for parts that will be exposed to sunlight, rain and general weathering. It is available in a wide range of saturated colours. Unlike ABS, and most other plastics, even light colours are resistant to colour change and degradation in UV.

ASA is compatible with many other plastics and blended to combine its resistance to weathering with their mechanical and physical properties. For example, it is blended with polymethyl methacrylate, acrylic, (ASA/PMMA), to enhance scratch resistance and produce parts with very high visual quality; and with polycarbonate (PC/ASA) to provide a tough engineering plastic for injection moulded enclosures.

As well as alloys, it is utilised in two-shot injection moulding, and co-extrusion, to provide a clear and glossy weather-resistant surface layer on compatible plastics. However, it is not particularly resistant to scratching and abrasion. This is where the combination with acrylic helps.


Sustainability concerns
Non-renewable ingredients
Low circularity potential
Raw material generates polluting by-products
Microplastics


Acrylic styrene acrylonitrile (ASA) is a versatile 3D printing filament, used for prototypes and low volume production of parts that can survive outdoors. It is available in a wide range of colours, which have incredible resistance to fading and yellowing in UV. It has been widely adopted for filament processes, such as fused deposition modelling (FDM). Similar to acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS), with many of the same drawbacks (warping, delimitation, fumes), it is slightly more expensive but offers an uplift in performance, in particular for exterior applications.


Design properties
Cost usd/kg
35-40
Embodied energy MJ/kg
75-88
Carbon footprint kgCO2e/kg
3-4.3
Density kg/m3
1050
Tensile modulus GPa
2-2.5
Tensile strength MPa
47-55
Flexural modulus GPa
2.2
Flexural strength MPa
75.5
Charpy impact strength kJ/m2
12-40
Notched izod impact strength kJ/m2
10-20
Hardness Mohs
2
Rockwell hardness R-scale
75-120
Thermal expansion (µm/m)/ºC
80-110
Heat deflection temperature ºC
96
Thermal conductivity W/mK
0.17
Temperature min-max °C
-40 to 100
Thermal
insulator
Electrical
insulator