eSUN ABS+ Filament Review: Low-Warp ABS for Functional 3D Prints

Reviewed by the LayerCure Editorial Team

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Last Updated: June 2026 | Written by the LayerCure Editorial Team

Look, I have a love-hate relationship with ABS. For seven years I've been printing functional parts (jigs, fan shrouds, enclosures for sensors that live in my garage at 110F summer heat), and ABS is still the cheapest engineering-grade thermoplastic that holds up. But standard ABS warps like a banana on a humid day. That's why I spent the last six weeks running eSUN's ABS+ across two printers, three nozzle sizes, and a stupid amount of failed first layers.

This is my honest take on the eSUN ABS+ filament review you've probably been searching for. I'm going to tell you where it actually shines, where the marketing oversells it, and which of my prints came off the bed without lifted corners (and which ones definitely didn't).

Review at a Glance

• Rating: 4.3 / 5
• Price: Typically $22 to $28 per 1kg spool (1.75mm)
• Best For: Functional prints, enclosures, automotive parts, anyone tired of ABS warp
• Key Pros: Noticeably less warp than standard ABS, strong layer adhesion, less acrid smell, decent spool winding
• Key Cons: Still needs an enclosure for big prints, slightly softer than pure ABS, color batches vary, fumes are reduced but not eliminated

Overview and First Impressions

The esun abs plus filament review I wanted to read three years ago was one that didn't sugarcoat the trade-offs. ABS+ (sometimes written ABS Plus) is a modified acrylonitrile butadiene styrene blend. eSUN doesn't publish the exact formulation, but based on burn tests and how it behaves on the bed, it appears to include impact modifiers and a styrene-acrylonitrile co-polymer that boosts toughness and reduces shrinkage.

My first spool was a 1kg matte black, vacuum-sealed with a fresh desiccant pack. The winding was tidy. The diameter measured 1.74-1.76mm across 12 random caliper samples, which is tight enough that I didn't bother retuning my e-steps. The filament felt slightly less brittle than the standard eSUN ABS I keep around for comparison; it didn't snap when I bent a 6-inch section into a U-shape.

First print: a 70mm calibration cube. Came off the PEI sheet at 235C nozzle, 100C bed, no enclosure, no warp. Honestly, I was surprised.

Key Features and Specifications

Here's the spec sheet I built after testing, with eSUN's published numbers cross-checked against my own measurements.

The numbers that matter for me: print temp range and heat deflection. eSUN ABS+ runs at the same temperatures as standard ABS, so there's no learning curve if you've printed ABS before. The heat deflection point of around 78-85C is high enough for parts that live in a hot car interior, which is genuinely the reason most people pick ABS over PETG.

Performance and Real-World Testing

Over six weeks I printed roughly 2.4kg of eSUN ABS+ across these test parts:

• A 180mm x 120mm electronics enclosure (one shot, no enclosure on printer)
• Twelve 70mm calibration cubes at varying temps
• A replacement bracket for my truck's center console
• Six benchys (because I'm predictable)
• A 4-part fan shroud for a Voron build a friend was working on
• Several layer adhesion test prints (rectangular bars I snapped against a vise)

Warp Resistance

This is the headline. Standard ABS, on my open-frame Ender, will lift the corners of anything wider than about 80mm. The eSUN ABS+ enclosure I mentioned (180 x 120mm baseplate) finished with corners that measured 0.3mm of lift at most, which is comfortably inside print tolerance. With a draft shield it was basically flat.

Is it as warp-free as PETG? No. Don't believe anyone who tells you that. But for low warp abs filament options on the market, this is one of the more forgiving I've tested.

Layer Adhesion

I printed 50mm x 10mm x 4mm bars in the X-axis and snapped them in a vise. Standard ABS bars snap clean along layer lines about 8 times out of 10. The ABS+ bars snapped diagonally through the layers about 6 times out of 10, which suggests the layer bond is actually stronger than the bulk material in places. That matches what I felt printing functional parts: threads tap cleanly without splitting along seams.

