3D Printing InfoFilament comparison
HIPS vs PMMA
Compare printing settings, strength, heat resistance, dated prices and sources.
2 selected · all documented properties
| Property | HIPSABS | PMMA (acrylic)ENGINEERING |
|---|---|---|
| Market snapshot | ||
| Listing priceUSD/kg; dated snapshots | $29.99/kg median; $27.99–$32.00/kg across 3 dated product listings | $49.99/kg median; $49.99–$49.99/kg across 1 dated product listings |
| Identity & Market | ||
| Base polymer / chemistry | High-impact polystyrene — polystyrene toughened with a butadiene rubber phase[1][2] | Poly(methyl methacrylate) — acrylic, sold for 3D printing as a transparent glass substitute[3] |
| Densityg/cm³ | 1.04 (ISO 1183)[1] | Not documented |
| Typical priceUSD/kg | 1 kg spools cluster near 31[4][5] | 1 kg spools cluster near 50[5] |
| Price range across brandsUSD/kg | 28–32 across brands; YXPOLYER 28, Push Plastic 30, 3DXTech 32[5][4][6] | 50 at Push Plastic's 1 kg listing; 3 kg spools run the same per kilogram[5] |
| Market availability1–5 | Available from several mainstream brands[4][5] | Special order, 1–2 makers worldwide[5] |
| Spool sizes & diameters | 1.75 and 2.85 mm; 1 and 3 kg spools[5][4] | 1.75 and 2.85 mm; 1 and 3 kg spools[5] |
| Typical applications | Break-away and d-limonene-soluble support for ABS and ASA, and a light model material in its own right[2] | Transparent covers and light guides where PC's yellowing or cost rules it out[3] |
| Printing Parameters | ||
| Nozzle temperature°C | 230–245 (Simplify3D)[7] | Not documented |
| Bed temperature°C | 100–115 (Simplify3D)[7] | Not documented |
| Enclosure / chamber requirement1–5 | Enclosure recommended[8] | Not documented |
| Part cooling fan | Part cooling fan not required[7] | Not documented |
| Bed surface & adhesion aid | Glue stick, glass plate, Kapton tape or PET sheets[7] | Not documented |
| Warping tendency1–5 | Moderate — needs adhesion aid or draught shield[8] | Not documented |
| Bed-adhesion difficulty1–5 | Needs a specific surface plus adhesive[7] | Not documented |
| Stringing / oozing tendency1–5 | Slight — HIPS oozes less than ABS[7][9] | Not documented |
| Overall printing difficulty1–5 | Intermediate — dry filament and a tuned profile[8] | Not documented |
| Hardware Wear & Reliability | ||
| Nozzle hardness required1–4 | Brass fine indefinitely[8] | Not documented |
| Abrasiveness1–5 | Non-abrasive[8] | Not documented |
| Nozzle clog risk1–5 | Low — no special hot-end required, no drybox and no hardened nozzle, and 3DXTech states drying is not needed[7][10][2] | Not documented |
| Heat-creep / jam sensitivity1–5 | Slightly sensitive[7] | Not documented |
| Hotend requirement | No special hot-end required[7] | Not documented |
| Moisture Behaviour | ||
| Moisture absorption (hygroscopicity)1–5 | Low (0.1–0.3 %) — Simplify3D lists water resistance as a headline property[7] | Not documented |
| Symptoms when wet | Bubbling and popping at the nozzle, stringing and a rough surface[11] | Not documented |
| Effect of moisture on strength | Polymaker rates ABS moderate-sensitivity and publishes no dry-versus-conditioned figures; absorbed water flashes to steam in the hotend and shows as bubbling and poor layer adhesion[11] | Not documented |
| Storage requirement | Sealed with desiccant; less critical than for the polyamides[11] | Not documented |
| Mechanical Properties | ||
| Tensile strength (XY)MPa | 40 at break (printed XY, ISO 527)[1] | Not documented |
| Young's modulusMPa | 1350 (printed XY, ISO 527) — the lowest modulus of the styrenics here[1] | Not documented |
| Elongation at break% | 18 at break (printed XY, ISO 527)[1] | Not documented |
| Flexural strengthMPa | 70 (printed XY, ISO 178)[1] | Not documented |
| Flexural modulusMPa | 1600 (printed XY, ISO 178)[1] | Not documented |
| Brittleness1–5 | Tough — absorbs impact, yields before breaking[1] | Not documented |
| Creep resistance / sustained load1–5 | Moderate — no printed-HIPS creep test found; Tg of 100 °C keeps room-temperature service far below softening[1][7] | Not documented |
| Fatigue / repeated-flex resistance1–5 | Moderate[1] | Not documented |
| Elasticity / flexibility1–5 | Rigid[1] | Not documented |
| Thermal Properties | ||
| Glass transition (Tg)°C | 100 (DSC)[1] | Not documented |
| Melting point / Vicat°C | Amorphous — no melting point[1] | Not documented |
