3D Printing InfoFilament comparison
BVOH vs PA11
Compare printing settings, strength, heat resistance, dated prices and sources.
2 selected · all documented properties
| Property | BVOH (soluble support)SUPPORT | PA11 (Nylon 11)PA |
|---|---|---|
| Market snapshot | ||
| Listing priceUSD/kg; dated snapshots | $165.72/kg median; $165.72–$165.72/kg across 1 dated product listings | $194.98/kg median; $194.98–$194.98/kg across 1 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] | Polyamide 11, polymerised from castor-oil-derived aminoundecanoic acid — a bio-based nylon[2][3] |
| Densityg/cm³ | Not documented | 1.02 (ISO 1183)[2] |
| Typical priceUSD/kg | 1 kg-equivalent spools cluster near 166[1] | Not documented |
| Price range across brandsUSD/kg | 166 at Fiberlogy's 500 g pricing on 3DJake[1] | Not documented |
| Market availability1–5 | Niche, a handful of specialist brands[1] | Niche, a handful of specialist brands[3] |
| Spool sizes & diameters | 1.75 and 2.85 mm; 0.5 kg spools[1] | 1.75 mm; 1 kg spools[3] |
| Typical applications | Dissolvable support where PVA dissolves too slowly, and for materials PVA bonds to poorly[1] | Tough, chemically resistant functional parts; Prusa targets it at impact-loaded and vibration-loaded components[3] |
| Diameter tolerance± mm | Not documented | ±0.02 (Prusament)[2] |
| Printing Parameters | ||
| Nozzle temperature°C | Not documented | 275 ± 10 (Prusament)[2] |
| Bed temperature°C | Not documented | 100 ± 10 (Prusament)[2] |
| Enclosure / chamber requirement1–5 | Open frame is fine[4] | Enclosure required (passive) — Prusament specifies a 55 ± 5 °C chamber[2] |
| Recommended chamber temperature°C | Not documented | 55 ± 5 (Prusament)[2] |
| Bed surface & adhesion aid | Not documented | PA nylon sheet (Prusament)[2] |
| Overall printing difficulty1–5 | Intermediate — dry filament and a tuned profile[5] | Advanced — enclosure, hardware upgrades, tuning[2][6] |
| Extruder requirement | A second extruder or a tool changer[4] | Prusa printed its test specimens with a high-flow CHT nozzle[2] |
| Hardware Wear & Reliability | ||
| Nozzle hardness required1–4 | Brass fine indefinitely[4] | Brass fine indefinitely for unfilled grades[6] |
| Abrasiveness1–5 | Non-abrasive[4] | Non-abrasive when unfilled[6] |
| Nozzle clog risk1–5 | Very high — frequent jams without careful setup[5] | High — jams from moisture, heat creep or particles[5] |
| Moisture Behaviour | ||
| Moisture absorption (hygroscopicity)1–5 | Very high (>2 %) — the vinyl alcohol backbone is what makes it soluble[5][4] | High (0.8–2 %) — Prusa measures 0.46 % after 7 days at 22 % RH, but PA11 sits between PA12 and PA6 in the family[2][5] |
| Equilibrium moisture content at ~50 % RH% | Not documented | 0.26 after 24 h and 0.46 after 7 days (Prusa Polymers method)[2] |
| Symptoms when wet | Not documented | Popping and cracking during extrusion, then hard-to-diagnose defects[7] |
| Effect of moisture on strength | Not a structural material; no dry-versus-conditioned data is published[5] | Prusa publishes no dry-versus-conditioned columns; the CoPA reference shows the PA-family response — stiffness and strength fall sharply, impact and elongation rise[7][8] |
| Storage requirement | Sealed with desiccant at all times[5] | Sealed below 20 % RH with desiccant[5] |
| Mechanical Properties | ||
| Tensile strength (XY)MPa | Not documented | 38.3 ± 0.8 printed horizontal and 39.5 ± 0.5 printed vertical at yield, ISO 527-1[2] |
| Young's modulusMPa | Not documented | 1200 printed, both orientations, ISO 527-1[2] |
| Elongation at break% | Not documented | 5.6 ± 0.1 at yield, printed, ISO 527-1[2] |
| Flexural modulusMPa | Not documented | 1100 printed horizontal and 1000 printed vertical, ISO 178[2] |