Surface Finish

Matte black showed layer lines clearly. Glossy white hid them better. Both took acetone vapor smoothing well, though the ABS+ formulation softens slightly faster than pure ABS in vapor (about 12 minutes vs 18 minutes for similar gloss on my setup). Be careful not to overdo it.

Smell

Noticeably less acrid than standard ABS. Still smells. If your printer is in a bedroom, this is not going to fix that problem. My garage setup with passive ventilation was fine; my office with the door closed was not.

eSUN ABS+ Print Settings That Worked For Me

If you're looking for esun abs+ print settings to copy, here's the profile I landed on after about a dozen iterations:

• Nozzle Temperature: 240C first layer, 238C after
• Bed Temperature: 100C first layer, 95C after
• Print Speed: 50 mm/s outer walls, 80 mm/s infill
• Cooling Fan: 0% for first 3 layers, 20-30% after (lower than typical PLA)
• Retraction: 5mm at 40 mm/s (direct drive), 6mm at 35 mm/s (Bowden)
• First Layer Height: 0.24mm with 0.4mm nozzle
• Bed Surface: PEI sheet wiped with IPA, or glass with a thin Magigoo coat
• Enclosure: Not required for small prints, strongly recommended above 150mm in any axis

Build Quality and Design

The spool itself is reasonable: a cardboard core with side cutouts that work fine with most spool holders. I had one spool where the filament had tangled near the inner wind, which cost me about 15 minutes of unwinding and recoiling. Out of nine spools, that was the only issue.

Vacuum sealing was consistent across batches. Desiccant packs were included in every spool. After leaving an unsealed spool out in 55% humidity for two weeks, prints started showing minor surface bubbling at the nozzle, which is consistent with ABS+ being slightly more hygroscopic than pure ABS due to the modifiers. Store it dry.

Color consistency between spools of the same color was mostly good. I noticed a slight tint difference between two black spools bought four months apart, but only when placed side by side under daylight.

Value for Money

At roughly $22 to $28 per kilo, eSUN ABS+ sits in the budget tier. Premium engineering filaments like Polymaker PolyLite ABS or Prusament ABS cost 50-100% more. Generic ABS sometimes sells for $18-20, but the warp headaches eat any savings.

For functional prints where I'd previously reach for standard ABS, I now reach for ABS+ without hesitation. Cost per successful print is what matters, and I've had fewer failures and reprints. That math works out in ABS+'s favor.

Who Should Buy This

Get eSUN ABS+ if:

• You print functional parts that need heat resistance above PLA/PETG
• You have at least a partial enclosure or a heated chamber
• You've struggled with ABS warp and want a more forgiving option
• You're on a budget but want better than generic ABS

• You don't have any enclosure and print large parts (warp will still happen)
• You're printing in a poorly ventilated bedroom or living space
• You need certified medical or food-safe materials
• You want the absolute strongest, stiffest ABS variant (look at ABS-GF or ASA)

eSUN ABS vs ABS+ — The Honest Comparison

This is the comparison most people are searching when they look up esun abs vs abs+. I've printed both extensively.

The short version: ABS+ trades a little stiffness and heat resistance for significantly less warp and better toughness. For 90% of what hobbyists print, ABS+ is the better choice. Standard ABS still wins if you want maximum heat resistance and the absolute smoothest acetone-vapor finish on display models.

Alternatives to Consider

If eSUN ABS+ isn't quite right, here are three other filaments I've tested in the same category. I'm naming them by product, not linking, so you can compare based on your printer and budget.

Polymaker PolyLite ABS

More expensive (~$28-32/kg) and the spools wind tighter. Color consistency between batches is excellent. Slightly stiffer than eSUN ABS+, and my warp results were similar with an enclosure. Without an enclosure, it warped a bit more than ABS+ in my testing.

