3D Printing Info
ABS · Material guide

HIPS

Rubber-toughened polystyrene, used mainly as a break-away or d-limonene-soluble support for ABS and ASA; as a model material it is light and ductile but the softest of the styrenics.

3 product listings3 brands
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Rain Gutter Cleaning Scoop shown in the Tritschi Printables listing; reported material: HIPS
Reported material: HIPSRain Gutter Cleaning Scoop Printables listing uploaded by Tritschi · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0Source image · Image bytes unchanged; displayed in full. Noncommercial reuse only. ShareAlike applies to adaptations.
Understand the material

At a glance

Where it is used

Break-away and d-limonene-soluble support for ABS and ASA, and a light model material in its own right

Sources
Read the full material overview

Rubber-toughened polystyrene, used mainly as a break-away or d-limonene-soluble support for ABS and ASA; as a model material it is light and ductile but the softest of the styrenics.

Applications

HIPS has two distinct jobs in printing: a light, finishable model material and a sacrificial support for ABS or ASA. As support, its value is removability rather than strength: inaccessible material can be dissolved in d-limonene instead of mechanically pulled through a narrow opening. 3DXTech specifically formulates its natural support grade for greater solvent sensitivity than its colored model-material grades.

For finished models, rubber toughening gives useful ductility, and HIPS sands and paints readily, but it is relatively compliant and has poor long-term UV resistance. Support compatibility is also formulation-dependent: verify that the solvent removes HIPS without damaging the actual main-part grade. A successful model-material print does not establish suitability for a highly stressed rotating or outdoor component.

  • Break-away or dissolvable supports for ABS and ASA ↗

    FDM · 3DXTech 3DXMAX HIPS natural support formulation · Manufacturer-listed applications

    3DXTech specifically lists these pairings and notes that its natural HIPS support formulation is made more sensitive to d-limonene than colored model grades. Solvent compatibility still needs checking for the actual supported material.

Sources
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Representative catalog values. Check the exact grade and its linked conditions before using a setting.

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Drying

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Full value & sources

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Properties & source data

56 documented fields

Open a topic to explore the complete data. Each value keeps its original conditions, units and dated sources.

