3D Printing InfoFilament comparison
HIPS vs PSU
Compare printing settings, strength, heat resistance, dated prices and sources.
2 selected · all documented properties
| Property | HIPSABS | PSUHIGHTEMP |
|---|---|---|
| Market snapshot | ||
| Listing priceUSD/kg; dated snapshots | $29.99/kg median; $27.99–$32.00/kg across 3 dated product listings | $168.00/kg median; $168.00–$168.00/kg across 1 dated product listings |
| Identity & Market | ||
| Base polymer / chemistry | High-impact polystyrene — polystyrene toughened with a butadiene rubber phase[1][2] | Polysulfone — the lowest-temperature and cheapest of the sulfone family[3] |
| Densityg/cm³ | 1.04 (ISO 1183)[1] | 1.24 (ISO 1183)[3] |
| Typical priceUSD/kg | 1 kg spools cluster near 31[4][5] | 1 kg-equivalent spools cluster near 250[4] |
| Price range across brandsUSD/kg | 28–32 across brands; YXPOLYER 28, Push Plastic 30, 3DXTech 32[5][4][6] | 168-250 across formats; 250 g spool $42 (168/kg), 500 g $125 (250/kg) — 3DXTech is the only filament supplier found[4] |
| Market availability1–5 | Available from several mainstream brands[4][5] | Special order, 1–2 makers worldwide[4] |
| Spool sizes & diameters | 1.75 and 2.85 mm; 1 and 3 kg spools[5][4] | 1.75 mm; 250 g and 500 g spools[4] |
| Typical applications | Break-away and d-limonene-soluble support for ABS and ASA, and a light model material in its own right[2] | Transparent high-temperature housings, medical trays and hot-water fittings[3] |
| Printing Parameters | ||
| Nozzle temperature°C | 230–245 (Simplify3D)[7] | Not documented |
| Bed temperature°C | 100–115 (Simplify3D)[7] | 120–140 (3DXTech)[3] |
| Enclosure / chamber requirement1–5 | Enclosure recommended[8] | Actively heated chamber required[9][10] |
| 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][11] | Not documented |
| Overall printing difficulty1–5 | Intermediate — dry filament and a tuned profile[8] | Expert / industrial hardware only[9][10] |
| Hardware Wear & Reliability | ||
| Nozzle hardness required1–4 | Brass fine indefinitely[8] | Brass fine indefinitely for unfilled grades, but brass softens near these nozzle temperatures — hardened or plated hot ends are the norm[9] |
| Abrasiveness1–5 | Non-abrasive[8] | Non-abrasive when unfilled[3] |
| Nozzle clog risk1–5 | Low — no special hot-end required, no drybox and no hardened nozzle, and 3DXTech states drying is not needed[7][12][2] | Moderate — needs dry filament and a clean nozzle; 3DXTech lists no special nozzle concerns but a mandatory 120 °C pre-dry before every print[13] |
| 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 |
| Equilibrium moisture content at ~50 % RH% | Not documented | 0.30 in 24 h on extruded stock (ASTM D570)[14] |
| Symptoms when wet | Bubbling and popping at the nozzle, stringing and a rough surface[15] | 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[15] | No dry-versus-conditioned figures are published; 3DXTech mandates a 120 °C, 4 h pre-dry before every print because trapped water flashes to steam at these nozzle temperatures[13] |
| Storage requirement | Sealed with desiccant; less critical than for the polyamides[15] | Not documented |
| Mechanical Properties | ||
| Tensile strength (XY)MPa | 40 at break (printed XY, ISO 527)[1] | 52 (printed XY, ISO 527, 3DXTech); 81 at break on extruded stock (ASTM D638)[3][14] |
| Young's modulusMPa | 1350 (printed XY, ISO 527) — the lowest modulus of the styrenics here[1] | 2100 (printed XY, ISO 527)[3] |
| Elongation at break% | 18 at break (printed XY, ISO 527)[1] | 8 (printed XY, ISO 527) against 50 on extruded stock — nearly three times PPSU's printed 3 %[3][16][14] |
| Flexural strengthMPa | 70 (printed XY, ISO 178)[1] | 87 (printed XY, ISO 178)[3] |
| Flexural modulusMPa | 1600 (printed XY, ISO 178)[1] | 2050 (printed XY, ISO 178)[3] |
| Other impact data | Not documented | Izod notched 69 J/m on extruded PSU stock, converted from 1.3 ft-lb/in (ASTM D256)[14] |
| Brittleness1–5 | Tough — absorbs impact, yields before breaking[1] | Moderate[3] |
| Hardness (scale-specific)Shore A / Shore D / Rockwell | Not documented | Rockwell M120 on extruded PSU stock (ASTM D785)[14] |
