3D Printing InfoFilament comparison
BVOH vs HIPS
Compare printing settings, strength, heat resistance, dated prices and sources.
2 selected · all documented properties
| Property | BVOH (soluble support)SUPPORT | HIPSABS |
|---|---|---|
| Market snapshot | ||
| Listing priceUSD/kg; dated snapshots | $165.72/kg median; $165.72–$165.72/kg across 1 dated product listings | $29.99/kg median; $27.99–$32.00/kg across 3 dated product listings |
| Identity & Market | ||
| Base polymer / chemistry | Butenediol vinyl alcohol copolymer — a vinyl alcohol copolymer that dissolves faster and in cooler water than straight PVA[1] | High-impact polystyrene — polystyrene toughened with a butadiene rubber phase[2][3] |
| Densityg/cm³ | Not documented | 1.04 (ISO 1183)[2] |
| Typical priceUSD/kg | 1 kg-equivalent spools cluster near 166[1] | 1 kg spools cluster near 31[4][5] |
| Price range across brandsUSD/kg | 166 at Fiberlogy's 500 g pricing on 3DJake[1] | 28–32 across brands; YXPOLYER 28, Push Plastic 30, 3DXTech 32[5][4][6] |
| Market availability1–5 | Niche, a handful of specialist brands[1] | Available from several mainstream brands[4][5] |
| Spool sizes & diameters | 1.75 and 2.85 mm; 0.5 kg spools[1] | 1.75 and 2.85 mm; 1 and 3 kg spools[5][4] |
| Typical applications | Dissolvable support where PVA dissolves too slowly, and for materials PVA bonds to poorly[1] | Break-away and d-limonene-soluble support for ABS and ASA, and a light model material in its own right[3] |
| Printing Parameters | ||
| Nozzle temperature°C | Not documented | 230–245 (Simplify3D)[7] |
| Bed temperature°C | Not documented | 100–115 (Simplify3D)[7] |
| Enclosure / chamber requirement1–5 | Open frame is fine[8] | Enclosure recommended[9] |
| Part cooling fan | Not documented | Part cooling fan not required[7] |
| Bed surface & adhesion aid | Not documented | Glue stick, glass plate, Kapton tape or PET sheets[7] |
| Warping tendency1–5 | Not documented | Moderate — needs adhesion aid or draught shield[9] |
| Bed-adhesion difficulty1–5 | Not documented | Needs a specific surface plus adhesive[7] |
| Stringing / oozing tendency1–5 | Not documented | Slight — HIPS oozes less than ABS[7][10] |
| Overall printing difficulty1–5 | Intermediate — dry filament and a tuned profile[11] | Intermediate — dry filament and a tuned profile[9] |
| Extruder requirement | A second extruder or a tool changer[8] | Not documented |
| Hardware Wear & Reliability | ||
| Nozzle hardness required1–4 | Brass fine indefinitely[8] | Brass fine indefinitely[9] |
| Abrasiveness1–5 | Non-abrasive[8] | Non-abrasive[9] |
| Nozzle clog risk1–5 | Very high — frequent jams without careful setup[11] | Low — no special hot-end required, no drybox and no hardened nozzle, and 3DXTech states drying is not needed[7][12][3] |
| Heat-creep / jam sensitivity1–5 | Not documented | Slightly sensitive[7] |
| Hotend requirement | Not documented | No special hot-end required[7] |
| Moisture Behaviour | ||
| Moisture absorption (hygroscopicity)1–5 | Very high (>2 %) — the vinyl alcohol backbone is what makes it soluble[11][8] | Low (0.1–0.3 %) — Simplify3D lists water resistance as a headline property[7] |
| Symptoms when wet | Not documented | Bubbling and popping at the nozzle, stringing and a rough surface[11] |
| Effect of moisture on strength | Not a structural material; no dry-versus-conditioned data is published[11] | Polymaker 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[11] |
| Storage requirement | Sealed with desiccant at all times[11] | Sealed with desiccant; less critical than for the polyamides[11] |
| Mechanical Properties | ||
| Tensile strength (XY)MPa | Not documented | 40 at break (printed XY, ISO 527)[2] |
| Young's modulusMPa | Not documented | 1350 (printed XY, ISO 527) — the lowest modulus of the styrenics here[2] |
| Elongation at break% | Not documented | 18 at break (printed XY, ISO 527)[2] |
| Flexural strengthMPa | Not documented | 70 (printed XY, ISO 178)[2] |
| Flexural modulusMPa | Not documented | 1600 (printed XY, ISO 178)[2] |
| Brittleness1–5 | Not documented | Tough — absorbs impact, yields before breaking[2] |
| Creep resistance / sustained load1–5 | Not documented | Moderate — no printed-HIPS creep test found; Tg of 100 °C keeps room-temperature service far below softening[2][7] |
| Fatigue / repeated-flex resistance1–5 | Not documented | Moderate[2] |
| Elasticity / flexibility1–5 | Not documented | Rigid[2] |
| Thermal Properties | ||
| Glass transition (Tg)°C | Not documented | 100 (DSC)[2] |
| Melting point / Vicat°C | Not documented | Amorphous — no melting point[2] |
