3D Printing InfoFilament comparison
Conductive vs PC-ABS
Compare printing settings, strength, heat resistance, dated prices and sources.
2 selected · all documented properties
| Property | Conductive filamentSPECIALTY | PC/ABS blendPC |
|---|---|---|
| Market snapshot | ||
| Listing priceUSD/kg; dated snapshots | $170.36/kg median; $89.99–$796.00/kg across 4 dated product listings | $45.99/kg median; $34.99–$84.00/kg across 5 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] | Polycarbonate/ABS alloy — PC stiffness and heat resistance with ABS processability[5][6] |
| Densityg/cm³ | Not documented | 1.10 (Polymaker) and 1.24 (3DXTech FR grade), ISO 1183; Stratasys specific gravity 1.10 (ASTM D792)[5][6][7] |
| 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[8][9][10] | 1 kg spools cluster near 50[11][12] |
| 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[8][2][9][10] | 35–84 across brands; Reli3D 35, SUNLU 46, Polymaker 50, 3DXMAX 84[11][12][13][14] |
| Market availability1–5 | Niche, a handful of specialist brands[8][2] | Available from several mainstream brands[11][12] |
| Spool sizes & diameters | 1.75 and 2.85 mm; 0.05, 0.1, 0.25, 0.5, 1 and 2 kg spools[8][2][9][10] | 1.75 and 2.85 mm; 0.5 and 1 kg spools[11][12] |
| Typical applications | Capacitive touch surfaces, low-current traces, EMI shielding and static-safe fixtures[1] | Automotive interior and electronics housings that need PC heat resistance without PC's warping[5] |
| Printing Parameters | ||
| Nozzle temperature°C | Not documented | 250–270 (Polymaker)[5] |
| Bed temperature°C | Not documented | 90–105 (Polymaker)[5] |
| Enclosure / chamber requirement1–5 | Open frame is fine[1] | Enclosure required (passive) — Polymaker specifies a 90–100 °C chamber[5] |
| Recommended chamber temperature°C | Not documented | 90–100 (Polymaker)[5] |
| Part cooling fan | Not documented | Off (Polymaker)[5] |
| Bed surface & adhesion aid | Not documented | PEI with a glue stick or a commercial adhesive[15] |
| Maximum volumetric flow (mm³/s; see test conditions)mm³/s | Not documented | 20 at Polymaker's 250 mm/s cap on a 0.4 mm nozzle at 0.2 mm layer[5][16] |
| Warping tendency1–5 | Not documented | High — enclosure needed for reliable large parts[5][17] |
| Bed-adhesion difficulty1–5 | Not documented | Needs a specific surface plus adhesive[15][18] |
| Stringing / oozing tendency1–5 | Not documented | Moderate — retraction tuning needed; Polymaker flags stringing as a common PC problem[18] |
| Overall printing difficulty1–5 | Intermediate — dry filament and a tuned profile[1] | Advanced — enclosure, hardware upgrades, tuning[5][17] |
| Hardware Wear & Reliability | ||
| Nozzle hardness required1–4 | Brass acceptable; hardened steel for volume work[1] | Brass fine indefinitely[17] |
| Abrasiveness1–5 | Moderately abrasive — conductive carbon filler[1] | Non-abrasive[5] |
| Nozzle clog risk1–5 | Low — Proto-pasta states the carbon-filled grade prints on standard PLA settings with no special nozzle required[1] | Moderate — needs dry filament and a clean nozzle; 3DXTech lists no special nozzle concerns but a 120 °C pre-dry of 4 h or more[19] |
| Heat-creep / jam sensitivity1–5 | Not documented | Slightly sensitive[15] |
| Hotend requirement | Not documented | All-metal hot end required (Simplify3D)[15] |
| Moisture Behaviour | ||
| Moisture absorption (hygroscopicity)1–5 | Not documented | Low (0.1–0.3 %) — the PC matrix takes up 0.15–0.25 % and 3DXTech specifies a 120 °C, 4 h or more pre-dry[20][21][19] |
| Drying temperature & time | Not documented | 75 °C for 6 h (Polymaker)[5] |
| Symptoms when wet | Not documented | Bubbling and popping at the nozzle, stringing and a rough surface[22] |
