Materials

Every Analog3D mount is printed to order in the United States. We don't pull parts off a shelf – your mount is made when you order it, in a material chosen for the job it has to do: holding a camera steady outdoors, in the sun, through winter, for years. Here's exactly what we print with and when we use it.

PETG – our standard outdoor material

Colors: White, Black, Black Carbon Fiber · Printed at our U.S. production partner

PETG is the workhorse for camera mounts: strong, impact-resistant, and – unlike the PLA used in most hobby prints – genuinely built for the outdoors. It shrugs off UV, rain, snow, and coastal air without going brittle or chalky, and it holds its shape in sustained heat up to roughly 160 °F. The Carbon Fiber variant adds chopped carbon strands for extra stiffness and a subtle matte texture that looks sharp on visible installs.

  • Best for: nearly every mount we make – wall, ceiling, soffit, and junction-box adapters in typical outdoor exposure.
  • UV & weather: excellent. PETG is UV-stable and moisture-resistant; white and black both hold their color.

OPM (PCTG) – the high-temp upgrade

Color: Black · Printed at our U.S. production partner

OPM is a high-temperature PCTG copolyester – think PETG's tougher sibling. It handles more sustained heat (roughly 180 °F) and more mechanical abuse, which is why we spec it for the installs that run hottest: black parts in full sun, south-facing walls, and mounts near soffits and attic spaces where summer temperatures climb well past what the weather report says.

  • Best for: black mounts in direct sun, hot climates, adapter plates under sustained load.
  • Rule of thumb: if the mount is dark-colored and the install point bakes in afternoon sun, choose OPM where it's offered.

Polycarbonate – heavy-duty, printed in our workshop

Filament: Overture3D Polycarbonate · Printed in-house in Southern Oregon

Polycarbonate is the material safety glasses and riot shields are made of. It's the strongest, most heat-tolerant plastic we print – stable to roughly 230 °F – and we run it on our own printers here in Southern Oregon for select heavy-duty products. If a listing offers polycarbonate, it's because that part earns it.

  • Best for: maximum-demand installs – extreme heat, heavy devices, structural brackets.

Flexible TPU – for the parts that shouldn't be rigid

Filament: Siraya Tech Flex TPU Air · Printed in-house in Southern Oregon

Some parts do their job by giving a little. We print flexible components – gaskets, weather seals, protective pads, and vibration-damping pieces – in Siraya Tech's Flex TPU Air, a rubber-like material that seals against uneven surfaces and absorbs shock without cracking.

Which material should I choose?

  • Standard outdoor install (most people): PETG – White or Black to match your camera and trim.
  • Black mount in full sun, or a hot climate: OPM (PCTG) where offered.
  • Extreme heat or heavy hardware: Polycarbonate, on the listings that offer it.
  • Not sure? Ask us – tell us the camera, the mounting surface, and which direction it faces, and we'll tell you straight which material fits.

Why we made the switch to PETG and PCTG

For years we printed primarily in polycarbonate. In 2026 we scaled production through a dedicated U.S. print-farm partner so orders ship faster and the shop never closes when we're on the road – and their outdoor-duty materials are PETG and PCTG. For the overwhelming majority of camera installs, PETG meets the spec with room to spare; where heat genuinely matters, OPM covers it; and we still run polycarbonate in-house where a part demands it. Same designs, same fit, honest materials – and if you ever have a mount soften, warp, or fail in the field, tell us and we'll make it right.

A note on 3D-printed parts

Every mount is fused layer by layer, so you'll see fine layer lines on the surface – that's the nature of the process, not a defect, and it has no effect on strength. Slight color variation between production runs is normal. Each design is test-fit against the real camera hardware, measured with calipers in our shop, before it's ever listed.