3D Printing Info

Filament comparison

HIPS vs POM

Compare printing settings, strength, heat resistance, dated prices and sources.

HIPS guidePOM (acetal) guide

2 selected · all documented properties

Open these two in the interactive comparisonMore HIPS comparisonsMore POM comparisons
HIPS vs POM — documented properties and sources
PropertyHIPSABSPOM (acetal)ENGINEERING
Market snapshot
Listing priceUSD/kg; dated snapshots$29.99/kg median; $27.99–$32.00/kg across 3 dated product listingsNot documented
Identity & Market
Base polymer / chemistryHigh-impact polystyrene — polystyrene toughened with a butadiene rubber phase[1][2]Polyoxymethylene, normally the copolymer POM-C. Apium's filament grade is POM-C with antistatic additives; no unfilled POM filament was found on sale[3][4]
Densityg/cm³1.04 (ISO 1183)[1]1.41 (extruded POM-C stock)[3]
Typical priceUSD/kg1 kg spools cluster near 31[5][6]Not documented
Price range across brandsUSD/kg28–32 across brands; YXPOLYER 28, Push Plastic 30, 3DXTech 32[6][5][7]Not documented
Market availability1–5Available from several mainstream brands[5][6]Special order, 1-2 makers worldwide — Apium sells a POM-C ESD filament through its own shop and states its printers are the only ones able to process POM-C; no POM filament appears in the 3DJAKE or igo3d product sitemaps, at MatterHackers or at Printed Solid[4][8][9][10]
Spool sizes & diameters1.75 and 2.85 mm; 1 and 3 kg spools[6][5]Not documented
Typical applicationsBreak-away and d-limonene-soluble support for ABS and ASA, and a light model material in its own right[2]Gears, bushings, bearings, conveyor and food-machinery parts; Apium markets its POM-C ESD grade for semiconductor insulators, aerospace fasteners and sliding parts[3][4]
Printing Parameters
Nozzle temperature°C230–245 (Simplify3D)[11]Not documented
Bed temperature°C100–115 (Simplify3D)[11]Not documented
Enclosure / chamber requirement1–5Enclosure recommended[12]Not documented
Part cooling fanPart cooling fan not required[11]Not documented
Bed surface & adhesion aidGlue stick, glass plate, Kapton tape or PET sheets[11]Not documented
Warping tendency1–5Moderate — needs adhesion aid or draught shield[12]Not documented
Bed-adhesion difficulty1–5Needs a specific surface plus adhesive[11]Not documented
Stringing / oozing tendency1–5Slight — HIPS oozes less than ABS[11][13]Not documented
Overall printing difficulty1–5Intermediate — dry filament and a tuned profile[12]Not documented
Extruder requirementNot documentedApium states that the adaptive heating system on its industrial machines is what makes POM-C printable, and that no other 3D printer can process it[4]
Hardware Wear & Reliability
Nozzle hardness required1–4Brass fine indefinitely[12]Not documented
Abrasiveness1–5Non-abrasive[12]Not documented
Nozzle clog risk1–5Low — no special hot-end required, no drybox and no hardened nozzle, and 3DXTech states drying is not needed[11][14][2]Not documented
Heat-creep / jam sensitivity1–5Slightly sensitive[11]Not documented
Hotend requirementNo special hot-end required[11]Not documented
Moisture Behaviour
Moisture absorption (hygroscopicity)1–5Low (0.1–0.3 %) — Simplify3D lists water resistance as a headline property[11]Low (0.1-0.3 %) — extruded POM-C stock takes up 0.18 % in 24 h and 0.80 % at saturation (ASTM D570)[3]
Symptoms when wetBubbling and popping at the nozzle, stringing and a rough surface[15]Not documented
Effect of moisture on strengthPolymaker 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[15]Not documented
Storage requirementSealed with desiccant; less critical than for the polyamides[15]Not documented
Mechanical Properties
Tensile strength (XY)MPa40 at break (printed XY, ISO 527)[1]66.9 at break and 64.1 at yield (extruded POM-C stock, ASTM D638; converted from 9700 and 9300 psi)[3]
Young's modulusMPa1350 (printed XY, ISO 527) — the lowest modulus of the styrenics here[1]2275 (extruded POM-C stock, ASTM D638; converted from 330,000 psi)[3]
Elongation at break%18 at break (printed XY, ISO 527)[1]40 at break and 9 at yield (extruded POM-C stock, ASTM D638)[3]
Flexural strengthMPa70 (printed XY, ISO 178)[1]89.6 (extruded POM-C stock, ASTM D790; converted from 13,000 psi)[3]
Flexural modulusMPa1600 (printed XY, ISO 178)[1]2758 (extruded POM-C stock, ASTM D790; converted from 400,000 psi)[3]
Other impact dataNot documentedIzod 53 J/m on extruded POM-C stock, converted from 1.0 ft-lb/in[3]