| 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[22] | No dry-versus-conditioned figures are published. Polymaker calls PC highly hygroscopic and requires a 70–80 °C dry for 6–8 h; run wet, the loss shows as surface defects and poor layer adhesion[18][22] |
| Storage requirement | Not documented | Airtight containers with desiccant to prevent reabsorption[18] |
| Mechanical Properties | ||
| Tensile strength (XY)MPa | Not documented | 39.9 ± 1.0 printed XY, ISO 527 (Polymaker); 3DXTech quotes 60 at break for its FR PC/ABS[5][6] |
| Young's modulusMPa | Not documented | 1835 ± 65 printed XY, ISO 527 (Polymaker); 3DXTech quotes 2250[5][6] |
| Elongation at break% | Not documented | 4.2 ± 0.3 printed XY, ISO 527 (Polymaker); 3DXTech quotes 10 at break[5][6] |
| Flexural strengthMPa | Not documented | 66.3 ± 0.9 printed XY, ISO 178 (Polymaker); 3DXTech quotes 85[5][6] |
| Flexural modulusMPa | Not documented | 2081 ± 106 printed XY, ISO 178 (Polymaker); 3DXTech quotes 2300[5][6] |
| Charpy impact, notchedkJ/m² | Not documented | 25.8 ± 1.3 printed XY, ISO 179, notched (Polymaker) — above both unfilled PC and ABS[5] |
| Other impact data | Not documented | Notched Charpy still 13 ± 2 kJ/m² at −30 °C printed XY (Polymaker, ISO 179-1/1eA), against 1.5 in Z. Stratasys prints Izod notched at 241 J/m XZ against 34.0 J/m ZX, and unnotched 655 against 101 J/m (ASTM D256, F900 T16).[5][7] |
| Layer adhesion / Z tensileMPa | Not documented | 25.9-30.2 at break printed ZX (Stratasys, ASTM D638 on the F900 and Fortus 450mc); 22.9 +/- 1.2 printed Z, ISO 527 (Polymaker)[5][7] |
| 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 | Rockwell 70 (118) — the source does not name the scales and Shore D 79 on extruded unfilled PC stock (ASTM D785, D2240); no figure is published for a PC/ABS filament[23] |
| Creep resistance / sustained load1–5 | Not documented | Good. Room-temperature tensile creep of moulded PC/ABS was still running unbroken at 30 MPa when the experiment was stopped for time; specimens failed within the test window at 39-47 MPa (ASTM D638)[24] |
| Elasticity / flexibility1–5 | Rigid[1] | Rigid[5] |
| Z strength as % of XY% | Not documented | 75-86 (Stratasys ZX against XZ tensile at break, ASTM D638) against 57 (Polymaker, printed Z against XY tensile)[5][7] |
| Thermal Properties | ||
| HDT at 0.45 MPa°C | Not documented | 112 (ISO 75 at 0.45 MPa, Polymaker); Stratasys prints 117.9 in XY and 126.1 in XZ (ASTM D648 Method B at 66 psi), against 125.0 moulded[5][7] |
| HDT at 1.8 MPa°C | Not documented | 106 (ISO 75 at 1.8 MPa, Polymaker); Stratasys prints 107.5 in XY and 112.0 in XZ (ASTM D648 Method B at 264 psi), against 102.9 moulded[5][7] |
| Glass transition (Tg)°C | Not documented | 109 (Polymaker) and 137 (3DXTech FR grade), DSC; Stratasys measures 105.3 (ASTM D7426 inflection point)[5][6][7] |
| Melting point / Vicat°C | Not documented | Amorphous — no melting point; Vicat 135 (Polymaker, ISO 306)[5] |
| Continuous service temperature°C | Not documented | 113 — Prusa publishes this as the temperature resistance of Prusament PC Blend[21] |
| Annealing response | Not documented | 90 °C for 2 h (Polymaker)[5] |
| Thermal expansion (CTE)µm/m·K | Not documented | 59.9 over -50 to 35 °C and 73.0 over -50 to 95 °C (printed XY, ASTM E831)[7] |
| Environment & Chemical | ||
| UV resistance1–5 | Not documented | Degrades within weeks outdoors[18] |
| Chemical resistance | Not documented | Withstands oils, solvents and fuels; Polymaker rates it good against weak acids[18] |
| Food contact | Not documented | Bisphenol-A polycarbonate is not offered as food-contact filament[18] |
| Biodegradability / compostability | Not documented | Not biodegradable[18] |