| Charpy impact, notchedkJ/m² | Not documented | 12.9 ± 2.1 printed horizontal and 11.7 ± 1.2 printed vertical, ISO 179-1 notched[2] |
| Layer adhesion / Z tensileMPa | Not documented | 32 ± 1 (Prusa Polymers interlayer adhesion test) — the highest interlayer figure Prusa publishes for any of its filaments[2] |
| Brittleness1–5 | Not documented | Tough — absorbs impact, yields before breaking[2] |
| Hardness (scale-specific)Shore A / Shore D / Rockwell | Not documented | 70 Shore D (Prusa Polymers method)[2] |
| Fatigue / repeated-flex resistance1–5 | Not documented | Excellent — living hinges viable[6] |
| Elasticity / flexibility1–5 | Not documented | Semi-flexible[2] |
| Z strength as % of XY% | Not documented | 84 — Prusa publishes a tensile anisotropy coefficient of 0.84, the ratio of Z to XY tensile strength[2] |
| Thermal Properties | ||
| HDT at 0.45 MPa°C | Not documented | 58.7 (ISO 75, 0.45 MPa)[2] |
| HDT at 1.8 MPa°C | Not documented | 49.9 (ISO 75, 1.8 MPa)[2] |
| Environment & Chemical | ||
| Water / humidity resistance in service1–5 | Dissolves or disintegrates — by design[1] | Absorbs water, properties shift[7] |
| Biodegradability / compostability | Not documented | Bio-based — the monomer comes from castor oil[3] |
| Health & Safety | ||
| Fume toxicity1–5 | Low hazard — minimal VOC and particle emission; none of these materials was in the chamber study[9] | Moderate — measurable VOCs and UFPs, ventilation advised[9] |
| VOC emission rateµg/min | Not documented | Up to 180 caprolactam, the dominant VOC from nylon; total VOC reached nearly 200 µg/min, the highest of the nine filaments tested[9] |
| Ultrafine-particle emission rateparticles/min | Not documented | ≈2 × 10⁸ median — low for ultrafine particles despite the highest VOC mass of any filament tested[9] |
| Hazardous species emitted | Not documented | Caprolactam, at up to 180 µg/min from nylon filament — the largest single-VOC emission rate measured in the study[9] |
| Ventilation / filtration requirement1–5 | Open a window / occasional ventilation[9] | Ventilated room or enclosure recommended[9] |
| Post-Processing | ||
| Support material pairing | This is the support material[1] | Not documented |
| 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.[10][1] | Dissolved at 23 °C by formic acid, phenol, m-cresol, 96 % sulphuric acid or hexafluoroisopropanol — all laboratory reagents.[11][12] |
| Softened or crazed by | Nothing else — a vinyl alcohol copolymer resists organic solvents, so IPA or acetone will not touch it.[13] | Mineral acids, oxidants, halogens and zinc chloride solutions attack the amide bond; ordinary solvents do not (BASF, PA6/66).[11] |
| Solvent welding & smoothing agent | None — water is a removal solvent, not a welding one.[10] | None — nylon's only solvents are formic acid, phenol and HFIP, all of which degrade the part they wet.[11] |
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
- Prusament PA11 Technical Datasheet v1.0 Prusa Polymers · 2026-07 · tds
- Prusament PA11 — material page Prusa Polymers · 2026-08 · doc
- PolyDissolve S1 Technical Data Sheet V5.4 Polymaker · 2024-11 · tds
- Wet Filament — signs, causes and drying Polymaker Wiki · 2026-08 · doc
- PA (Nylon) — material basics Polymaker Wiki · 2026-08 · doc
- Moisture Conditioning — effect on printed nylon properties Polymaker Wiki · 2026-08 · doc
- PolyMide CoPA Technical Data Sheet V5.4 (dry and wet status blocks) Polymaker · 2024-11 · tds
- 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
- Ultramid Nylon Chemical Resistance guide (unmodified PA6 B27E and PA66 A27E) BASF · 2026-08 · tds
- Chemical resistance — resistance of Ensinger plastics to chemicals (DIN 50 014, 23/50) Ensinger · 2026-08 · tds
- Polyvinyl alcohol — KURARAY POVAL application guide Kuraray · 2026-08 · tds