ABS's light weight and ability to be injection molded and extruded make it useful in manufacturing products such as drain-waste-vent (DWV) pipe systems, musical instruments (recorders, plastic clarinets, and piano movements), golf club heads (because of its good shock absorbance), automotive trim components, automotive bumper bars, medical devices for blood access, enclosures for electrical and electronic assemblies, protective headgear, whitewater canoes, buffer edging for furniture and joinery panels, luggage and protective carrying cases, small kitchen appliances, and toys, including Lego and Kre-O bricks.Household and consumer goods are the major applications of ABS. Keyboard keycaps are commonly made out of ABS.

ABS plastic ground down to an average diameter of less than 1 micrometer is used as the colorant in some tattoo inks.Tattoo inks that use ABS are extremely vivid.[citation needed]

When extruded into a filament, ABS plastic is a common material used in 3D printers.