3D Printing InfoFilament comparison
BVOH vs PA12
Compare printing settings, strength, heat resistance, dated prices and sources.
2 selected · all documented properties
| Property | BVOH (soluble support)SUPPORT | PA12 (Nylon 12)PA |
|---|---|---|
| Market snapshot | ||
| Listing priceUSD/kg; dated snapshots | $165.72/kg median; $165.72–$165.72/kg across 1 dated product listings | $64.33/kg median; $36.00–$170.67/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] | Polyamide 12 — the longest-chain common nylon, with the fewest amide groups per unit mass and so the least moisture uptake[2][3] |
| Densityg/cm³ | Not documented | 1.01 specific gravity (Stratasys FDM Nylon 12, ASTM D792)[4] |
| Typical priceUSD/kg | 1 kg-equivalent spools cluster near 166[1] | 1 kg-equivalent spools span 36–171; the middle of the market is about 64[5][6] |
| Price range across brandsUSD/kg | 166 at Fiberlogy's 500 g pricing on 3DJake[1] | 36–171 across brands; IEMAI 3D 36, Fiberlogy 64 at 3DJake, 3DXTech AmideX Nylon 12 171[5][7][6] |
| Market availability1–5 | Niche, a handful of specialist brands[1] | Available from several mainstream brands[5][7] |
| Spool sizes & diameters | 1.75 and 2.85 mm; 0.5 kg spools[1] | 1.75 and 2.85 mm; 750 g and 1 kg spools[7][5] |
| Typical applications | Dissolvable support where PVA dissolves too slowly, and for materials PVA bonds to poorly[1] | Dimensionally stable functional parts, ducting and living hinges where PA6 would move too much with humidity[2][8] |
| Printing Parameters | ||
| Nozzle temperature°C | Not documented | 260–290 (Extrudr DURAPRO PA12)[9] |
| Bed temperature°C | Not documented | 110 (Extrudr DURAPRO PA12)[9] |
| Enclosure / chamber requirement1–5 | Open frame is fine[10] | Enclosure required (passive)[2] |
| Part cooling fan | Not documented | Part cooling fan not required (Simplify3D)[11] |
| Bed surface & adhesion aid | Not documented | PEI sheet with a glue stick, or a dedicated adhesive such as Magigoo[11][2] |
| Maximum volumetric flow (mm³/s; see test conditions)mm³/s | Not documented | 12 at Extrudr's 150 mm/s cap on a 0.4 mm nozzle at 0.2 mm layer[9][12] |
| Bed-adhesion difficulty1–5 | Not documented | Needs a specific surface plus adhesive[11][2] |
| Stringing / oozing tendency1–5 | Not documented | Moderate — retraction tuning needed[2] |
| Overall printing difficulty1–5 | Intermediate — dry filament and a tuned profile[13] | Advanced — enclosure, hardware upgrades, tuning[2] |
| Extruder requirement | A second extruder or a tool changer[10] | Not documented |
| Hardware Wear & Reliability | ||
| Nozzle hardness required1–4 | Brass fine indefinitely[10] | Brass fine indefinitely for unfilled grades[2] |
| Abrasiveness1–5 | Non-abrasive[10] | Non-abrasive when unfilled[2] |
| Nozzle clog risk1–5 | Very high — frequent jams without careful setup[13] | High — jams from moisture, heat creep or particles[8][13] |
| Heat-creep / jam sensitivity1–5 | Not documented | Moderate — good heatbreak cooling needed[11] |
| Hotend requirement | Not documented | May require an all-metal hot end (Simplify3D)[11] |
| Moisture Behaviour | ||
| Moisture absorption (hygroscopicity)1–5 | Very high (>2 %) — the vinyl alcohol backbone is what makes it soluble[13][10] | High (0.8–2 %) — Polymaker's PA12-CF10 reaches 1.5 % equilibrium against 3.33 % for its PA6-GF25, and Polymaker developed the PA12 grade specifically for lower moisture sensitivity[3][8] |
| Drying temperature & time | Not documented | 60–80 °C for 8–12 h (Extrudr DURAPRO PA12); 100 °C for 8 h (Polymaker CoPA)[9][14] |
