This is why you should avoid PLA when you have a design that will be exposed to heat, even as little as the heat inside a car on a summer day. PLA plastic becomes soft as low as 50☌ and will deform rather quickly in this rather limited heat. The other important consideration when printing parts with PLA filament is knowing what sorts of temperatures the part will be subjected to. The thing to consider is that being stiffer and harder also means that it is more brittle if the part you're printing will be used where it might receive a lot of sudden impacts or sharp collisions, PLA has a tendency to shatter during failure. PLA is less thermally contractive which means it hardly ever warps and is very dimensionally stable, making it much easier to print big parts with and rely on the print being as close to the 3D model's dimensions as possible. PLA filament is an attractive material for newcomers as it's tough, available in a huge variety of colors, and be easy to print on basically an 3D printer. A majority of 3D printer users will have experience with PLA in one way or another, from end-use products to general prototyping. When used as a 3D printing material, it is almost always the introductory material as its printing properties make it well suited for a complete beginner. PLA plastic is used in many industries from food packaging to biodegradable medical implants such as sutures, tissue screws, and tacks.
It is important to point out that although PLA is compostable it is very robust when used in any normal application such as a 3D printed jig or a manufacturing prototype. One of the most attractive things about PLA plastic is that it is industrially compostable, which means it can be broken down back into its base elements through industrial means, and not through a ten thousand year lifespan (note, composting in a compost bin is not the same as industrially compostable). It is commonly derived from renewable resources, such as corn starch, tapioca roots or sugarcane. PLA or Polylactic acid is a thermoplastic polyester.