| Continuous service temperature°C | Not documented | Bounded by a glass transition of 100 °C; no loaded-bar service figure is published for HIPS[2] |
| Flammability / UL 94 | Not documented | Flammable; no UL 94 rating published[2] |
| Environment & Chemical | ||
| UV resistance1–5 | Not documented | Months outdoors before embrittlement — polystyrene yellows and chalks under UV[13] |
| Chemical resistance | Not documented | Dissolves completely in d-limonene — the basis of its use as a soluble support[3] |
| Water / humidity resistance in service1–5 | Dissolves or disintegrates — by design[1] | Not documented |
| Food contact | Not documented | Not food safe[13] |
| Biodegradability / compostability | Not documented | Not biodegradable[13] |
| Recyclability | Not documented | Not accepted in household plastic collection[13] |
| Electrical & ESD properties | Not documented | Surface resistance above 10¹³ ohm/sq — insulating (ASTM D257)[2] |
| Health & Safety | ||
| Fume toxicity1–5 | Low hazard — minimal VOC and particle emission; none of these materials was in the chamber study[14] | High — hazardous VOC such as styrene; enclosure and filtration needed[14] |
| VOC emission rateµg/min | Not documented | 12–113 styrene, the range measured across ABS and the one HIPS filament tested[14] |
| Ultrafine-particle emission rateparticles/min | Not documented | ≈4 × 10⁹ median for the HIPS filament tested, an order of magnitude below ABS but forty times PLA[14] |
| Hazardous species emitted | Not documented | Styrene was the only dominant VOC identified for the HIPS filament tested[14] |
| Ventilation / filtration requirement1–5 | Open a window / occasional ventilation[14] | Enclosure with carbon and HEPA filtration[14] |
| Post-Processing | ||
| Sanding & machining | Not documented | Sands and paints readily, like ABS[13] |
| Gluing & solvent welding | Not documented | Solvent-welds with d-limonene, and with acetone via its polystyrene backbone[7][3] |
| Vapour / chemical smoothing | Not documented | d-limonene attacks the surface; acetone smoothing is far less effective than on ABS[3][7] |
| Support material pairing | This is the support material[1] | Used as the support material itself — dissolves in d-limonene, or breaks away from ABS and ASA[3] |
| Solvents & Solubility | ||
| Soluble in | Water: about 1 g of BVOH per 20 g of water, several hours; warmer water is faster but must not be too hot.[15][1] | d-limonene, 12–24 h submerged with occasional agitation; acetone also dissolves it, and xylene does so at 23 °C.[16][17][18] |
| Softened or crazed by | Nothing else — a vinyl alcohol copolymer resists organic solvents, so IPA or acetone will not touch it.[19] | Limonene also disrupts layer adhesion in some ABS and ASA grades, so an ABS model can flake apart in the same bath.[20] |
| Solvent welding & smoothing agent | None — water is a removal solvent, not a welding one.[15] | Limonene welds and lightly etches it; acetone welds through the polystyrene backbone but smooths less well than ABS.[16][20] |
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
- Fiberlogy BVOH Natural — product page 3DJake International · 2026-08 · vendor
- 3DXMAX HIPS Technical Data Sheet 3DXTech · 2026-08 · tds
- 3DXMAX HIPS — product page 3DXTech · 2026-08 · vendor
- 3DXTech product catalogue 3DXTech · 2026-08 · vendor
- Push Plastic product catalogue Push Plastic · 2026-08 · vendor
- YXPOLYER HIPS product page YXPOLYER · 2026-08 · vendor
- HIPS — Ultimate 3D Printing Materials Guide Simplify3D · 2026-08 · doc
- PolyDissolve S1 Technical Data Sheet V5.4 Polymaker · 2024-11 · tds
- ABS / ASA / PC Usage Guide Bambu Lab Wiki · 2026-08 · doc
- ABS — Ultimate 3D Printing Materials Guide Simplify3D · 2026-08 · doc
- Wet Filament — signs, causes and drying Polymaker Wiki · 2026-08 · doc
- Filament Material Guide Prusa Knowledge Base · 2026-08 · doc
- ABS — material basics Polymaker Wiki · 2026-08 · doc
- 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
- Water soluble (BVOH/PVA) — Knowledge Base Prusa Research · 2026-08 · doc
- D-Limonene — FDM post-processing guide Filament2Print · 2026-08 · review
- Chemical resistance — resistance of Ensinger plastics to chemicals (DIN 50 014, 23/50) Ensinger · 2026-08 · tds
- US 5,278,282 Polymer recycling by selective dissolution — xylene dissolution temperatures Nauman & Lynch, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute · 1994-01 · paper
- Polyvinyl alcohol — KURARAY POVAL application guide Kuraray · 2026-08 · tds
- HIPS — Knowledge Base Prusa Research · 2026-08 · doc