| Symptoms when wet | Not documented | Popping and cracking during extrusion, then hard-to-diagnose defects[8] |
| Effect of moisture on strength | Not a structural material; no dry-versus-conditioned data is published[13] | Polymaker states its PA12 grade changes little between wet and dry, unlike its PA6-based materials; the CoPA dry-to-wet reference shows what the PA6-type response looks like[8][14] |
| Storage requirement | Sealed with desiccant at all times[13] | Sealed below 20 % RH with desiccant[13] |
| Hydrolysis at melt temperature | Not documented | Polymaker requires a 100 °C dry for 8 h and storage below 20 % RH; no molecular-weight loss figure is published, and the published wet data is conditioning rather than melt hydrolysis[14][15] |
| Mechanical Properties | ||
| Tensile strength (XY)MPa | Not documented | 49.3 at yield and 33.4 at break printed XZ (Stratasys FDM Nylon 12, ASTM D638)[4] |
| Young's modulusMPa | Not documented | 1510 printed XZ and 1250 ZX (Stratasys FDM Nylon 12, ASTM D638)[4] |
| Elongation at break% | Not documented | 30 at break printed XZ against 6.5 in ZX (Stratasys FDM Nylon 12, ASTM D638)[4] |
| Charpy impact, notchedkJ/m² | Not documented | 11 at +23 °C and 6.0 at -30 °C (Extrudr DuraPro PA12, ISO 179/1eA); unnotched does not break[9] |
| Other impact data | Not documented | Izod notched 138 J/m printed XZ against 71.0 J/m in ZX (Stratasys FDM Nylon 12, ASTM D256)[4] |
| Layer adhesion / Z tensileMPa | Not documented | 41.8 at yield and 41.2 at break printed ZX (Stratasys FDM Nylon 12, ASTM D638) — higher than the XZ break figure, because XZ specimens draw and neck first[4] |
| Brittleness1–5 | Not documented | Tough — absorbs impact, yields before breaking[2] |
| Creep resistance / sustained load1–5 | Not documented | Moderate — the long-chain polyamides hold load better than PLA but below PC[2] |
| Fatigue / repeated-flex resistance1–5 | Not documented | Excellent — living hinges viable. Stratasys sells FDM Nylon 12 specifically for repetitive-flex parts such as snap-fit clips and press-fit inserts on the strength of its fatigue properties[2][4] |
| Elasticity / flexibility1–5 | Not documented | Semi-flexible[8] |
| Z strength as % of XY% | Not documented | 85 (Stratasys FDM Nylon 12, ZX against XZ tensile yield, ASTM D638) — one of the least anisotropic unfilled filaments measured[4] |
| Thermal Properties | ||
| HDT at 0.45 MPa°C | Not documented | 94.7 printed XY and 91.9 in XZ/ZX (Stratasys FDM Nylon 12, ASTM D648 at 66 psi)[4] |
| HDT at 1.8 MPa°C | Not documented | 84.3 printed XY and 75.3 in XZ/ZX (Stratasys FDM Nylon 12, ASTM D648 at 264 psi)[4] |
| Glass transition (Tg)°C | Not documented | 34.0 (Stratasys FDM Nylon 12, ASTM D7426 inflection point)[4] |
| Melting point / Vicat°C | Not documented | Vicat A 142 (Extrudr DURAPRO PA12, ISO 306)[9] |
| Continuous service temperature°C | Not documented | Bounded by a Vicat softening point of 142 °C (Extrudr DURAPRO PA12); no loaded-bar service figure is published[9] |
| Thermal expansion (CTE)µm/m·K | Not documented | 84-103 printed (Stratasys FDM Nylon 12, ASTM E831: 84.4 in XY and 85.6 in XZ/ZX over -50 to 10 °C, 89.1 over 10-45 °C, 98.2 over 45-70 °C); Extrudr quotes 100 for DURAPRO PA12 (ISO 11359-2)[9][4] |
| Flammability / UL 94 | Not documented | Flammable; no UL 94 rating published for the unfilled grades surveyed[9] |
| Environment & Chemical | ||
| UV resistance1–5 | Not documented | Months outdoors before embrittlement[2] |
