3D Printing Info

Filament comparison

ABS-CF vs PA6/66

Compare printing settings, strength, heat resistance, dated prices and sources.

Carbon-fibre ABS (ABS-CF) guidePA66 (Nylon 66) guide

2 selected · all documented properties

Open these two in the interactive comparisonMore ABS-CF comparisonsMore PA6/66 comparisons
ABS-CF vs PA6/66 — documented properties and sources
PropertyCarbon-fibre ABS (ABS-CF)ABSPA66 (Nylon 66)PA
Market snapshot
Listing priceUSD/kg; dated snapshots$35.99/kg median; $22.00–$125.00/kg across 7 dated product listingsNot documented
Identity & Market
Base polymer / chemistryABS reinforced with chopped carbon fibre[1]Polyamide 66, condensed from hexamethylenediamine and adipic acid; melts around 40 °C above PA6[2]
Densityg/cm³1.11 (ISO 1183)[1]1.14 (extruded unfilled PA66 stock)[3]
Typical priceUSD/kg1 kg-equivalent spools span 22–125; the middle of the market is about 36[4][5][6][7][8]Not documented
Price range across brandsUSD/kg22–125 across brands; IEMAI 22, Siraya Tech 28 and 36 for the core-shell grade, YXPOLYER 35, Push Plastic 50 at 2 kg, 3DXTech 64 at 750 g; Stratasys-compatible cartridges run far higher[4][5][6][7][9][8]Not documented
Market availability1–5Available from several mainstream brands[4][5]Special order, 1–2 makers worldwide — no unfilled PA66 filament appeared in any catalogue searched, and the 3DXTech nylon range offers PA6, PA12 and a 6/66 copolymer but no straight PA66[4][10]
Spool sizes & diameters1.75 and 2.85 mm; 0.5, 0.75 and 2 kg spools plus Stratasys-compatible cartridges[4][5]Not documented
Typical applicationsStiff tooling and fixtures that must survive above 100 °C[1]Not documented
Printing Parameters
Enclosure / chamber requirement1–5Enclosure recommended[11]Enclosure required (passive)[2]
Bed surface & adhesion aidClean the plate and apply glue; Simplify3D also lists Kapton tape and ABS slurry[11][12]Not documented
Warping tendency1–5Moderate — needs adhesion aid or draught shield; the fibre reduces warping against unfilled ABS[11]Not documented
Bed-adhesion difficulty1–5Needs a specific surface plus adhesive[11]Not documented
Stringing / oozing tendency1–5Slight — Polymaker advises 1–2 mm retraction at 20–30 mm/s[13]Not documented
Overall printing difficulty1–5Intermediate — dry filament and a tuned profile; hardened nozzle mandatory[11]Advanced — enclosure, hardware upgrades, tuning[2]
Hardware Wear & Reliability
Nozzle hardness required1–4Hardened steel required[11]Not documented
Abrasiveness1–5Highly abrasive — standard CF composite[11]Not documented
Nozzle clog risk1–5Moderate — needs dry filament and a clean nozzle; 3DXTech specifies a hardened nozzle of 0.4 mm minimum and 0.25 mm layers or higher, and Prusa lists composites as a higher clogging risk[14][15][16]Very high — frequent jams without careful setup[17][18]
Heat-creep / jam sensitivity1–5Slightly sensitive[12]Not documented
Hotend requirementNo special hot-end required[12]Not documented
Moisture Behaviour
Moisture absorption (hygroscopicity)1–5Moderate — the ABS matrix takes up 0.51–0.65 % saturated at 25 °C / 55 % RH and 3DXTech specifies a 80 °C, 4 h pre-dry[19][20][14]Very high (>2 %)[18]
Equilibrium moisture content at ~50 % RH%Not documented8.5 at saturation on extruded PA66 stock (ASTM D570) — the highest uptake of any polymer in this dataset[3]
Symptoms when wetBubbling and popping at the nozzle, stringing and a rough surface[18]Not documented
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[18]Measured dry against wet on printed specimens at 6.16 % moisture (Polymaker CoPA): tensile 78.0 → 34.3 MPa, Young's modulus 2703 → 724 MPa, flexural strength 109.8 → 22.6 MPa, while notched Charpy rises 6.9 → 27.7 kJ/m² and elongation 12.7 → 13.2 %[21][17]
Storage requirementSealed with desiccant; Polymaker rates ABS moderate-sensitivity[18]Not documented
Mechanical Properties
Tensile strength (XY)MPa46 at break (printed XY, ISO 527)[1]82.7 at yield and 84.8 at break on extruded PA66 stock (ASTM D638; converted from 12,000 and 12,300 psi) — no printed figure exists because no unfilled PA66 filament was found[3]
Young's modulusMPa5210 (printed XY, ISO 527) — more than double unfilled ABS[1]2413 on extruded PA66 stock (ASTM D638; converted from 350,000 psi)[3]
Elongation at break%2 at break (printed XY, ISO 527)[1]50 at break on extruded PA66 stock (ASTM D638)[3]
Flexural strengthMPa76 (printed XY, ISO 178)[1]113.8 on extruded PA66 stock (ASTM D790; converted from 16,500 psi)[3]
Flexural modulusMPa5260 (printed XY, ISO 178)[1]3034 on extruded PA66 stock (ASTM D790; converted from 440,000 psi)[3]
Other impact dataNot documentedIzod 53 J/m on extruded PA66 stock, converted from 1.0 ft-lb/in (ASTM D256)[3]
Brittleness1–5Brittle — snaps with little warning; elongation at break 2 %[1]Not documented
