Airless Basketball Models – Double Lattice – Bounces great!

Edit: added an STL model/3mf file for printing an airless basketball out of Yasin PEBA filament on 5/2/2025.

These models/files are for making airless basketballs out of either the PEBA filament or the Ataraxia Art Flexible PLA (FPLA) filament. I could not add all of the STLs/files to this page because the file sizes are too large. If you would like the STLs/printing profiles for the Wisdream FlexiTough or the DudV2 PLA-B filament, visit our other page here: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:6835770.

I have been testing many different filaments to see which ones make the best airless basketballs. You can follow our most up-to-date testing on our YouTube channel here: https://www.youtube.com/@makeitlabchannel. I will also use this as a project page to post the most up-to-date info for each filament/profile.

For all of the filaments I go through below, I highly recommend a filament dryer (I use this one: https://amzn.to/3ERfWCc) and a printer bed glue stick for both bed adhesion and as a release agent when the basketball is done printing: https://amzn.to/3ALWcxK. I will list the filament bounce rating, cost compared to other filaments, ease of printing, and other information below, and I will rank them in order by the best at the top followed by the lower performing at the bottom:

Kimya PEBA Filament (now discontinued):
• Bounce rating: 5/5 (the best bounce by far that I have tested).
• Cost: $$$ Expensive (must buy two 500g rolls for a full-sized ball.
• Printability: moderate – must have a nozzle temp of 250C and bed temp of 90C.
• Printing profile/STL on this page? Added on 7/17/2024.
• Link to purchase the filament: discontinued.
• Printing/testing video: https://youtu.be/L7AP0ahJMyo

Comments: this filament is by far the best filament I have tested for making airless basketballs, but it is by far the most expensive as well. See our settings/setup video here: https://youtu.be/BtqjUwdIx30

Yasin PEBA Filament:
• Bounce rating: 4.5/5
• Cost: $$$ Expensive (must buy two 500g rolls for a full-sized ball.
• Printability: moderate – must have a nozzle temp of 230C and bed temp of 60C.
• Printing profile/STL on this page? Added on 5/2/2025.
• Link to purchase the filament:

Alibaba link: https://www.alibaba.com/product-introduction/PEBA-Filament-1-75mm-2-85mm_1601201900801.html

Old AliExpress link (just in case they bring the filament back): https://www.aliexpress.us/item/3256807128979707.html?gatewayAdapt=glo2usa4itemAdapt

•Printing/testing video:

Comments: this filament bounces better than all of the other filaments I have tested, except for the Kimya PEBA-S filament, which is now discontinued.

Wisdream FlexiTough:
• Bounce rating: 4/5
• Cost: $$ somewhat expensive
• Printability: fairly easy
• Printing profile/STL on this page? Added on 11/17/2024.
• Link to purchase the filament: https://amzn.to/4fNdF7Q
• Printing/testing video: https://youtu.be/3udtzdDm51c

Comments: While not as bouncy as the PEBA filament, this is a pretty easy-to-print filament that is fairly affordable and offers a good bounce.

DudV2 PLA-B:
• Bounce rating: 4/5
• Cost: $$ somewhat expensive
• Printability: fairly easy
• Printing profile/STL on this page? Added on 11/17/2024.
• Link to purchase the filament: https://dudv2.com/products/pla-b-splat
• Printing/testing video: https://youtu.be/3udtzdDm51c

Comments: This filament has the same amount of bounce and simpler printing as the Wisdream FlexiTough, but the shipping tends to be slower and it never really seems to be in stock, so I rated it lower than the Wisdream.

Ataraxia Art Flexible PLA (FPLA):
• Bounce rating: 3/5
• Cost: $ cheaper than the rest
• Printability: fairly easy
• Printing profile/STL on this page? Added on 7/17/2024.
• Link to purchase the filament: https://amzn.to/4fPbCAj
• Printing/testing video: https://youtu.be/L7AP0ahJMyo

Comments: This filament is the cheapest I have found that makes decent performing airless basketballs. The bounce isn’t as great as the rest, but the cost for a full basketball is about $21 after printing, so the cost is hard to beat.

I will add more information to this page as my testing continues. If you print one of these basketballs, I would love to see them!

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