| 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] | Good. Ensinger lists high creep resistance as a headline property of extruded PSU stock, which is rated to 173 °C heat deflection at 1.8 MPa[14] |
| Fatigue / repeated-flex resistance1–5 | Moderate[1] | Not documented |
| Elasticity / flexibility1–5 | Rigid[1] | Rigid[3] |
| Thermal Properties | ||
| HDT at 0.45 MPa°C | Not documented | 172 (printed XY, ISO 75 at 0.45 MPa, 3DXTech); 181 on extruded stock, converted from 358 °F at 66 psi[3][14] |
| HDT at 1.8 MPa°C | Not documented | 174 on extruded PSU stock, converted from 345 °F at 264 psi (ASTM D648)[14] |
| Glass transition (Tg)°C | 100 (DSC)[1] | 187 (DSC, 3DXTech) and 185 on extruded stock (ASTM D3418), against 230 for PPSU[3][16][14] |
| 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] | 141 long-term service on extruded PSU stock, converted from 285 °F[14] |
| Thermal expansion (CTE)µm/m·K | Not documented | 55.8 (extruded PSU stock, ASTM D696; source states 3.1e-5 in/in/°F)[14] |
| Flammability / UL 94 | Flammable; no UL 94 rating published[1] | UL 94 V-0 on extruded PSU stock[14] |
| Environment & Chemical | ||
| UV resistance1–5 | Months outdoors before embrittlement — polystyrene yellows and chalks under UV[17] | 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[17] | Not documented |
| Biodegradability / compostability | Not biodegradable[17] | Not documented |
| Recyclability | Not accepted in household plastic collection[17] | Not documented |
| Electrical & ESD properties | Surface resistance above 10¹³ ohm/sq — insulating (ASTM D257)[1] | Surface resistance above 10¹³ ohm/sq — an insulator (IEC 60093)[3] |
| Health & Safety | ||
| Fume toxicity1–5 | High — hazardous VOC such as styrene; enclosure and filtration needed[18] | Moderate — measurable VOCs and UFPs, ventilation advised. None of these polymers was in the chamber study, and all are processed far above the temperatures it covered[18] |
| VOC emission rateµg/min | 12–113 styrene, the range measured across ABS and the one HIPS filament tested[18] | 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[18] | Not documented |
| Hazardous species emitted | Styrene was the only dominant VOC identified for the HIPS filament tested[18] | Not documented |
| Ventilation / filtration requirement1–5 | Enclosure with carbon and HEPA filtration[18] | Ventilated room or enclosure recommended[18] |
| Post-Processing | ||
| Sanding & machining | Sands and paints readily, like ABS[17] | 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.[19][20][21] | Chlorinated hydrocarbons — dichloromethane, chloroform — dissolve polysulfone; ketones and esters attack it as well.[22][20] |
| 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.[23] | Acetone, MEK, ethyl acetate, benzene and toluene craze or stress-crack it; methanol and isopropanol only marginally.[20][22] |
| Solvent welding & smoothing agent | Limonene welds and lightly etches it; acetone welds through the polystyrene backbone but smooths less well than ABS.[19][23] | Dichloromethane cement welds PSU and NMP softens residual resin. Both are laboratory reagents.[22] |
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
- ThermaX PSU Technical Data Sheet v3 3DXTech · 2026-08 · tds
- 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
- Prusament PEI 1010 Technical Datasheet v1.0 Prusa Polymers · 2024-09 · tds
- Prusament PEI 1010 — material page Prusa Polymers · 2026-08 · doc
- ABS — Ultimate 3D Printing Materials Guide Simplify3D · 2026-08 · doc
- Filament Material Guide Prusa Knowledge Base · 2026-08 · doc
- THERMAX PSU — product page (print recommendations) 3DXTech · 2026-08 · doc
- TECASON S natural (PSU) — stock shape properties Ensinger · 2026-08 · tds
- Wet Filament — signs, causes and drying Polymaker Wiki · 2026-08 · doc
- ThermaX PPSU Technical Data Sheet v3 3DXTech · 2026-08 · tds
- 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
- Radel PPSU, Veradel PESU, Acudel modified PPSU Design Guide — environmental stress cracking tables Solvay Specialty Polymers · 2026-08 · tds
- HIPS — Knowledge Base Prusa Research · 2026-08 · doc