3D Printing InfoFilament comparison
Conductive vs PA11
Compare printing settings, strength, heat resistance, dated prices and sources.
2 selected · all documented properties
| Property | Conductive filamentSPECIALTY | PA11 (Nylon 11)PA |
|---|---|---|
| Market snapshot | ||
| Listing priceUSD/kg; dated snapshots | $170.36/kg median; $89.99–$796.00/kg across 4 dated product listings | $194.98/kg median; $194.98–$194.98/kg across 1 dated product listings |
| Identity & Market | ||
| Base polymer / chemistry | A carbon-filled compound conductive by volume rather than merely dissipative; Proto-pasta's is PLA-based, Recreus's and NinjaTek's are TPU, and add:north's Koltron G1 does not state its base polymer[1][2][3][4] | Polyamide 11, polymerised from castor-oil-derived aminoundecanoic acid — a bio-based nylon[5][6] |
| Densityg/cm³ | Not documented | 1.02 (ISO 1183)[5] |
| Typical priceUSD/kg | 1 kg-equivalent spools span 90–181 for the carbon-filled grades; add:north's Koltron G1 sits far above at 796 because it is sold only in 100 and 250 g coils[7][8][9] | Not documented |
| Price range across brandsUSD/kg | 90–796 across brands; Proto-pasta conductive PLA 90 at 1 kg, Recreus Conductive Filaflex 160 at 500 g, NinjaTek Eel 181 at 1 kg, add:north Koltron G1 796 at 250 g[7][2][8][9] | Not documented |
| Market availability1–5 | Niche, a handful of specialist brands[7][2] | Niche, a handful of specialist brands[6] |
| Spool sizes & diameters | 1.75 and 2.85 mm; 0.05, 0.1, 0.25, 0.5, 1 and 2 kg spools[7][2][8][9] | 1.75 mm; 1 kg spools[6] |
| Typical applications | Capacitive touch surfaces, low-current traces, EMI shielding and static-safe fixtures[1] | Tough, chemically resistant functional parts; Prusa targets it at impact-loaded and vibration-loaded components[6] |
| Diameter tolerance± mm | Not documented | ±0.02 (Prusament)[5] |
| Printing Parameters | ||
| Nozzle temperature°C | Not documented | 275 ± 10 (Prusament)[5] |
| Bed temperature°C | Not documented | 100 ± 10 (Prusament)[5] |
| Enclosure / chamber requirement1–5 | Open frame is fine[1] | Enclosure required (passive) — Prusament specifies a 55 ± 5 °C chamber[5] |
| Recommended chamber temperature°C | Not documented | 55 ± 5 (Prusament)[5] |
| Bed surface & adhesion aid | Not documented | PA nylon sheet (Prusament)[5] |
| Overall printing difficulty1–5 | Intermediate — dry filament and a tuned profile[1] | Advanced — enclosure, hardware upgrades, tuning[5][10] |
| Extruder requirement | Not documented | Prusa printed its test specimens with a high-flow CHT nozzle[5] |
| Hardware Wear & Reliability | ||
| Nozzle hardness required1–4 | Brass acceptable; hardened steel for volume work[1] | Brass fine indefinitely for unfilled grades[10] |
| Abrasiveness1–5 | Moderately abrasive — conductive carbon filler[1] | Non-abrasive when unfilled[10] |
| Nozzle clog risk1–5 | Low — Proto-pasta states the carbon-filled grade prints on standard PLA settings with no special nozzle required[1] | High — jams from moisture, heat creep or particles[11] |
| Moisture Behaviour | ||
| Moisture absorption (hygroscopicity)1–5 | Not documented | High (0.8–2 %) — Prusa measures 0.46 % after 7 days at 22 % RH, but PA11 sits between PA12 and PA6 in the family[5][11] |
| Equilibrium moisture content at ~50 % RH% | Not documented | 0.26 after 24 h and 0.46 after 7 days (Prusa Polymers method)[5] |
| Symptoms when wet | Not documented | Popping and cracking during extrusion, then hard-to-diagnose defects[12] |
| Effect of moisture on strength | Polymaker rates PLA low-sensitivity and publishes no dry-versus-conditioned figures; absorbed water flashes to steam and shows as bubbling and poor layer adhesion[11] | Prusa publishes no dry-versus-conditioned columns; the CoPA reference shows the PA-family response — stiffness and strength fall sharply, impact and elongation rise[12][13] |
| Storage requirement | Not documented | Sealed below 20 % RH with desiccant[11] |
| 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[5] |
| Young's modulusMPa | Not documented | 1200 printed, both orientations, ISO 527-1[5] |
