3D Printing InfoFilament comparison
Magnetic vs PA11
Compare printing settings, strength, heat resistance, dated prices and sources.
2 selected · all documented properties
| Property | Magnetic filamentSPECIALTY | PA11 (Nylon 11)PA |
|---|---|---|
| Market snapshot | ||
| Listing priceUSD/kg; dated snapshots | $64.99/kg median; $64.99–$64.99/kg across 1 dated product listings | $194.98/kg median; $194.98–$194.98/kg across 1 dated product listings |
| Identity & Market | ||
| Base polymer / chemistry | PLA loaded with ferromagnetic iron powder, so printed parts respond to magnets[1] | Polyamide 11, polymerised from castor-oil-derived aminoundecanoic acid — a bio-based nylon[2][3] |
| Densityg/cm³ | About 1.85 (Proto-pasta manufacturer figure) — 1.5× standard PLA[1] | 1.02 (ISO 1183)[2] |
| Typical priceUSD/kg | 1 kg spools cluster near 65[4] | Not documented |
| Price range across brandsUSD/kg | 64–70 across formats; 1 kg spool 65, 500 g 70, 2 kg 70[4] | Not documented |
| Market availability1–5 | Niche, a handful of specialist brands[4] | Niche, a handful of specialist brands[3] |
| Spool sizes & diameters | 1.75 and 2.85 mm; 0.1, 0.5, 1 and 2 kg spools[4] | 1.75 mm; 1 kg spools[3] |
| Typical applications | Sensor targets, magnetic fixtures, and props that need to stick to a magnet or rust deliberately[1] | Tough, chemically resistant functional parts; Prusa targets it at impact-loaded and vibration-loaded components[3] |
| Diameter tolerance± mm | Not documented | ±0.02 (Prusament)[2] |
| Printing Parameters | ||
| Nozzle temperature°C | 192 (Proto-pasta)[1] | 275 ± 10 (Prusament)[2] |
| Bed temperature°C | 60 (Proto-pasta)[1] | 100 ± 10 (Prusament)[2] |
| Enclosure / chamber requirement1–5 | Open frame is fine[1] | Enclosure required (passive) — Prusament specifies a 55 ± 5 °C chamber[2] |
| Recommended chamber temperature°C | Not documented | 55 ± 5 (Prusament)[2] |
| Bed surface & adhesion aid | Not documented | PA nylon sheet (Prusament)[2] |
| Maximum volumetric flow (mm³/s; see test conditions)mm³/s | 1.6–2.4 at Proto-pasta's 20–30 mm/s on a 0.4 mm nozzle at 0.2 mm layer[1] | Not documented |
| Overall printing difficulty1–5 | Intermediate — dry filament and a tuned profile; slow, and brittle in filament form[1] | Advanced — enclosure, hardware upgrades, tuning[2][5] |
| Extruder requirement | Proto-pasta advises an extrusion width 0.05 mm larger than the nozzle and warns feeding is inconsistent below 0.4 mm and on Bowden machines[1] | Prusa printed its test specimens with a high-flow CHT nozzle[2] |
| Hardware Wear & Reliability | ||
| Nozzle hardness required1–4 | Brass acceptable; hardened steel for volume work[1] | Brass fine indefinitely for unfilled grades[5] |
| Abrasiveness1–5 | Moderately abrasive — metal fill[1] | Non-abrasive when unfilled[5] |
| Nozzle clog risk1–5 | Moderate — needs dry filament and a clean nozzle; Prusa lists metal-filled composites as a higher clogging risk and recommends a 0.6 mm nozzle minimum[6] | High — jams from moisture, heat creep or particles[7] |
| Hotend requirement | Proto-pasta recommends a wear-resistant or larger nozzle for longer service intervals[1] | Not documented |
| 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[2][7] |
| Equilibrium moisture content at ~50 % RH% | Not documented | 0.26 after 24 h and 0.46 after 7 days (Prusa Polymers method)[2] |
| Symptoms when wet | Not documented | Popping and cracking during extrusion, then hard-to-diagnose defects[8] |
| 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[7] | Prusa publishes no dry-versus-conditioned columns; the CoPA reference shows the PA-family response — stiffness and strength fall sharply, impact and elongation rise[8][9] |
| Storage requirement | Not documented | Sealed below 20 % RH with desiccant[7] |
| 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[2] |
