Public engineering report
Polymaker PolyLight PLA Black
Public-data contract: This static report contains only allowlisted material identity, public links, canonical MSRP and existing Verified Material Summary / governed score outputs. It excludes raw specimen rows and non-public operational data.
Test coverage
Complete
Engineering axes
5/6
Public MSRP
$27.78 USD/kg
Material identity
| MaterialID | MAT0108 |
|---|---|
| Material | Polymaker PolyLight PLA Black |
| Manufacturer | Polymaker |
| Product line | PolyLight |
| Base material | PLA |
| Category | Standard |
| Variant / finish | — |
| Reinforcement | — |
| Color | Black |
Governed engineering profile
| Overall | 61/100 |
|---|---|
| Tensile | 33/100 |
| Impact | 14/100 |
| Stiffness | 88/100 |
| Consistency | 88/100 |
| Layer adhesion | 83/100 |
| Thermal | — |
| Best available axis | stiffness |
Engineering score profile
Engineering radar
Selected material
Material average - PLA
Manufacturer average - Polymaker
All axes use existing governed 0–100 engineering scores. Missing axes are shown at zero and remain listed as n/a elsewhere in the report.
Fixture thermal result
— · score — · method —
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Material and manufacturer context
| Metric | Selected material | Material average | Manufacturer average |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 61/100 | 50/100 | 54/100 |
| Tensile | 33/100 | 29/100 | 27/100 |
| Impact | 14/100 | 24/100 | 32/100 |
| Stiffness | 88/100 | 87/100 | 76/100 |
| Consistency | 88/100 | 79/100 | 84/100 |
| Layer adhesion | 83/100 | 30/100 | 52/100 |
| Thermal | — | — | — |
Verified measurement results
Existing Verified Material Summary outputs. The public renderer does not read raw specimen rows or recalculate these values.
| Measurement | Average | Std. deviation | CV | Samples | Confidence |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tensile upright | 23.84 MPa | 2.845 MPa | 11.9% | 10 | 10/10 |
| Tensile flat | 28.654 MPa | 4.717 MPa | 16.5% | 10 | 10/10 |
| Impact upright | 99.081 kJ/m² | 10.433 kJ/m² | 10.5% | 10 | 10/10 |
| Impact flat | 176.75 kJ/m² | 18.278 kJ/m² | 10.3% | 10 | 10/10 |
| Stiffness modulus | 2635.889 MPa | — | — | — | — |
| Stiffness deflection | 2.059 mm | — | — | — | — |
Measurement provenance
Canonical per-module measured dates from SQLite, shown in unambiguous ISO format. Missing dates are not inferred.
| Module | Measured date |
|---|---|
| Tensile | Not recorded |
| Impact | Not recorded |
| Stiffness | Not recorded |
| Thermal | Not recorded |
Engineering interpretation
Summary: Polymaker PolyLight PLA Black has a balanced mid-range engineering profile. It is above its material-family average by 11 points and above its manufacturer average by 6,9 points. Its strongest measured axis is Stiffness, while the weakest axis is Impact.
Data-driven review: Polymaker PolyLight PLA Black is best understood as a balanced material for general functional prototypes. Compared with the current verified dataset, it ranks better than 97% overall, is above the material-family average by 11 points, and is above the manufacturer average by 6,9 points. Its strongest engineering signal is Stiffness, while Impact is the main limitation to consider before using it for demanding applications.
Best feature
Stiffness
Main limitation
Impact
Dataset position
Better than 97%
7 / 234
Strengths
- Layer adhesion: 83/100. Z-axis bonding is better than the material-family context.
- Consistency: 88/100. Repeatability is one of the stronger signals in this material profile.
- Stiffness: 88/100. Stiffness is a relative advantage in this comparison group.
Limitations
- Tensile: 33/100. Avoid using this as the primary choice for tensile-loaded parts.
- Impact: 14/100. Avoid high impact or shock-loaded components without additional validation.
Engineering trade-offs
- Good repeatability does not compensate for low tensile capability in load-bearing designs.
- Stiffness is useful for shape stability, but impact tolerance is a separate limitation.
Recommended applications
- Rigid brackets, fixtures and shape-stable prototypes
- Parts where Z-axis bonding is important
- Repeatable print jobs and production-style batches
- Cosmetic parts, concept models or low-load prototypes
- Avoid high tensile load applications
- Avoid high impact components
Metric rankings and percentiles
| Metric | Score | Rank | Percentile |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 61/100 | 7 / 234 | Better than 97% |
| Tensile | 33/100 | 71 / 226 | Better than 69% |
| Impact | 14/100 | 195 / 226 | Better than 14% |
| Stiffness | 88/100 | 83 / 223 | Better than 63% |
| Consistency | 88/100 | 8 / 231 | Better than 97% |
| Layer adhesion | 83/100 | 1 / 226 | Better than 100% |
| Thermal | — | — | — |
Decision guidance
- Use this material for moderate requirements after checking the weakest axis.
- Review the listed alternatives if the application needs stronger overall performance.
- Do not choose it as a tensile-strength benchmark material.
- Avoid selecting it for impact-focused testing or shock-loaded designs.
Better alternatives
| MaterialID | Material | Manufacturer | Overall | Tensile | Impact |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MAT0069 | ProtoPasta HTPLA Blood of My Enemies PLA Red | ProtoPasta | 100/100 | — | — |
| MAT0079 | Polymaker PolyLight PLA Pro Black | Polymaker | 65/100 | 35/100 | 52/100 |
| MAT0109 | Polymaker PolyMax PLA Black | Polymaker | 64/100 | 32/100 | 62/100 |
Peer context
Highest-scoring same-base-material peers from the current governed dataset. This context is descriptive and is not recalculated by the public renderer.
| MaterialID | Material | Manufacturer | Overall | Tensile | Impact |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MAT0069 | ProtoPasta HTPLA Blood of My Enemies PLA Red | ProtoPasta | 100/100 | — | — |
| MAT0079 | Polymaker PolyLight PLA Pro Black | Polymaker | 65/100 | 35/100 | 52/100 |
| MAT0109 | Polymaker PolyMax PLA Black | Polymaker | 64/100 | 32/100 | 62/100 |
| MAT0080 | Polymaker PolySonic PLA Pro Blue | Polymaker | 64/100 | 30/100 | 58/100 |
| MAT0076 | BambuLab Tough+ PLA Tough+ Black | BambuLab | 63/100 | 26/100 | 59/100 |
| MAT0074 | Winkle Matte PLA Matte Red | Winkle | 60/100 | 34/100 | — |
| MAT0122 | Add:North Enhanced PLA Clear | Add:North | 59/100 | 40/100 | 10/100 |
| MAT0096 | Prima Creator PrimaValue Light Gray PLA Plus Gray | Prima Creator | 58/100 | 33/100 | 58/100 |
Public links
Methodology and limitations
Results are comparative 3DPIceland measurements from home-built test equipment. Thermal is a nearby BlueDOT probe-indicated fixture temperature, not ASTM D648, ISO 75 or specimen temperature. Missing evidence remains n/a. Scores and test results are not recalculated by this publishing layer and do not replace certified manufacturer datasheets or accredited laboratory testing.