Material & market7 fields
HIPS — Identity & Market
Property and unitPublished value and conditionsSources and dates
Base polymer / chemistryHigh-impact polystyrene — polystyrene toughened with a butadiene rubber phase
2 sources
Density (g/cm³)1.04 (ISO 1183)
1 source
Typical price (USD/kg)1 kg spools cluster near 31
2 sources
Price range across brands (USD/kg)28–32 across brands; YXPOLYER 28, Push Plastic 30, 3DXTech 32
3 sources
Market availability (1–5)Available from several mainstream brands
2 sources
Spool sizes & diameters1.75 and 2.85 mm; 1 and 3 kg spools
2 sources
Typical applicationsBreak-away and d-limonene-soluble support for ABS and ASA, and a light model material in its own right
1 source
Print settings9 fields
HIPS — Printing Parameters
Property and unitPublished value and conditionsSources and dates
Nozzle temperature (°C)230–245 (Simplify3D)
1 source
Bed temperature (°C)100–115 (Simplify3D)
1 source
Enclosure / chamber requirement (1–5)Enclosure recommended
1 source
Part cooling fanPart cooling fan not required
1 source
Bed surface & adhesion aidGlue stick, glass plate, Kapton tape or PET sheets
1 source
Warping tendency (1–5)Moderate — needs adhesion aid or draught shield
1 source
Bed-adhesion difficulty (1–5)Needs a specific surface plus adhesive
1 source
Stringing / oozing tendency (1–5)Slight — HIPS oozes less than ABS
2 sources
Overall printing difficulty (1–5)Intermediate — dry filament and a tuned profile
1 source
Nozzle wear & reliability5 fields
HIPS — Hardware Wear & Reliability
Property and unitPublished value and conditionsSources and dates
Nozzle hardness required (1–4)Brass fine indefinitely
1 source
Abrasiveness (1–5)Non-abrasive
1 source
Nozzle clog risk (1–5)Low — no special hot-end required, no drybox and no hardened nozzle, and 3DXTech states drying is not needed
3 sources
Heat-creep / jam sensitivity (1–5)Slightly sensitive
1 source
Hotend requirementNo special hot-end required
1 source
Moisture & drying4 fields
HIPS — Moisture Behaviour
Property and unitPublished value and conditionsSources and dates
Moisture absorption (hygroscopicity) (1–5)Low (0.1–0.3 %) — Simplify3D lists water resistance as a headline property
1 source
Symptoms when wetBubbling and popping at the nozzle, stringing and a rough surface
1 source
Effect of moisture on strengthPolymaker rates ABS moderate-sensitivity and publishes no dry-versus-conditioned figures; absorbed water flashes to steam in the hotend and shows as bubbling and poor layer adhesion
1 source
Storage requirementSealed with desiccant; less critical than for the polyamides
1 source
Strength & mechanical properties9 fields
HIPS — Mechanical Properties
Property and unitPublished value and conditionsSources and dates
Tensile strength (XY) (MPa)40 at break (printed XY, ISO 527)
1 source
Young's modulus (MPa)1350 (printed XY, ISO 527) — the lowest modulus of the styrenics here
1 source
Elongation at break (%)18 at break (printed XY, ISO 527)
1 source
Flexural strength (MPa)70 (printed XY, ISO 178)
1 source
Flexural modulus (MPa)1600 (printed XY, ISO 178)
1 source
Brittleness (1–5)Tough — absorbs impact, yields before breaking
1 source
Creep resistance / sustained load (1–5)Moderate — no printed-HIPS creep test found; Tg of 100 °C keeps room-temperature service far below softening
2 sources
Fatigue / repeated-flex resistance (1–5)Moderate
1 source
Elasticity / flexibility (1–5)Rigid
1 source
Heat & temperature4 fields
HIPS — Thermal Properties
Property and unitPublished value and conditionsSources and dates
Glass transition (Tg) (°C)100 (DSC)
1 source
Melting point / Vicat (°C)Amorphous — no melting point
1 source
Continuous service temperature (°C)Bounded by a glass transition of 100 °C; no loaded-bar service figure is published for HIPS
1 source
Flammability / UL 94Flammable; no UL 94 rating published
1 source
Weather & chemical resistance6 fields
HIPS — Environment & Chemical
Property and unitPublished value and conditionsSources and dates
UV resistance (1–5)Months outdoors before embrittlement — polystyrene yellows and chalks under UV
1 source
Chemical resistanceDissolves completely in d-limonene — the basis of its use as a soluble support
1 source
Food contactNot food safe
1 source
Biodegradability / compostabilityNot biodegradable
1 source
RecyclabilityNot accepted in household plastic collection
1 source
Electrical & ESD propertiesSurface resistance above 10¹³ ohm/sq — insulating (ASTM D257)
1 source
Health & safety5 fields
HIPS — Health & Safety
Property and unitPublished value and conditionsSources and dates
Fume toxicity (1–5)High — hazardous VOC such as styrene; enclosure and filtration needed
1 source
VOC emission rate (µg/min)12–113 styrene, the range measured across ABS and the one HIPS filament tested
1 source
Ultrafine-particle emission rate (particles/min)≈4 × 10⁹ median for the HIPS filament tested, an order of magnitude below ABS but forty times PLA
1 source
Hazardous species emittedStyrene was the only dominant VOC identified for the HIPS filament tested
1 source
Ventilation / filtration requirement (1–5)Enclosure with carbon and HEPA filtration
1 source
Finishing & post-processing4 fields
HIPS — Post-Processing
Property and unitPublished value and conditionsSources and dates
Sanding & machiningSands and paints readily, like ABS
1 source
Gluing & solvent weldingSolvent-welds with d-limonene, and with acetone via its polystyrene backbone
2 sources
Vapour / chemical smoothingd-limonene attacks the surface; acetone smoothing is far less effective than on ABS
2 sources
Support material pairingUsed as the support material itself — dissolves in d-limonene, or breaks away from ABS and ASA
1 source
Solvents & solubility3 fields
HIPS — Solvents & Solubility
Property and unitPublished value and conditionsSources and dates
Soluble ind-limonene, 12–24 h submerged with occasional agitation; acetone also dissolves it, and xylene does so at 23 °C.
3 sources
Softened or crazed byLimonene also disrupts layer adhesion in some ABS and ASA grades, so an ABS model can flake apart in the same bath.
1 source
Solvent welding & smoothing agentLimonene welds and lightly etches it; acetone welds through the polystyrene backbone but smooths less well than ABS.
2 sources
How to read these values