| Continuous service temperature°C | Bounded by a glass transition of 100 °C; no loaded-bar service figure is published for HIPS[1] | Not documented |
| Flammability / UL 94 | Flammable; no UL 94 rating published[1] | Not documented |
| Environment & Chemical | ||
| UV resistance1–5 | Months outdoors before embrittlement — polystyrene yellows and chalks under UV[12] | Not documented |
| Chemical resistance | Dissolves completely in d-limonene — the basis of its use as a soluble support[2] | Not documented |
| Food contact | Not food safe[12] | Not documented |
| Biodegradability / compostability | Not biodegradable[12] | Not documented |
| Recyclability | Not accepted in household plastic collection[12] | Not documented |
| Electrical & ESD properties | Surface resistance above 10¹³ ohm/sq — insulating (ASTM D257)[1] | Not documented |
| Health & Safety | ||
| Fume toxicity1–5 | High — hazardous VOC such as styrene; enclosure and filtration needed[13] | Not documented |
| VOC emission rateµg/min | 12–113 styrene, the range measured across ABS and the one HIPS filament tested[13] | Not documented |
| Ultrafine-particle emission rateparticles/min | ≈4 × 10⁹ median for the HIPS filament tested, an order of magnitude below ABS but forty times PLA[13] | Not documented |
| Hazardous species emitted | Styrene was the only dominant VOC identified for the HIPS filament tested[13] | Not documented |
| Ventilation / filtration requirement1–5 | Enclosure with carbon and HEPA filtration[13] | Not documented |
| Post-Processing | ||
| Sanding & machining | Sands and paints readily, like ABS[12] | Not documented |
| Gluing & solvent welding | Solvent-welds with d-limonene, and with acetone via its polystyrene backbone[7][2] | Not documented |
| Vapour / chemical smoothing | d-limonene attacks the surface; acetone smoothing is far less effective than on ABS[2][7] | Not documented |
| Support material pairing | Used as the support material itself — dissolves in d-limonene, or breaks away from ABS and ASA[2] | Not documented |
| Solvents & Solubility | ||
| Soluble in | d-limonene, 12–24 h submerged with occasional agitation; acetone also dissolves it, and xylene does so at 23 °C.[14][15][16] | Acetone, MEK, ethyl and butyl acetate, THF, chloroform and carbon tetrachloride dissolve it; the last two are laboratory reagents.[17] |
| Softened or crazed by | Limonene also disrupts layer adhesion in some ABS and ASA grades, so an ABS model can flake apart in the same bath.[18] | Alcohols, aliphatic hydrocarbons, oils and phthalate plasticisers craze it, and the threshold falls as stress rises.[17] |
| Solvent welding & smoothing agent | Limonene welds and lightly etches it; acetone welds through the polystyrene backbone but smooths less well than ABS.[14][18] | Dichloromethane acrylic cement (IPS Weld-On 3): 2–5 min soak, 17.2 MPa lap shear at one week. Controlled carcinogen.[19] |
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
- 3DXMAX HIPS Technical Data Sheet 3DXTech · 2026-08 · tds
- 3DXMAX HIPS — product page 3DXTech · 2026-08 · vendor
- PMMA Filament 1.75mm 1kg — product page Push Plastic · 2026-08 · vendor
- 3DXTech product catalogue 3DXTech · 2026-08 · vendor
- Push Plastic product catalogue Push Plastic · 2026-08 · vendor
- YXPOLYER HIPS product page YXPOLYER · 2026-08 · vendor
- HIPS — Ultimate 3D Printing Materials Guide Simplify3D · 2026-08 · doc
- ABS / ASA / PC Usage Guide Bambu Lab Wiki · 2026-08 · doc
- ABS — Ultimate 3D Printing Materials Guide Simplify3D · 2026-08 · doc
- Filament Material Guide Prusa Knowledge Base · 2026-08 · doc
- Wet Filament — signs, causes and drying Polymaker Wiki · 2026-08 · doc
- ABS — material basics 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
- D-Limonene — FDM post-processing guide Filament2Print · 2026-08 · review
- Chemical resistance — resistance of Ensinger plastics to chemicals (DIN 50 014, 23/50) Ensinger · 2026-08 · tds
- US 5,278,282 Polymer recycling by selective dissolution — xylene dissolution temperatures Nauman & Lynch, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute · 1994-01 · paper
- Chemical resistance of PMMA products Mitsubishi Chemical (Acrypet) · 2026-08 · tds
- HIPS — Knowledge Base Prusa Research · 2026-08 · doc
- Weld-On 3 Acrylic Plastic Cement — technical data sheet (shipped as dichloromethane) IPS Corporation · 2002-07 · tds