3D Printing InfoFilament comparison
BVOH vs POM
Compare printing settings, strength, heat resistance, dated prices and sources.
2 selected · all documented properties
| Property | BVOH (soluble support)SUPPORT | POM (acetal)ENGINEERING |
|---|---|---|
| Market snapshot | ||
| Listing priceUSD/kg; dated snapshots | $165.72/kg median; $165.72–$165.72/kg across 1 dated product listings | Not documented |
| Identity & Market | ||
| Base polymer / chemistry | Butenediol vinyl alcohol copolymer — a vinyl alcohol copolymer that dissolves faster and in cooler water than straight PVA[1] | Polyoxymethylene, normally the copolymer POM-C. Apium's filament grade is POM-C with antistatic additives; no unfilled POM filament was found on sale[2][3] |
| Densityg/cm³ | Not documented | 1.41 (extruded POM-C stock)[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] | Special order, 1-2 makers worldwide — Apium sells a POM-C ESD filament through its own shop and states its printers are the only ones able to process POM-C; no POM filament appears in the 3DJAKE or igo3d product sitemaps, at MatterHackers or at Printed Solid[3][4][5][6] |
| Spool sizes & diameters | 1.75 and 2.85 mm; 0.5 kg spools[1] | Not documented |
| Typical applications | Dissolvable support where PVA dissolves too slowly, and for materials PVA bonds to poorly[1] | Gears, bushings, bearings, conveyor and food-machinery parts; Apium markets its POM-C ESD grade for semiconductor insulators, aerospace fasteners and sliding parts[2][3] |
| Printing Parameters | ||
| Enclosure / chamber requirement1–5 | Open frame is fine[7] | Not documented |
| Overall printing difficulty1–5 | Intermediate — dry filament and a tuned profile[8] | Not documented |
| Extruder requirement | A second extruder or a tool changer[7] | Apium states that the adaptive heating system on its industrial machines is what makes POM-C printable, and that no other 3D printer can process it[3] |
| Hardware Wear & Reliability | ||
| Nozzle hardness required1–4 | Brass fine indefinitely[7] | Not documented |
| Abrasiveness1–5 | Non-abrasive[7] | Not documented |
| Nozzle clog risk1–5 | Very high — frequent jams without careful setup[8] | Not documented |
| Moisture Behaviour | ||
| Moisture absorption (hygroscopicity)1–5 | Very high (>2 %) — the vinyl alcohol backbone is what makes it soluble[8][7] | Low (0.1-0.3 %) — extruded POM-C stock takes up 0.18 % in 24 h and 0.80 % at saturation (ASTM D570)[2] |
| Effect of moisture on strength | Not a structural material; no dry-versus-conditioned data is published[8] | Not documented |
| Storage requirement | Sealed with desiccant at all times[8] | Not documented |
| Mechanical Properties | ||
| Tensile strength (XY)MPa | Not documented | 66.9 at break and 64.1 at yield (extruded POM-C stock, ASTM D638; converted from 9700 and 9300 psi)[2] |
| Young's modulusMPa | Not documented | 2275 (extruded POM-C stock, ASTM D638; converted from 330,000 psi)[2] |
| Elongation at break% | Not documented | 40 at break and 9 at yield (extruded POM-C stock, ASTM D638)[2] |
| Flexural strengthMPa | Not documented | 89.6 (extruded POM-C stock, ASTM D790; converted from 13,000 psi)[2] |
| Flexural modulusMPa | Not documented | 2758 (extruded POM-C stock, ASTM D790; converted from 400,000 psi)[2] |
| Other impact data | Not documented | Izod 53 J/m on extruded POM-C stock, converted from 1.0 ft-lb/in[2] |
| Brittleness1–5 | Not documented | Tough — absorbs impact, yields before breaking; extruded stock elongates 40 % before failing. No printed figure is published[2] |