| Chemical resistance | Not documented | Withstands oils, fuels and alkalis[2] |
| Water / humidity resistance in service1–5 | Dissolves or disintegrates — by design[1] | Good — minor absorption; the least moisture-sensitive of the common nylons[8] |
| Food contact | Not documented | Not food-contact certified as filament[2] |
| Biodegradability / compostability | Not documented | Not biodegradable[2] |
| Recyclability | Not documented | Mechanically recyclable but not accepted in household plastic collection[2] |
| Health & Safety | ||
| Fume toxicity1–5 | Low hazard — minimal VOC and particle emission; none of these materials was in the chamber study[16] | Moderate — measurable VOCs and UFPs, ventilation advised[16] |
| 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[16] |
| Ultrafine-particle emission rateparticles/min | Not documented | ≈2 × 10⁸ median — low for ultrafine particles despite the highest VOC mass of any filament tested[16] |
| 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[16] |
| Ventilation / filtration requirement1–5 | Open a window / occasional ventilation[16] | Ventilated room or enclosure recommended[16] |
| Post-Processing | ||
| Sanding & machining | Not documented | Sands poorly — gums rather than powders[11] |
| Gluing & solvent welding | Not documented | Cyanoacrylate; no common solvent welds polyamide[11] |
| Vapour / chemical smoothing | Not documented | No practical vapour smoothing[11] |
| Support material pairing | This is the support material[1] | Polymaker sells a break-away PolySupport matched to PA12[11] |
| Dimensional accuracy & detail | Not documented | Holds dimensions better than PA6 after conditioning — Polymaker singles its PA12 grade out on exactly this point[8] |
| 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.[17][1] | Dissolved at 23 °C by formic acid, phenol, m-cresol, 96 % sulphuric acid or hexafluoroisopropanol — all laboratory reagents.[18][19] |
| Softened or crazed by | Nothing else — a vinyl alcohol copolymer resists organic solvents, so IPA or acetone will not touch it.[20] | Not resistant to 10 % formic acid, phenol, chloroform or dichloromethane (Ensinger); zinc chloride stress-cracks nylon.[19][18] |
| Solvent welding & smoothing agent | None — water is a removal solvent, not a welding one.[17] | None — nylon's only solvents are formic acid, phenol and HFIP, all of which degrade the part they wet.[18] |
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
- PA (Nylon) — material basics Polymaker Wiki · 2026-08 · doc
- Fiberon PA612-CF15 Technical Data Sheet V1.1 Polymaker · 2024-12 · tds
- FDM Nylon 12 — Material Data Sheet Stratasys · 2021-09 · tds
- Nylon PA12 — product listing 3DJake International · 2026-08 · vendor
- IEMAI 3D PA12 3D Printing Filament — store page IEMAI 3D · 2026-08 · vendor
- 3DXTech product catalogue 3DXTech · 2026-08 · vendor
- Moisture Conditioning — effect on printed nylon properties Polymaker Wiki · 2026-08 · doc
- Extrudr Product Catalogue (DURAPRO PA12 data block) Extrudr · 2025-03 · tds
- PolyDissolve S1 Technical Data Sheet V5.4 Polymaker · 2024-11 · tds
- Nylon — Ultimate 3D Printing Materials Guide Simplify3D · 2026-08 · doc
- Max volumetric speed Prusa Knowledge Base · 2026-08 · doc
- Wet Filament — signs, causes and drying Polymaker Wiki · 2026-08 · doc
- PolyMide CoPA Technical Data Sheet V5.4 (dry and wet status blocks) Polymaker · 2024-11 · tds
- PolyMide CoPA — Technical Data Sheet page Polymaker Wiki · 2026-08 · 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