3D Printing Info

Filament comparison

ABS-ESD vs PA6/66

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

ESD-safe ABS guidePA66 (Nylon 66) guide

2 selected · all documented properties

Open these two in the interactive comparisonMore ABS-ESD comparisonsMore PA6/66 comparisons
ABS-ESD vs PA6/66 — documented properties and sources
PropertyESD-safe ABSABSPA66 (Nylon 66)PA
Market snapshot
Listing priceUSD/kg; dated snapshots$102.50/kg median; $47.00–$166.67/kg across 4 dated product listingsNot documented
Identity & Market
Base polymer / chemistryABS compounded with a conductive carbon filler for static-dissipative parts[1]Polyamide 66, condensed from hexamethylenediamine and adipic acid; melts around 40 °C above PA6[2]
Densityg/cm³1.09 (ISO 1183)[1]1.14 (extruded unfilled PA66 stock)[3]
Typical priceUSD/kg1 kg-equivalent spools span 47–167; the middle of the market is about 103[4][5][6]Not documented
Price range across brandsUSD/kg47–167 across brands; IEMAI 47, YXPOLYER 65, 3DXTech 140 at 750 g pricing; the EMI-shielding ABS grade runs 167[4][5][6]Not documented
Market availability1–5Niche, a handful of specialist brands[4]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][7]
Spool sizes & diameters1.75 and 2.85 mm; 750 g spools[4]Not documented
Typical applicationsElectronics handling fixtures, trays and jigs used around static-sensitive parts[1]Not documented
Printing Parameters
Enclosure / chamber requirement1–5Enclosure recommended[8]Enclosure required (passive)[2]
Bed surface & adhesion aidClean the plate and apply glue; Simplify3D also lists Kapton tape and ABS slurry[8][9]Not documented
Warping tendency1–5High — enclosure needed for reliable large parts[8]Not documented
Bed-adhesion difficulty1–5Needs a specific surface plus adhesive[8]Not documented
Stringing / oozing tendency1–5Slight — Polymaker advises 1–2 mm retraction at 20–30 mm/s[10]Not documented
Overall printing difficulty1–5Intermediate — dry filament and a tuned profile[8]Advanced — enclosure, hardware upgrades, tuning[2]
Hardware Wear & Reliability
Nozzle hardness required1–4Hardened steel required[1]Not documented
Abrasiveness1–5Moderately abrasive — conductive carbon filler[1]Not documented
Nozzle clog risk1–5Low — 3DXTech lists no special nozzle concerns and no minimum layer height for its ESD-ABS, only an 80 °C pre-dry[11]Very high — frequent jams without careful setup[12][13]
Heat-creep / jam sensitivity1–5Slightly sensitive[9]Not documented
Hotend requirementNo special hot-end required[9]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[14][15][11]Very high (>2 %)[13]
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[13]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[13]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 %[16][12]
Storage requirementSealed with desiccant; Polymaker rates ABS moderate-sensitivity[13]Not documented
Mechanical Properties
Tensile strength (XY)MPa58 at break (printed XY, ISO 527) — the conductive filler raises strength above the unfilled grade's 42[1][17]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 modulusMPa2130 (printed XY, ISO 527)[1]2413 on extruded PA66 stock (ASTM D638; converted from 350,000 psi)[3]
Elongation at break%4 at break (printed XY, ISO 527)[1]50 at break on extruded PA66 stock (ASTM D638)[3]
Flexural strengthMPa80 (printed XY, ISO 178)[1]113.8 on extruded PA66 stock (ASTM D790; converted from 16,500 psi)[3]
Flexural modulusMPa2275 (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]
Brittleness1–5Moderate[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 load1–5Moderate — no creep test found; Tg of 105 °C keeps room-temperature service far below softening[1]Not documented
Fatigue / repeated-flex resistance1–5Below average — no S-N curve found; elongation at break 4 %, well below unfilled ABS[1][17]Excellent — living hinges viable[2]
Elasticity / flexibility1–5Rigid[1]Semi-flexible[12]
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·KNot documented81.0 (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[18]Not documented
Food contactNot food safe — Polymaker cites potential chemical leaching[10]Not documented
Biodegradability / compostabilityNot biodegradable[10]Not documented
RecyclabilityMechanically recyclable but not accepted in household plastic collection[10]Not documented
Electrical & ESD propertiesSurface resistance 10⁷–10⁹ ohm/sq, the static-dissipative band (ASTM D257), against above 10¹³ for unfilled ABS[1][17]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[19][8]Moderate — measurable VOCs and UFPs, ventilation advised[19]
VOC emission rateµg/min12–113 styrene, the dominant VOC from every ABS and HIPS combination tested[19]Up to 180 caprolactam, the dominant VOC from nylon; total VOC reached nearly 200 µg/min, the highest of the nine filaments tested[19]
Ultrafine-particle emission rateparticles/min2 × 10¹⁰ to 9 × 10¹⁰ median across all ABS printers, two orders of magnitude above PLA's ≈1 × 10⁸[19]≈2 × 10⁸ median — low for ultrafine particles despite the highest VOC mass of any filament tested[19]
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[19][8]Caprolactam, at up to 180 µg/min from nylon filament — the largest single-VOC emission rate measured in the study[19]
Ventilation / filtration requirement1–5Enclosure with carbon and HEPA filtration — an enclosure alone cut measured UFP by only about 35 %[19][8]Ventilated room or enclosure recommended[19]
Dust & fibre handling hazardConductive carbon filler is bound in the matrix; avoid inhaling sanding dust[1]Not documented
Post-Processing
Sanding & machiningSands well and takes filler before painting[10]Not documented
Painting & finishingPaints readily after light abrasion[10]Not documented
Support material pairingHIPS breaks away or dissolves in d-limonene; Bambu Lab sells a dedicated Support for ABS[20][8]Not documented
Solvents & Solubility
Soluble inAcetone dissolves it — the basis of ABS slurry; so do MEK, THF, ethyl acetate, chloroform, dichloromethane and toluene.[21][18]Dissolved at 23 °C by formic acid above ~80 %, phenol, m-cresol, 96 % sulphuric acid or hexafluoroisopropanol — laboratory reagents.[22]
Softened or crazed byPetrol and perchloroethylene soften it and benzene attacks it; d-limonene disrupts layer adhesion in some ABS and ASA grades.[21][23]Zinc chloride solutions stress-crack it — 10 % marginal, 37 % not resistant; alcoholic calcium chloride dissolves it.[22]
Solvent welding & smoothing agentAcetone: about 20 min of vapour at 80 °C over 5 mm of liquid. Prusa measured layer adhesion more than doubled.[24]None — nylon's only solvents are formic acid, phenol and HFIP, all of which degrade the part they wet.[22]