Brittleness1–5Tough — absorbs impact, yields before breaking[1]Tough — absorbs impact, yields before breaking; extruded stock elongates 40 % before failing. No printed figure is published[3]
Hardness (scale-specific)Shore A / Shore D / RockwellNot documentedRockwell 86 (and R120) — the source names only the R scale on extruded POM-C stock (ASTM D785)[3]
Creep resistance / sustained load1–5Moderate — no printed-HIPS creep test found; Tg of 100 °C keeps room-temperature service far below softening[1][11]Not documented
Fatigue / repeated-flex resistance1–5Moderate[1]Not documented
Elasticity / flexibility1–5Rigid[1]Not documented
Wear resistance & frictionNot documentedWear factor 65e-10 in3*min/(ft*lb*h) and a dynamic coefficient of friction of 0.21 at 40 psi and 50 fpm (ASTM D3702, extruded stock) — the properties that make acetal the default gear and bushing plastic; Apium lists good sliding properties as the reason for its grade[3][4]
Thermal Properties
HDT at 0.45 MPa°CNot documented158 (extruded POM-C stock, ASTM D648 at 66 psi; converted from 316 °F)[3]
HDT at 1.8 MPa°CNot documented110 (extruded POM-C stock, ASTM D648 at 264 psi; converted from 230 °F)[3]
Glass transition (Tg)°C100 (DSC)[1]Not documented
Melting point / Vicat°CAmorphous — no melting point[1]165 melting (extruded POM-C stock; converted from 329 °F)[3]
Continuous service temperature°CBounded by a glass transition of 100 °C; no loaded-bar service figure is published for HIPS[1]91 long term and 141 intermittent (extruded POM-C stock; converted from 195 °F and 285 °F)[3]
Thermal expansion (CTE)µm/m·KNot documented84.6 (extruded POM-C stock, ASTM D696; source states 4.7e-5 in/in/°F)[3]
Flammability / UL 94Flammable; no UL 94 rating published[1]UL 94 HB on extruded POM-C stock[3]
Environment & Chemical
UV resistance1–5Months outdoors before embrittlement — polystyrene yellows and chalks under UV[16]Not documented
Chemical resistanceDissolves completely in d-limonene — the basis of its use as a soluble support[2]Good chemical resistance, particularly to bases; Apium lists resistance to bases as a headline property[3][4]
Water / humidity resistance in service1–5Not documentedGood — minor absorption; 0.80 % water at saturation (ASTM D570, extruded stock)[3]
Food contactNot food safe[16]Not documented
Biodegradability / compostabilityNot biodegradable[16]Not documented
RecyclabilityNot accepted in household plastic collection[16]Not documented
Electrical & ESD propertiesSurface resistance above 10¹³ ohm/sq — insulating (ASTM D257)[1]Volume resistance 1e14 ohm-cm, dielectric strength 500 V/mil and dielectric constant 3.7 at 60 Hz on extruded stock (ASTM D257, D149, D150); Apium's filament grade adds antistatic agents[3][4]
Health & Safety
Fume toxicity1–5High — hazardous VOC such as styrene; enclosure and filtration needed[17]Not documented
VOC emission rateµg/min12–113 styrene, the range measured across ABS and the one HIPS filament tested[17]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[17]Not documented
Hazardous species emittedStyrene was the only dominant VOC identified for the HIPS filament tested[17]Not documented
Ventilation / filtration requirement1–5Enclosure with carbon and HEPA filtration[17]Not documented
Post-Processing
Sanding & machiningSands and paints readily, like ABS[16]Easy to machine — Ensinger lists machinability as a headline property of POM-C stock[3]
Gluing & solvent weldingSolvent-welds with d-limonene, and with acetone via its polystyrene backbone[11][2]Not documented
Vapour / chemical smoothingd-limonene attacks the surface; acetone smoothing is far less effective than on ABS[2][11]Not documented
Support material pairingUsed as the support material itself — dissolves in d-limonene, or breaks away from ABS and ASA[2]Not documented
Solvents & Solubility
Soluble ind-limonene, 12–24 h submerged with occasional agitation; acetone also dissolves it, and xylene does so at 23 °C.[18][19][20]Hexafluoroisopropanol dissolves it at room temperature; NMP and DMF only when hot. Laboratory reagents.[21]
Softened or crazed byLimonene also disrupts layer adhesion in some ABS and ASA grades, so an ABS model can flake apart in the same bath.[22]Acids, oxidants, halogens and hot concentrated zinc chloride attack it; alcohols, ketones and esters do not.[21][19]
Solvent welding & smoothing agentLimonene welds and lightly etches it; acetone welds through the polystyrene backbone but smooths less well than ABS.[18][22]None — no solvent softens POM below its melting point, which is why it is bolted or heat-welded rather than glued.[21]