| Recyclability | Not documented | Mechanically recyclable but not accepted in household plastic collection[18] |
| 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[25] | Moderate — measurable VOCs and UFPs, ventilation advised[25] |
| Ultrafine-particle emission rateparticles/min | Not documented | ≈4 × 10¹⁰ median — the highest ultrafine-particle rate of the nine filaments in the chamber study, above every ABS tested[25] |
| Ventilation / filtration requirement1–5 | Open a window / occasional ventilation[25] | Ventilated room or enclosure recommended[25][17] |
| Dust & fibre handling hazard | Conductive carbon filler is bound in the matrix; avoid inhaling sanding dust[1] | Not documented |
| Post-Processing | ||
| Sanding & machining | Not documented | Sands and machines well; the toughness means it cuts rather than chips[15] |
| Gluing & solvent welding | Not documented | Cyanoacrylate; dichloromethane solvent-welds PC but is a laboratory reagent[15] |
| Vapour / chemical smoothing | Not documented | Acetone attacks the ABS phase, so surface smoothing is partial rather than full[5] |
| Support material pairing | Not documented | Prints its own supports; 3DXTech sells a dedicated PC break-away support[15] |
| Solvents & Solubility | ||
| Soluble in | Chloroform dissolves PLA-based grades, leaving the carbon black; TPU-based grades need DMF, NMP or THF. Laboratory reagents.[26][27] | Dichloromethane and chloroform dissolve the PC phase; acetone, MEK and THF dissolve the ABS phase.[28][29] |
| Softened or crazed by | Acetone and ethyl acetate plasticise a PLA-based grade; a TPU-based grade swells in toluene, esters and alcohols.[26][27] | Petrol, esters, ether and 1 % alkali stress-crack the PC phase; aromatics and esters soften the ABS phase.[28][29] |
| Solvent welding & smoothing agent | None — neither PLA nor TPU has a workshop-safe welding or smoothing solvent.[26][27] | Acetone attacks only the ABS phase, so smoothing is partial; a dichloromethane cement welds the whole section.[5][30] |
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
- Polymaker PC-ABS Technical Data Sheet V5.4 Polymaker · 2024-11 · tds
- Firewire Flame Retardant PC/ABS Technical Data Sheet Rev 3.0 3DXTech · 2026-08 · tds
- PC-ABS — FDM Material Data Sheet Stratasys · 2023-08 · tds
- 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
- Polymaker product catalogue Polymaker · 2026-08 · vendor
- 3DXTech product catalogue 3DXTech · 2026-08 · vendor
- Reli3D PC-ABS Filament, Black, 1000 g spool Reli3D (Amazon US) · 2026-08 · vendor
- SUNLU PC-ABS 3D Printer Filament 1 kg SUNLU · 2026-08 · vendor
- Polycarbonate — Ultimate 3D Printing Materials Guide Simplify3D · 2026-08 · doc
- Max volumetric speed Prusa Knowledge Base · 2026-08 · doc
- ABS / ASA / PC Usage Guide Bambu Lab Wiki · 2026-08 · doc
- PC — material basics Polymaker Wiki · 2026-08 · doc
- 3DXTech 3DXMAX ABS product page 3DXTech · 2026-08 · vendor
- Bambu Filament Technical Data Sheet V2.0 — PC Bambu Lab · 2026-08 · tds
- Prusament PC Blend Technical Datasheet v1.1 Prusa Polymers · 2022-02 · tds
- Wet Filament — signs, causes and drying Polymaker Wiki · 2026-08 · doc
- TECANAT natural (PC) — stock shape properties Ensinger · 2026-08 · tds
- Experimental data for creep and dynamic mechanical properties of polycarbonate and polycarbonate/ABS Data in Brief 42:108264 · 2022-06 · paper
- 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
- Makrolon — The chemical resistance (Makrolon 2800, 6 days at 23 °C and 50 °C) Covestro · 2016-12 · tds
- Chemical resistance — resistance of Ensinger plastics to chemicals (DIN 50 014, 23/50) Ensinger · 2026-08 · tds
- Weld-On 3 Acrylic Plastic Cement — technical data sheet (shipped as dichloromethane) IPS Corporation · 2002-07 · tds