3D Printing InfoFilament comparison
BVOH vs PPS-CF
Compare printing settings, strength, heat resistance, dated prices and sources.
2 selected · all documented properties
| Property | BVOH (soluble support)SUPPORT | Fibre-reinforced PPSHIGHTEMP |
|---|---|---|
| Market snapshot | ||
| Listing priceUSD/kg; dated snapshots | $165.72/kg median; $165.72–$165.72/kg across 1 dated product listings | $139.98/kg median; $119.98–$174.17/kg across 5 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] | Carbon-fibre reinforced PPS — Polymaker's Fiberon grade is nominally 10 wt%[2] |
| Densityg/cm³ | Not documented | 1.29 (Fiberon PPS-CF10) and 1.36 (Fiberon PPS-GF20), ISO 1183[2][3] |
| Typical priceUSD/kg | 1 kg-equivalent spools cluster near 166[1] | 1 kg-equivalent spools span 93–174; the middle of the market is about 140[4][5][6][7] |
| Price range across brandsUSD/kg | 166 at Fiberlogy's 500 g pricing on 3DJake[1] | 93-174 across brands and formats; Polymaker Fiberon PPS-GF20 93 at 3 kg, IEMAI 3D CF-PPS 131 at 750 g, LEHVOSS Luvocom 3F PPS CF 9938 164 at 2.3 kg, Bambu Lab PPS-CF 174 at 750 g[4][5][6][7] |
| Market availability1–5 | Niche, a handful of specialist brands[1] | Available from several mainstream brands[4][5][6] |
| Spool sizes & diameters | 1.75 and 2.85 mm; 0.5 kg spools[1] | 1.75 mm; 0.5 kg spools[4] |
| Typical applications | Dissolvable support where PVA dissolves too slowly, and for materials PVA bonds to poorly[1] | Chemical and automotive parts needing PPS chemistry with structural stiffness[2] |
| Printing Parameters | ||
| Enclosure / chamber requirement1–5 | Open frame is fine[8] | Enclosure required (passive) — Polymaker states its Fiberon PPS-CF10 needs no heated chamber, unlike the unfilled sulfones and PAEKs[2] |
| Overall printing difficulty1–5 | Intermediate — dry filament and a tuned profile[9] | Expert / industrial hardware only[2] |
| Extruder requirement | A second extruder or a tool changer[8] | Not documented |
| Hardware Wear & Reliability | ||
| Nozzle hardness required1–4 | Brass fine indefinitely[8] | Hardened steel required[2] |
| Abrasiveness1–5 | Non-abrasive[8] | Highly abrasive — standard CF composite[2] |
| Nozzle clog risk1–5 | Very high — frequent jams without careful setup[9] | High — jams from moisture, heat creep or particles; Polymaker specifies hardened steel or ruby nozzles for carbon-filled PPS and Prusa lists composites as a higher clogging risk[10][11] |
| Moisture Behaviour | ||
| Moisture absorption (hygroscopicity)1–5 | Very high (>2 %) — the vinyl alcohol backbone is what makes it soluble[9][8] | Low (0.1–0.3 %) — 0.225 % equilibrium for Fiberon PPS-CF10 and 0.11 % for PPS-GF20[2][3] |
| Equilibrium moisture content at ~50 % RH% | Not documented | 0.225 equilibrium (Fiberon PPS-CF10); 0.11 (PPS-GF20)[2][3] |
| Effect of moisture on strength | Not a structural material; no dry-versus-conditioned data is published[9] | No dry-versus-conditioned figures are published; equilibrium uptake is 0.225 % and Polymaker specifies a 100 °C, 10 h dry[2] |
| Storage requirement | Sealed with desiccant at all times[9] | Not documented |
| Mechanical Properties | ||
| Tensile strength (XY)MPa | Not documented | 59.4 ± 1.3 (PPS-CF10) and 64.1 ± 2.1 (PPS-GF20) printed XY, ISO 527[2][3] |
| Young's modulusMPa | Not documented | 5446.7 ± 149.0 (PPS-CF10) and 4552.0 ± 54.6 (PPS-GF20) printed XY, ISO 527[2][3] |
| Elongation at break% | Not documented | 1.4 ± 0.1 (PPS-CF10) and 2.0 ± 0.2 (PPS-GF20) printed XY, ISO 527 — the lowest elongation in the dataset[2][3] |
| Charpy impact, notchedkJ/m² | Not documented | 5.3 ± 0.2 printed XY for PPS-CF10 and 7.3 ± 0.2 for PPS-GF20, ISO 179 notched[2][3] |
| Layer adhesion / Z tensileMPa | Not documented | 32.0 ± 5.1 (PPS-CF10) and 22.9 ± 0.8 (PPS-GF20) printed Z, ISO 527[2][3] |