Hardness (scale-specific)Shore A / Shore D / RockwellNot documentedShore D 86 and Rockwell 85 (108) — the source does not name the scales on extruded PA66 stock (ASTM D2240, D785)[3]
Creep resistance / sustained load1–5Good — no creep test found; chopped carbon fibre restrains matrix flow and modulus rises to 5210 MPa against 2200–2330 for unfilled ABS[1][19][20]Not documented
Fatigue / repeated-flex resistance1–5Below average — no S-N curve found; elongation at break falls to 2 % against 10.5 % for unfilled ABS[1][19]Excellent — living hinges viable[2]
Elasticity / flexibility1–5Rigid[1]Semi-flexible[17]
Wear resistance & frictionNot documentedWear factor 200e-10 in3*min/(ft*lb*h) on extruded PA66 stock (ASTM D3702); Ensinger lists very good slide and wear properties[3]
Thermal Properties
HDT at 0.45 MPa°CNot documented232 on extruded PA66 stock (ASTM D648 at 66 psi; converted from 450 °F)[3]
HDT at 1.8 MPa°CNot documented90 on extruded PA66 stock (ASTM D648 at 264 psi; converted from 194 °F) — the gap to the 0.45 MPa figure is the widest in the dataset[3]
Glass transition (Tg)°C105 (DSC)[1]Not documented
Melting point / Vicat°CNot documented255 melting on extruded PA66 stock (ASTM D2133; converted from 491 °F)[3]
Continuous service temperature°CNot documented85 long term and 149 short term on extruded PA66 stock (converted from 185 °F and 300 °F)[3]
Thermal expansion (CTE)µm/m·K19–25 along the print bead and 80–84 in the build direction at 30 °C (20 wt% CF, large-format printed, TMA)[22]81.0 (extruded PA66 stock, ASTM D696; source states 4.5e-5 in/in/°F)[3]
Flammability / UL 94Not documentedUL 94 V-2 on extruded PA66 stock[3]
Environment & Chemical
Chemical resistanceGood against weak acids, weak alkalis, oils and grease; dissolved by acetone[23]Not documented
Food contactNot food safe — Polymaker cites potential chemical leaching[13]Not documented
Biodegradability / compostabilityNot biodegradable[13]Not documented
RecyclabilityMechanically recyclable but not accepted in household plastic collection[13]Not documented
Electrical & ESD propertiesSurface resistance above 10⁹ ohm/sq — not static-dissipative (ASTM D257)[1]Volume resistance 1e15 ohm-cm and dielectric constant 4 on extruded PA66 stock (ASTM D257, D150)[3]
Health & Safety
Fume toxicity1–5High — hazardous VOC such as styrene; enclosure and filtration needed[24][11]Moderate — measurable VOCs and UFPs, ventilation advised[24]
VOC emission rateµg/min12–113 styrene, the dominant VOC from every ABS and HIPS combination tested[24]Up to 180 caprolactam, the dominant VOC from nylon; total VOC reached nearly 200 µg/min, the highest of the nine filaments tested[24]
Ultrafine-particle emission rateparticles/min2 × 10¹⁰ to 9 × 10¹⁰ median across all ABS printers, two orders of magnitude above PLA's ≈1 × 10⁸[24]≈2 × 10⁸ median — low for ultrafine particles despite the highest VOC mass of any filament tested[24]
Hazardous species emittedStyrene dominates. Bambu Lab states ABS and ASA release harmful gases such as styrene at printing temperature, which can be toxic and cause dizziness or nausea[24][11]Caprolactam, at up to 180 µg/min from nylon filament — the largest single-VOC emission rate measured in the study[24]
Ventilation / filtration requirement1–5Enclosure with carbon and HEPA filtration — an enclosure alone cut measured UFP by only about 35 %[24][11]Ventilated room or enclosure recommended[24]
Dust & fibre handling hazardCarbon fibre is bound in the matrix; sanding dust should not be inhaled[1]Not documented
Post-Processing
Sanding & machiningSands well and takes filler before painting[13]Not documented
Painting & finishingPaints readily after light abrasion[13]Not documented
Vapour / chemical smoothingAcetone smoothing is blunted by the fibre — only the resin fraction dissolves[23]Not documented
Support material pairingHIPS breaks away or dissolves in d-limonene; Bambu Lab sells a dedicated Support for ABS[25][11]Not documented
Solvents & Solubility
Soluble inAcetone dissolves the resin and leaves the fibre as sludge; MEK, THF, ethyl acetate and chlorinated solvents do the same.[26][23]Dissolved at 23 °C by formic acid above ~80 %, phenol, m-cresol, 96 % sulphuric acid or hexafluoroisopropanol — laboratory reagents.[27]
Softened or crazed byPetrol and perchloroethylene soften it and benzene attacks it; d-limonene disrupts layer adhesion in some ABS and ASA grades.[26][28]Zinc chloride solutions stress-crack it — 10 % marginal, 37 % not resistant; alcoholic calcium chloride dissolves it.[27]
Solvent welding & smoothing agentAcetone vapour reaches only the resin fraction, so the fibre is left standing proud of the smoothed surface.[29][23]None — nylon's only solvents are formic acid, phenol and HFIP, all of which degrade the part they wet.[27]