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

  1. 3DXMAX HIPS Technical Data Sheet 3DXTech · 2026-08 · tds
  2. 3DXMAX HIPS — product page 3DXTech · 2026-08 · vendor
  3. TECAFORM AH natural (POM-C) — stock shape properties Ensinger · 2026-08 · tds
  4. POM-C ESD 3D printing — material page Apium 3D Technologies · 2026-08 · doc
  5. 3DXTech product catalogue 3DXTech · 2026-08 · vendor
  6. Push Plastic product catalogue Push Plastic · 2026-08 · vendor
  7. YXPOLYER HIPS product page YXPOLYER · 2026-08 · vendor
  8. 3DJAKE product catalogue 3DJAKE · 2026-08 · vendor
  9. igo3d product sitemap (17452 product URLs) igo3d · 2026-08 · vendor
  10. Printed Solid product catalogue Printed Solid · 2026-08 · vendor
  11. HIPS — Ultimate 3D Printing Materials Guide Simplify3D · 2026-08 · doc
  12. ABS / ASA / PC Usage Guide Bambu Lab Wiki · 2026-08 · doc
  13. ABS — Ultimate 3D Printing Materials Guide Simplify3D · 2026-08 · doc
  14. Filament Material Guide Prusa Knowledge Base · 2026-08 · doc
  15. Wet Filament — signs, causes and drying Polymaker Wiki · 2026-08 · doc
  16. ABS — material basics Polymaker Wiki · 2026-08 · doc
  17. 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
  18. D-Limonene — FDM post-processing guide Filament2Print · 2026-08 · review
  19. Chemical resistance — resistance of Ensinger plastics to chemicals (DIN 50 014, 23/50) Ensinger · 2026-08 · tds
  20. US 5,278,282 Polymer recycling by selective dissolution — xylene dissolution temperatures Nauman & Lynch, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute · 1994-01 · paper
  21. Resistance of Ultramid, Ultraform and Ultradur to chemicals (TI-KTU/AS-28 e) BASF · 2000-10 · tds
  22. HIPS — Knowledge Base Prusa Research · 2026-08 · doc