| Young's modulusMPa | Not documented | 1200 printed, both orientations, ISO 527-1[2] |
| Elongation at break% | Not documented | 5.6 ± 0.1 at yield, printed, ISO 527-1[2] |
| Flexural modulusMPa | Not documented | 1100 printed horizontal and 1000 printed vertical, ISO 178[2] |
| Charpy impact, notchedkJ/m² | Not documented | 12.9 ± 2.1 printed horizontal and 11.7 ± 1.2 printed vertical, ISO 179-1 notched[2] |
| Layer adhesion / Z tensileMPa | Not documented | 32 ± 1 (Prusa Polymers interlayer adhesion test) — the highest interlayer figure Prusa publishes for any of its filaments[2] |
| Brittleness1–5 | Brittle — Proto-pasta describes the filament as more brittle than standard PLA and needing extra care in handling[1] | Tough — absorbs impact, yields before breaking[2] |
| Hardness (scale-specific)Shore A / Shore D / Rockwell | Not documented | 70 Shore D (Prusa Polymers method)[2] |
| Fatigue / repeated-flex resistance1–5 | Not documented | Excellent — living hinges viable[5] |
| Elasticity / flexibility1–5 | Rigid[1] | Semi-flexible[2] |
| 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[2] |
| Thermal Properties | ||
| HDT at 0.45 MPa°C | Not documented | 58.7 (ISO 75, 0.45 MPa)[2] |
| HDT at 1.8 MPa°C | Not documented | 49.9 (ISO 75, 1.8 MPa)[2] |
| Environment & Chemical | ||
| Outdoor durability | Deliberately rustable — Proto-pasta markets the iron content as oxidising when exposed to moisture[1] | Not documented |
| Water / humidity resistance in service1–5 | Not documented | Absorbs water, properties shift[8] |
| Biodegradability / compostability | Not documented | Bio-based — the monomer comes from castor oil[3] |
| Electrical & ESD properties | Ferromagnetic: Proto-pasta states it responds to magnets and behaves similarly to pure iron[1] | Not documented |
| Health & Safety | ||
| Fume toxicity1–5 | Low hazard — minimal VOC and particle emission; none of these materials was in the chamber study[10] | Moderate — measurable VOCs and UFPs, ventilation advised[10] |
| 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[10] |
| Ultrafine-particle emission rateparticles/min | Not documented | ≈2 × 10⁸ median — low for ultrafine particles despite the highest VOC mass of any filament tested[10] |
| 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[10] |
| Ventilation / filtration requirement1–5 | Open a window / occasional ventilation[10] | Ventilated room or enclosure recommended[10] |
| Post-Processing | ||
| Sanding & machining | Polishing and deliberate rusting are the intended finishes[1] | Not documented |
| Solvents & Solubility | ||
| Soluble in | Chloroform dissolves the PLA matrix and leaves the iron powder behind; laboratory reagent, not workshop stock.[11][1] | Dissolved at 23 °C by formic acid, phenol, m-cresol, 96 % sulphuric acid or hexafluoroisopropanol — all laboratory reagents.[12][13] |
| Softened or crazed by | Acetone and ethyl acetate plasticise the matrix rather than dissolving it; water attacks the exposed iron.[11][1] | Mineral acids, oxidants, halogens and zinc chloride solutions attack the amide bond; ordinary solvents do not (BASF, PA6/66).[12] |
| Solvent welding & smoothing agent | None — PLA has no workshop-safe solvent, and the iron loading blocks the surface flow smoothing needs.[11] | None — nylon's only solvents are formic acid, phenol and HFIP, all of which degrade the part they wet.[12] |
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
- Magnetic Iron PLA — product page and technical data Proto-pasta · 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
- PA (Nylon) — material basics Polymaker Wiki · 2026-08 · doc
- Composite materials with metal or wood particles Prusa Knowledge Base · 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
- 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