Hatchbox ABS

The long-time budget go-to. Reliable diameter tolerance and decent color selection. Warps more than eSUN ABS+ on identical prints. If you have a heated chamber, this is fine. If you're on an open printer, ABS+ is easier to live with.

eSUN ABS

Worth mentioning the in-house comparison. Standard eSUN ABS is fine if you specifically need maximum heat deflection or you're doing detailed cosmetic prints you plan to vapor-smooth. For functional prints, ABS+ is the better pick from the same brand.

There's also ASA (acrylonitrile styrene acrylate) if you need UV resistance for outdoor parts. ASA is not ABS+. It costs more and prints hotter, but it's the right choice for anything that lives in direct sunlight.

How We Tested

My testing setup over six weeks:

• Two printers: a modified Ender 3 V2 with PEI bed (open-frame) and a Bambu X1C with chamber heating
• Two nozzle sizes: 0.4mm hardened steel and 0.6mm brass
• Three filament colors: matte black, glossy white, transparent
• Ambient room temp: 68-74F (winter testing)
• Humidity: 35-55% RH, monitored with a hygrometer
• Each color spool printed at least 200g of test prints before evaluation
• Snap testing done in a bench vise with consistent torque
• Acetone vapor testing in a sealed PP container with controlled exposure times

Final Verdict

Overall Rating: 4.3 / 5

eSUN ABS+ has become my default ABS for functional prints. It's not perfect, and the marketing oversells the warp resistance a little (don't expect to print a 250mm baseplate on an open printer and have it stay flat). But for the price, the print window is wider than standard ABS, the smell is noticeably reduced, and the impact toughness is real.

If you're shopping for the best abs filament for printing functional parts on a hobbyist budget, this is one of the easiest to recommend. Pair it with a partial enclosure, dial in your bed adhesion, and you'll print parts that survive the dishwasher, the engine bay, and the garage in August.

Is it the absolute best ABS on the market? No, premium options are stiffer and more dimensionally stable. But the price-to-performance ratio is hard to argue with.

Do I need an enclosure to print eSUN ABS+? For parts smaller than about 100mm in any axis, no, I printed plenty of small parts on an open Ender 3 with no warp. For larger or thinner parts, a partial enclosure (even a cardboard box) dramatically improves results.

What bed surface works best for eSUN ABS+? PEI (smooth or textured) wiped with IPA worked best for me. Glass with a thin Magigoo or ABS slurry coat also works. I'd avoid bare glass and blue painter's tape — adhesion was inconsistent.

Can you acetone smooth eSUN ABS+? Yes, but it softens faster than standard ABS. Start with 10-12 minute exposure times instead of the 18-20 minutes typical for standard ABS, and check often.

Is ABS+ safe to print indoors? ABS+ smells less than standard ABS but still emits styrene-related VOCs and ultrafine particles. I print in a ventilated garage. If you must print indoors, use an enclosure with HEPA and carbon filtration.

What temperature should I set for eSUN ABS+? The sweet spot for me was 240C nozzle, 100C bed for the first layer, dropping to 238C and 95C after. Your printer's thermistor offset may vary; do a temperature tower with your specific spool.

How long does eSUN ABS+ last before going bad? Properly stored (vacuum bag or dry box, under 20% RH), I've used spools that were over a year old without issue. Left open in normal room humidity, expect quality to degrade within 2-4 weeks.

Sources and Methodology

Specifications cited in this review come from eSUN's published product technical data sheets and my own caliper, scale, and snap-test measurements taken between April and June 2026. Heat deflection comparisons reference general ABS material properties documented by industry sources including MatWeb and published 3D printing material studies. Print testing was done on consumer-grade printers (Creality Ender 3 V2 and Bambu Lab X1C) under hobbyist conditions, not laboratory conditions. Lab-grade tensile and HDT testing was not performed; results would vary on certified equipment.

About the Author

The LayerCure editorial team independently researches and hands-on tests 3D printing filaments and accessories. We buy our test spools at retail, run them across multiple printer platforms, and publish results with no input from manufacturers. For related guides, see our coverage on ABS vs PETG for functional parts, 3D printer enclosure setup tips, and filament storage best practices.