Material entries describe families or representative grades, not an interchangeable specification for every spool. Test methods, orientations and conditions may differ. Unknown values are marked “Not documented”. Prices and source dates remain historical snapshots; check the linked guide for product details. Differences highlight text, not a universal winner.

Sources for this comparison

  1. CarbonX Carbon Fiber ABS Technical Data Sheet 3DXTech · 2026-08 · tds
  2. PA (Nylon) — material basics Polymaker Wiki · 2026-08 · doc
  3. TECAMID 66 natural (PA66) — stock shape properties Ensinger · 2026-08 · tds
  4. 3DXTech product catalogue 3DXTech · 2026-08 · vendor
  5. Push Plastic product catalogue Push Plastic · 2026-08 · vendor
  6. IEMAI CF-ABS 3D Printing Filament product page IEMAI 3D · 2026-08 · vendor
  7. Siraya Tech Fibreheart ABS-CF Filament product page Siraya Tech · 2026-08 · vendor
  8. YXPOLYER ABS CF product page YXPOLYER · 2026-08 · vendor
  9. Siraya Tech Fibreheart ABS-CF Core Filament product page Siraya Tech · 2026-08 · vendor
  10. Polymaker product catalogue Polymaker · 2026-08 · vendor
  11. ABS / ASA / PC Usage Guide Bambu Lab Wiki · 2026-08 · doc
  12. ABS — Ultimate 3D Printing Materials Guide Simplify3D · 2026-08 · doc
  13. ABS — material basics Polymaker Wiki · 2026-08 · doc
  14. CARBONX ABS+CF — product page (print recommendations) 3DXTech · 2026-08 · doc
  15. Composite materials filled with carbon, kevlar or glass Prusa Knowledge Base · 2026-08 · doc
  16. Carbon Fiber Filled — Ultimate 3D Printing Materials Guide Simplify3D · 2026-08 · doc
  17. Moisture Conditioning — effect on printed nylon properties Polymaker Wiki · 2026-08 · doc
  18. Wet Filament — signs, causes and drying Polymaker Wiki · 2026-08 · doc
  19. Bambu Filament Technical Data Sheet V3.0 — ABS Bambu Lab · 2026-08 · tds
  20. Polymaker ABS Pro Technical Data Sheet V1 (2026-05-29) Polymaker · 2026-05 · tds
  21. PolyMide CoPA Technical Data Sheet V5.4 (dry and wet status blocks) Polymaker · 2024-11 · tds
  22. Effects of Fiber Orientation on the Coefficient of Thermal Expansion of Fiber-Filled Polymer Systems in Large Format Polymer Extrusion-Based Additive Manufacturing Materials 15(8):2764 · 2022-04 · paper
  23. PolyLite ABS Technical Data Sheet (V5.5 served at this URL) Polymaker · 2024-11 · tds
  24. Emissions of Ultrafine Particles and Volatile Organic Compounds from Commercially Available Desktop Three-Dimensional Printers with Multiple Filaments (Azimi et al.) Environmental Science & Technology 50(3) 1260-1268 · 2016-01 · paper
  25. HIPS — Ultimate 3D Printing Materials Guide Simplify3D · 2026-08 · doc
  26. Chemical resistance — resistance of Ensinger plastics to chemicals (DIN 50 014, 23/50) Ensinger · 2026-08 · tds
  27. Ultramid Nylon Chemical Resistance guide (unmodified PA6 B27E and PA66 A27E) BASF · 2026-08 · tds
  28. HIPS — Knowledge Base Prusa Research · 2026-08 · doc
  29. Improve your 3D prints with chemical smoothing Prusa Research · 2026-08 · doc