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. 3DXSTAT ESD-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. IEMAI ESD-ABS 3D Printing Filament product page IEMAI 3D · 2026-08 · vendor
  6. YXPOLYER ABS ESD product page YXPOLYER · 2026-08 · vendor
  7. Polymaker product catalogue Polymaker · 2026-08 · vendor
  8. ABS / ASA / PC Usage Guide Bambu Lab Wiki · 2026-08 · doc
  9. ABS — Ultimate 3D Printing Materials Guide Simplify3D · 2026-08 · doc
  10. ABS — material basics Polymaker Wiki · 2026-08 · doc
  11. 3DXSTAT ESD-ABS — product page (print recommendations) 3DXTech · 2026-08 · doc
  12. Moisture Conditioning — effect on printed nylon properties Polymaker Wiki · 2026-08 · doc
  13. Wet Filament — signs, causes and drying Polymaker Wiki · 2026-08 · doc
  14. Bambu Filament Technical Data Sheet V3.0 — ABS Bambu Lab · 2026-08 · tds
  15. Polymaker ABS Pro Technical Data Sheet V1 (2026-05-29) Polymaker · 2026-05 · tds
  16. PolyMide CoPA Technical Data Sheet V5.4 (dry and wet status blocks) Polymaker · 2024-11 · tds
  17. 3DXMAX ABS Technical Data Sheet 3DXTech · 2026-08 · tds
  18. PolyLite ABS Technical Data Sheet (V5.5 served at this URL) Polymaker · 2024-11 · tds
  19. 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
  20. HIPS — Ultimate 3D Printing Materials Guide Simplify3D · 2026-08 · doc
  21. Chemical resistance — resistance of Ensinger plastics to chemicals (DIN 50 014, 23/50) Ensinger · 2026-08 · tds
  22. Ultramid Nylon Chemical Resistance guide (unmodified PA6 B27E and PA66 A27E) BASF · 2026-08 · tds
  23. HIPS — Knowledge Base Prusa Research · 2026-08 · doc
  24. Improve your 3D prints with chemical smoothing Prusa Research · 2026-08 · doc