| Brittleness1–5 | Not documented | Very brittle — cracks or shatters easily; elongation at break 1.4 %[2] |
| Hardness (scale-specific)Shore A / Shore D / Rockwell | Not documented | Rockwell 105 (and R124) on extruded unfilled PPS stock (ASTM D785); no figure is published for a fibre-filled PPS filament[12] |
| Creep resistance / sustained load1–5 | Not documented | Excellent — holds load for years. Ensinger lists high creep resistance for unfilled PPS stock and Spectrum states creep resistance is unchanged under continuous load at high temperature; the fibre raises heat deflection to 252 °C at 0.45 MPa[12][13][2] |
| Elasticity / flexibility1–5 | Not documented | Rigid[2] |
| Z strength as % of XY% | Not documented | 54 (PPS-CF10) and 36 (PPS-GF20), printed[2][3] |
| Thermal Properties | ||
| HDT at 0.45 MPa°C | Not documented | 252.5 (PPS-CF10) and 236.3 (PPS-GF20), printed, ISO 75 at 0.45 MPa[2][3] |
| HDT at 1.8 MPa°C | Not documented | 133 (PPS-CF10) and 125.8 (PPS-GF20), printed, ISO 75 at 1.8 MPa[2][3] |
| Glass transition (Tg)°C | Not documented | 97.7 (PPS-CF10) and 95.0 (PPS-GF20), DSC[2][3] |
| Melting point / Vicat°C | Not documented | 279.7 (PPS-CF10) and 279.6 (PPS-GF20) melting, DSC; Vicat 267.5 and 272.5 (ISO 306)[2][3] |
| Continuous service temperature°C | Not documented | 170 long-term service on extruded PPS stock, converted from 338 °F; no figure published for the carbon-filled grade[12] |
| Environment & Chemical | ||
| Chemical resistance | Not documented | Outstanding — PPS resists essentially all solvents below 200 °C[10] |
| Water / humidity resistance in service1–5 | Dissolves or disintegrates — by design[1] | Not documented |
| Electrical & ESD properties | Not documented | Surface resistivity above 10¹² ohm — insulating (ANSI/ESD S11.11)[2][3] |
| Health & Safety | ||
| Fume toxicity1–5 | Low hazard — minimal VOC and particle emission; none of these materials was in the chamber study[14] | Moderate — measurable VOCs and UFPs, ventilation advised. None of these polymers was in the chamber study, and all are processed far above the temperatures it covered[14] |
| Ventilation / filtration requirement1–5 | Open a window / occasional ventilation[14] | Ventilated room or enclosure recommended[14] |
| Dust & fibre handling hazard | Not documented | Fibre is bound in the matrix; sanding dust should not be inhaled[2] |
| 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.[15][1] | None — PPS does not dissolve in any known solvent below 200 °C.[16][17] |
| Softened or crazed by | Nothing else — a vinyl alcohol copolymer resists organic solvents, so IPA or acetone will not touch it.[18] | Nothing at 23 °C; Ensinger rates it only conditionally resistant to benzene, dichloromethane, toluene and pyridine.[17] |
| Solvent welding & smoothing agent | None — water is a removal solvent, not a welding one.[15] | None — no solvent welds or smooths PPS.[16] |
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
- Fiberon PPS-CF10 Technical Data Sheet V1.1 Polymaker · 2025-07 · tds
- Fiberon PPS-GF20 Technical Data Sheet V1.1 Polymaker · 2025-07 · tds
- Polymaker product catalogue Polymaker · 2026-08 · vendor
- Bambu Lab PPS-CF Black, spool (750 g) 3DJAKE · 2026-08 · vendor
- 3D4Makers product catalogue 3D4Makers · 2026-08 · vendor
- IEMAI 3D CF-PPS 3D Printing Filament — store page IEMAI 3D · 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
- PPS — material basics Polymaker Wiki · 2026-08 · doc
- Composite materials filled with carbon, kevlar or glass Prusa Knowledge Base · 2026-08 · doc
- TECATRON natural (PPS) — stock shape properties Ensinger · 2026-08 · tds
- Spectrum PPS AM230 Technical Data Sheet Spectrum Filaments · 2022-04 · 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
- PPS (Polyphenylene sulfide) — Knowledge Base Prusa Research · 2026-08 · doc
- 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