PLA-CF filament, ranked by £/kg
Carbon-fibre PLA is stiffer and matte-finished compared with standard PLA, and just as abrasive to brass nozzles. Strength gains are modest; the appeal is mostly stiffness and finish.
Guides
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Bed adhesion: what actually works
Glue sticks, hairspray, rafts, brims and expensive surfaces — an honest ranking of what fixes prints coming loose, starting with the free fix that solves most cases.
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Do you need a filament dryer?
Wet filament is real and ruins prints, but a dedicated dryer is not the only answer. How to tell if moisture is your problem, and what to do about it.
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Filament storage: dry boxes, vacuum bags and desiccant
Keeping filament dry is cheaper than drying it out. What actually works, what desiccant to use, and why the little sachet in the bag is already spent.
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First layer calibration, properly
Nearly every adhesion problem and half of all print failures start in the first layer. How to set Z offset by eye, and what a good first layer actually looks like.
Mostly about stiffness and finish
Carbon-fibre-filled PLA is stiffer than standard PLA, warps slightly less, and prints with a matte, textured surface that hides layer lines remarkably well. For display pieces and functional parts where appearance matters, that finish is the main attraction.
Be clear about what it is not, though: the strength gains over plain PLA are modest, and the filler generally makes parts more brittle. If you want a genuinely tougher part, PLA+ or PETG will serve you better for less money. CF PLA buys stiffness and looks, not durability.
It also inherits PLA’s heat limit — the carbon fibre does not raise it. Anything that will get warm still needs PETG, ASA or nylon.
The nozzle cost is real
Chopped carbon fibre is abrasive and will open up a brass nozzle quickly. Fit a hardened steel nozzle before you print it, and factor that into the cost of trying the material. See hardened versus brass nozzles.
A 0.6 mm nozzle reduces clogging noticeably compared with 0.4 mm, at the usual cost in fine detail.
Settings to start from
Nozzle 200–225 °C, bed 55–60 °C, cooling full — broadly the same as PLA, sometimes a touch hotter to keep flow consistent through the filled melt.
Buying notes
Expect a clear premium over standard PLA. Given the modest mechanical benefit, the honest question is whether you want the finish: if you do, it is a nice material and worth the money; if you are buying it expecting a stronger part, you are buying the wrong thing.
Sand it wet if you sand it at all, and wear a mask — carbon-fibre dust is not something to breathe. See finishing tools.
How to read this table
The per-kilo column is the only number that compares listings honestly. A spool sold at 40% off can still be poor value, and a multi-spool bundle looks expensive until you divide by its total weight. We count bundles at their full weight, so a 4 × 1 kg pack and a single 1 kg spool sit on the same scale.
Where a listing does not state a usable weight we leave the per-kilo figure blank rather than guessing — a wrong ranking is worse than a missing one.