3D Printing InfoFilament comparison
BVOH vs PVB
Compare printing settings, strength, heat resistance, dated prices and sources.
2 selected · all documented properties
| Property | BVOH (soluble support)SUPPORT | PVBSPECIALTY |
|---|---|---|
| Market snapshot | ||
| Listing priceUSD/kg; dated snapshots | $165.72/kg median; $165.72–$165.72/kg across 1 dated product listings | $66.65/kg median; $49.32–$79.98/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] | Polyvinyl butyral — a printable thermoplastic whose surface can be smoothed with isopropyl alcohol instead of a hot solvent[2] |
| Densityg/cm³ | Not documented | 1.10 (Polymaker PolySmooth, ISO 1183); Prusament PVB 1.10[2][3] |
| Typical priceUSD/kg | 1 kg-equivalent spools cluster near 166[1] | 1 kg-equivalent spools cluster near 80[4][5] |
| Price range across brandsUSD/kg | 166 at Fiberlogy's 500 g pricing on 3DJake[1] | 49–102 across brands; Polymaker PolySmooth 49 at 750 g, Prusament PVB 80–102 at 500 g[4][5] |
| 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; 0.5 and 0.75 kg spools[4][5] |
| Typical applications | Dissolvable support where PVA dissolves too slowly, and for materials PVA bonds to poorly[1] | Display models and light guides where a layer-free surface matters more than strength[2] |
| Diameter tolerance± mm | Not documented | +/- 0.03 (Prusament PVB)[3] |
| Printing Parameters | ||
| Nozzle temperature°C | Not documented | 215 +/- 10 (Prusament PVB)[3] |
| Bed temperature°C | Not documented | 75 +/- 5 (Prusament PVB)[3] |
| Enclosure / chamber requirement1–5 | Open frame is fine[6] | Open frame is fine[2] |
| Part cooling fan | Not documented | 100 % part cooling (Prusament PVB)[3] |
| Bed surface & adhesion aid | Not documented | Smooth PEI sheet or satin sheet; Prusa states a brim is not generally necessary[3] |
| Overall printing difficulty1–5 | Intermediate — dry filament and a tuned profile[7] | Easy — minor profile tuning; it prints close to PLA[2] |
| Extruder requirement | A second extruder or a tool changer[6] | Not documented |
| Hardware Wear & Reliability | ||
| Nozzle hardness required1–4 | Brass fine indefinitely[6] | Brass fine indefinitely[2] |
| Abrasiveness1–5 | Non-abrasive[6] | Non-abrasive[2] |
| Nozzle clog risk1–5 | Very high — frequent jams without careful setup[7] | Moderate — needs dry filament and a clean nozzle; Prusa calls PVB very prone to absorbing moisture and requires a 60 °C, 4 h dry before every print[8][7] |
| Moisture Behaviour | ||
| Moisture absorption (hygroscopicity)1–5 | Very high (>2 %) — the vinyl alcohol backbone is what makes it soluble[7][6] | Very high (>2 %) — 2.36 % equilibrium water absorption (Polymaker PolySmooth), above every PLA and PETG grade here[2] |
| Equilibrium moisture content at ~50 % RH% | Not documented | 2.36 equilibrium water absorption (Polymaker PolySmooth); 2.09 for PolyCast; Prusament PVB takes up 0.18 in 24 h and 0.35 in 7 days at 24 °C and 22 % RH[2][9][3] |
| Drying temperature & time | Not documented | Maximum 60 °C for 4-8 h depending on how wet the filament is (Prusament PVB)[3] |
| Effect of moisture on strength | Not a structural material; no dry-versus-conditioned data is published[7] | Polymaker publishes no dry-versus-conditioned figures; at 2.36 % equilibrium uptake the material has to be kept dry to print cleanly[2][7] |
| Storage requirement | Sealed with desiccant at all times[7] | Sealed with desiccant[7] |
| Mechanical Properties | ||
| Tensile strength (XY)MPa | Not documented | 51.8 ± 0.7 printed XY, ISO 527 (PolySmooth); 53.2 ± 1.1 for PolyCast; Prusament PVB gives 50 +/- 5 at yield printed horizontal (ISO 527-1) and 57 +/- 1 on the filament (ISO 527)[2][9][3] |
| Young's modulusMPa | Not documented | 2199 ± 43 printed XY and 2010 ± 69 printed Z, ISO 527 (PolySmooth); Prusament PVB gives 1700 +/- 100 in both print directions (ISO 527-1)[2][3] |
| Elongation at break% | Not documented | 5.7 ± 0.5 printed XY, ISO 527 (PolyCast)[9] |