Values describe representative grades, not every spool. Manufacturer datasheets and independent tests retain their source labels and dates. Printed orientation, test method, conditioning and formulation can change results. Unknown values are —. A listed use is not a certification. Shore A, Shore D and Rockwell hardness are separate scales.

Find a specific filament

Product listings and datasheets

3 listings

Historical USD/kg snapshots. Read each listing’s sale/from qualifiers, spool mass, source date, shipping and tax notes. Product figures are separate from the material summary.

Browse 3 products from 3 brands
YXPOLYERHIPS27.99 USD/kg

$27.99 / 1 kg spool, yxpolyer.com, Aug 2026; showed out of stock

Sold as a limonene-soluble support material for ABS. YXPOLYER quotes tensile 20 MPa, flexural 51 MPa, flexural modulus 2100 MPa and impact 21 kJ/m² without naming a test standard or specimen type.

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YXPOLYER HIPS — product-specific figures
Density (g/cm³)1.04 (YXPOLYER published spec table)
Nozzle temperature (°C)220–260
HDT at 0.45 MPa (°C)80 (heat deflection temperature; load not stated)
Soluble inDissolves in d-limonene
Push PlasticHIPS29.99 USD/kg

$29.99 / 1 kg spool, pushplastic.com product catalogue, Aug 2026

Handle hips-production-filament-1-75mm-1kg; 3 kg spool $79.99.

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Push Plastic HIPS — product-specific figures
Tensile strength (XY) (MPa)25.5 at yield (ASTM D638, 3.0 mm specimen; specimen type not stated)
Flexural strength (MPa)35.3 at yield (ASTM D790, 6.0 mm specimen; specimen type not stated)
Flexural modulus (MPa)1862 (ASTM D790; specimen type not stated)
Other impact dataNotched Izod 2.8 ft-lb/in ≈ 149 J/m at 23 °C (ASTM D256)
Hardness (scale-specific) (Shore A / Shore D / Rockwell)50 Rockwell L (ASTM D785)
HDT at 1.8 MPa (°C)81 (ASTM D648, 1.82 MPa)
Flammability / UL 94UL 94 HB at 1.5 mm
3DXTech3DXMAX HIPS32.00 USD/kg

$32.00 / 1 kg spool, 3dxtech.com, Aug 2026

Formulated to be more sensitive to d-limonene attack for faster support dissolution.

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3DXTech 3DXMAX HIPS — product-specific figures
Density (g/cm³)1.04 (ISO 1183)
Nozzle temperature (°C)225 (TDS printed-specimen condition)
Bed temperature (°C)100 (TDS printed-specimen condition)
Tensile strength (XY) (MPa)40 at break (ISO 527)
Young's modulus (MPa)1350 (printed XY, ISO 527)
Elongation at break (%)18 at break (ISO 527)
Flexural strength (MPa)70 (printed XY, ISO 178)
Flexural modulus (MPa)1600 (printed XY, ISO 178)
HDT at 0.45 MPa (°C)80 (ISO 75, 0.45 MPa)
Glass transition (Tg) (°C)100 (DSC)
Electrical & ESD propertiesSurface resistance >10^13 Ω/sq (ASTM D257)
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