SMD/Materials/Polylactic acid (PLA)

▼This page is a material entry for the SELF Materials Database.It provides useful context about materials and its uses in surgical education. Feel free to improve this page or submit a new entry.

This page provides a growing list of tissues that can be simulated using this material. This material is commonly used to simulate connective tissue such as bone and cartilage. However, it may also be used in the modelling of softer tissue in settings where tactile fidelity is not necessary.

Polylactic acid, also known as poly or polylactide (PLA), is a popular thermoplastic polyester material due to it being economically produced from renewable resources and for being one of the most commonly used plastic filament material in FDM 3D printing due to its low melting point, high strength, low thermal expansion, and good layer adhesion. However, it possesses poor heat resistance unless annealed.^[1]

No simulations yet.

• 3D Printed Adult Male Tibial Bone Models
• 3D Printed Adult Male Humeral Bone Models
• Uniplanar External Fixation/3D Printed Adult Male Tibial Bone Models
• 3D Printed Uterus Simulators