| Flexural strengthMPa | Not documented | 72 +/- 1 printed horizontal and 73 +/- 3 printed vertical, ISO 178 (Prusament PVB)[3] |
| Flexural modulusMPa | Not documented | 2233 ± 106 printed XY, ISO 178 (PolyCast); Prusament PVB gives 2200 +/- 100 horizontal and 2300 +/- 100 vertical (ISO 178)[9][3] |
| Charpy impact, notchedkJ/m² | Not documented | 7 +/- 1 printed horizontal and 10 +/- 1 printed vertical, ISO 179-1 notched (Prusament PVB)[3] |
| Other impact data | Not documented | Charpy unnotched 55 +/- 7 printed horizontal and 59 +/- 12 printed vertical (Prusament PVB, ISO 179-1)[3] |
| Layer adhesion / Z tensileMPa | Not documented | 26.3 ± 2.1 printed Z, ISO 527 (PolyCast); Prusament PVB gives 49 +/- 5 at yield printed vertical (ISO 527-1) and 9 +/- 1 on Prusa's interlayer adhesion test[9][3] |
| Brittleness1–5 | Not documented | Moderate[2] |
| Hardness (scale-specific)Shore A / Shore D / Rockwell | Not documented | Shore D 77 (Prusa Polymers method)[3] |
| Elasticity / flexibility1–5 | Not documented | Rigid[2] |
| Z strength as % of XY% | Not documented | 98 (Prusament PVB, printed vertical against horizontal tensile yield, ISO 527-1: 49 +/- 5 against 50 +/- 5) — the most isotropic printed material in this dataset[3] |
| Thermal Properties | ||
| HDT at 0.45 MPa°C | Not documented | 68 (PolySmooth) and 67 (PolyCast), ISO 75 at 0.45 MPa; Prusament PVB 63 (ISO 75 at 0.45 MPa)[2][9][3] |
| HDT at 1.8 MPa°C | Not documented | 66 (PolySmooth) and 53 (PolyCast), ISO 75 at 1.8 MPa; Prusament PVB 58 (ISO 75 at 1.8 MPa)[2][9][3] |
| Glass transition (Tg)°C | Not documented | 70 (DSC) for both PolySmooth and PolyCast[2][9] |
| Melting point / Vicat°C | Not documented | Amorphous — no melting point; Vicat 70 (PolySmooth) and 67 (PolyCast), ISO 306[2][9] |
| Environment & Chemical | ||
| Water / humidity resistance in service1–5 | Dissolves or disintegrates — by design[1] | Not documented |
| Health & Safety | ||
| Fume toxicity1–5 | Low hazard — minimal VOC and particle emission; none of these materials was in the chamber study[10] | Low hazard — minimal VOC and particle emission; none of these materials was in the chamber study[10] |
| Ventilation / filtration requirement1–5 | Open a window / occasional ventilation[10] | Open a window / occasional ventilation[10] |
| Post-Processing | ||
| Vapour / chemical smoothing | Not documented | Isopropyl alcohol vapour smoothing is the point of the material — Polymaker markets PolySmooth for hands-free post-processing to a layer-free surface[2] |
| Support material pairing | This is the support material[1] | PolyDissolve S1 is rated for PVB (Polymaker)[6] |
| Dimensional accuracy & detail | Not documented | PolyCast is the investment-casting variant of the same chemistry — it burns out cleanly rather than being smoothed[9] |
| 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.[11][1] | Isopropyl alcohol dissolves it; Prusa describes PVB as soluble only in IPA, and it is not water-soluble.[8] |
| Softened or crazed by | Nothing else — a vinyl alcohol copolymer resists organic solvents, so IPA or acetone will not touch it.[12] | Not documented |
| Solvent welding & smoothing agent | None — water is a removal solvent, not a welding one.[11] | Isopropyl alcohol: brushed or sprayed on for speed, or several hours in IPA vapour for a glass-like surface.[13][8] |
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
- PolySmooth Technical Data Sheet V5.4 Polymaker · 2024-11 · tds
- Prusament PVB Technical Datasheet v1.1 Prusa Polymers · 2022-02 · tds
- Polymaker product catalogue Polymaker · 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
- Prusament PVB — material page Prusa Polymers · 2026-08 · tds
- PolyCast Technical Data Sheet V5.4 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
- Polyvinyl alcohol — KURARAY POVAL application guide Kuraray · 2026-08 · tds
- Improve your 3D prints with chemical smoothing Prusa Research · 2026-08 · doc