| Hardness (scale-specific)Shore A / Shore D / Rockwell | Not documented | Rockwell 86 (and R120) — the source names only the R scale on extruded POM-C stock (ASTM D785)[2] |
| Wear resistance & friction | Not documented | Wear factor 65e-10 in3*min/(ft*lb*h) and a dynamic coefficient of friction of 0.21 at 40 psi and 50 fpm (ASTM D3702, extruded stock) — the properties that make acetal the default gear and bushing plastic; Apium lists good sliding properties as the reason for its grade[2][3] |
| Thermal Properties | ||
| HDT at 0.45 MPa°C | Not documented | 158 (extruded POM-C stock, ASTM D648 at 66 psi; converted from 316 °F)[2] |
| HDT at 1.8 MPa°C | Not documented | 110 (extruded POM-C stock, ASTM D648 at 264 psi; converted from 230 °F)[2] |
| Melting point / Vicat°C | Not documented | 165 melting (extruded POM-C stock; converted from 329 °F)[2] |
| Continuous service temperature°C | Not documented | 91 long term and 141 intermittent (extruded POM-C stock; converted from 195 °F and 285 °F)[2] |
| Thermal expansion (CTE)µm/m·K | Not documented | 84.6 (extruded POM-C stock, ASTM D696; source states 4.7e-5 in/in/°F)[2] |
| Flammability / UL 94 | Not documented | UL 94 HB on extruded POM-C stock[2] |
| Environment & Chemical | ||
| Chemical resistance | Not documented | Good chemical resistance, particularly to bases; Apium lists resistance to bases as a headline property[2][3] |
| Water / humidity resistance in service1–5 | Dissolves or disintegrates — by design[1] | Good — minor absorption; 0.80 % water at saturation (ASTM D570, extruded stock)[2] |
| Electrical & ESD properties | Not documented | Volume resistance 1e14 ohm-cm, dielectric strength 500 V/mil and dielectric constant 3.7 at 60 Hz on extruded stock (ASTM D257, D149, D150); Apium's filament grade adds antistatic agents[2][3] |
| Health & Safety | ||
| Fume toxicity1–5 | Low hazard — minimal VOC and particle emission; none of these materials was in the chamber study[9] | Not documented |
| Ventilation / filtration requirement1–5 | Open a window / occasional ventilation[9] | Not documented |
| Post-Processing | ||
| Sanding & machining | Not documented | Easy to machine — Ensinger lists machinability as a headline property of POM-C stock[2] |
| 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] | Hexafluoroisopropanol dissolves it at room temperature; NMP and DMF only when hot. Laboratory reagents.[11] |
| Softened or crazed by | Nothing else — a vinyl alcohol copolymer resists organic solvents, so IPA or acetone will not touch it.[12] | Acids, oxidants, halogens and hot concentrated zinc chloride attack it; alcohols, ketones and esters do not.[11][13] |
| Solvent welding & smoothing agent | None — water is a removal solvent, not a welding one.[10] | None — no solvent softens POM below its melting point, which is why it is bolted or heat-welded rather than glued.[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
- TECAFORM AH natural (POM-C) — stock shape properties Ensinger · 2026-08 · tds
- POM-C ESD 3D printing — material page Apium 3D Technologies · 2026-08 · doc
- 3DJAKE product catalogue 3DJAKE · 2026-08 · vendor
- igo3d product sitemap (17452 product URLs) igo3d · 2026-08 · vendor
- Printed Solid product catalogue Printed Solid · 2026-08 · vendor
- PolyDissolve S1 Technical Data Sheet V5.4 Polymaker · 2024-11 · tds
- Wet Filament — signs, causes and drying 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
- Resistance of Ultramid, Ultraform and Ultradur to chemicals (TI-KTU/AS-28 e) BASF · 2000-10 · tds
- Polyvinyl alcohol — KURARAY POVAL application guide Kuraray · 2026-08 · tds
- Chemical resistance — resistance of Ensinger plastics to chemicals (DIN 50 014, 23/50) Ensinger · 2026-08 · tds