| Elongation at break% | Not documented | 5.6 ± 0.1 at yield, printed, ISO 527-1[5] |
| Flexural modulusMPa | Not documented | 1100 printed horizontal and 1000 printed vertical, ISO 178[5] |
| Charpy impact, notchedkJ/m² | Not documented | 12.9 ± 2.1 printed horizontal and 11.7 ± 1.2 printed vertical, ISO 179-1 notched[5] |
| Layer adhesion / Z tensileMPa | Not documented | 32 ± 1 (Prusa Polymers interlayer adhesion test) — the highest interlayer figure Prusa publishes for any of its filaments[5] |
| Brittleness1–5 | Brittle — snaps with little warning; carbon-black loading at conductive levels embrittles PLA[1] | Tough — absorbs impact, yields before breaking[5] |
| Hardness (scale-specific)Shore A / Shore D / Rockwell | Not documented | 70 Shore D (Prusa Polymers method)[5] |
| Fatigue / repeated-flex resistance1–5 | Not documented | Excellent — living hinges viable[10] |
| Elasticity / flexibility1–5 | Rigid[1] | Semi-flexible[5] |
| 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[5] |
| Thermal Properties | ||
| HDT at 0.45 MPa°C | Not documented | 58.7 (ISO 75, 0.45 MPa)[5] |
| HDT at 1.8 MPa°C | Not documented | 49.9 (ISO 75, 1.8 MPa)[5] |
| Environment & Chemical | ||
| Water / humidity resistance in service1–5 | Not documented | Absorbs water, properties shift[12] |
| Biodegradability / compostability | Not documented | Bio-based — the monomer comes from castor oil[6] |
| Electrical & ESD properties | Conductive rather than dissipative — Proto-pasta sells the grade as electrically conductive composite PLA[1] | Not documented |
| 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[14] |
| 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[14] |
| Ultrafine-particle emission rateparticles/min | Not documented | ≈2 × 10⁸ median — low for ultrafine particles despite the highest VOC mass of any filament tested[14] |
| 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[14] |
| Ventilation / filtration requirement1–5 | Open a window / occasional ventilation[14] | Ventilated room or enclosure recommended[14] |
| Dust & fibre handling hazard | Conductive carbon filler is bound in the matrix; avoid inhaling sanding dust[1] | Not documented |
| Solvents & Solubility | ||
| Soluble in | Chloroform dissolves PLA-based grades, leaving the carbon black; TPU-based grades need DMF, NMP or THF. Laboratory reagents.[15][16] | Dissolved at 23 °C by formic acid, phenol, m-cresol, 96 % sulphuric acid or hexafluoroisopropanol — all laboratory reagents.[17][18] |
| Softened or crazed by | Acetone and ethyl acetate plasticise a PLA-based grade; a TPU-based grade swells in toluene, esters and alcohols.[15][16] | Mineral acids, oxidants, halogens and zinc chloride solutions attack the amide bond; ordinary solvents do not (BASF, PA6/66).[17] |
| Solvent welding & smoothing agent | None — neither PLA nor TPU has a workshop-safe welding or smoothing solvent.[15][16] | None — nylon's only solvents are formic acid, phenol and HFIP, all of which degrade the part they wet.[17] |
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
- Electrically Conductive Composite PLA — product page and technical data Proto-pasta · 2026-08 · tds
- Recreus product catalogue Recreus · 2026-08 · vendor
- Eel 3D Printing Filament Technical Specifications NinjaTek · 2026-08 · tds
- Koltron G1 Technical Data Sheet add:north · 2026-08 · tds
- Prusament PA11 Technical Datasheet v1.0 Prusa Polymers · 2026-07 · tds
- Prusament PA11 — material page Prusa Polymers · 2026-08 · doc
- Proto-pasta product catalogue Proto-pasta · 2026-08 · vendor
- Eel product page — durometer, print guidelines and price NinjaTek · 2026-08 · vendor
- add:north Koltron G1 product page add:north · 2026-08 · vendor
- PA (Nylon) — material basics Polymaker Wiki · 2026-08 · doc
- Wet Filament — signs, causes and drying 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
- Solubility Study of Ingeo Biopolymer Grades in Common Organic Solvents (NWPD003) NatureWorks · 2019-10 · tds
- Elastollan — Chemical properties: swelling and chemical resistance BASF · 2026-08 · tds
- 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