3D Printing InfoFilament comparison
Magnetic vs PA12-GF
Compare printing settings, strength, heat resistance, dated prices and sources.
2 selected · all documented properties
| Property | Magnetic filamentSPECIALTY | Glass-fibre PA12 (PA12-GF)PA |
|---|---|---|
| Market snapshot | ||
| Listing priceUSD/kg; dated snapshots | $64.99/kg median; $64.99–$64.99/kg across 1 dated product listings | $130.67/kg median; $46.00–$140.18/kg across 3 dated product listings |
| Identity & Market | ||
| Base polymer / chemistry | PLA loaded with ferromagnetic iron powder, so printed parts respond to magnets[1] | PA12 reinforced with chopped glass fibre — 3DXTech's grade is nominally 30 wt%[2] |
| Densityg/cm³ | About 1.85 (Proto-pasta manufacturer figure) — 1.5× standard PLA[1] | 1.23 (ISO 1183)[2] |
| Typical priceUSD/kg | 1 kg spools cluster near 65[3] | 1 kg-equivalent spools span 46–140; the middle of the market is about 88[4][5][6] |
| Price range across brandsUSD/kg | 64–70 across formats; 1 kg spool 65, 500 g 70, 2 kg 70[3] | 46–140 across brands; IEMAI 3D 46, 3DXTech 131 at 750 g and 130 at 2 kg, PrimaCreator NylonPower Glass Fiber 140 at 500 g[4][5][6] |
| Market availability1–5 | Niche, a handful of specialist brands[3] | Available from several mainstream brands[4][5] |
| Spool sizes & diameters | 1.75 and 2.85 mm; 0.1, 0.5, 1 and 2 kg spools[3] | 1.75 and 2.85 mm; 0.5, 0.75 and 2 kg spools[4][6] |
| Typical applications | Sensor targets, magnetic fixtures, and props that need to stick to a magnet or rust deliberately[1] | Stiff, humidity-stable structural parts — the glass gives the modulus, the PA12 matrix limits the moisture drift[2][7] |
| Printing Parameters | ||
| Nozzle temperature°C | 192 (Proto-pasta)[1] | Not documented |
| Bed temperature°C | 60 (Proto-pasta)[1] | Not documented |
| Enclosure / chamber requirement1–5 | Open frame is fine[1] | Enclosure required (passive)[8] |
| Bed surface & adhesion aid | Not documented | PEI sheet with a glue stick, or a dedicated adhesive such as Magigoo[9][8] |
| 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 |
| Bed-adhesion difficulty1–5 | Not documented | Needs a specific surface plus adhesive[9] |
| Stringing / oozing tendency1–5 | Not documented | Moderate — retraction tuning needed[8] |
| Overall printing difficulty1–5 | Intermediate — dry filament and a tuned profile; slow, and brittle in filament form[1] | Advanced — enclosure, hardware upgrades, tuning[8] |
| 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] | Not documented |
| Hardware Wear & Reliability | ||
| Nozzle hardness required1–4 | Brass acceptable; hardened steel for volume work[1] | Hardened steel required — no nozzle-life figure is published for a PA12-GF30 grade; Polymaker measures about 9 h of brass nozzle life on its comparable fibre-filled nylons[10] |
| Abrasiveness1–5 | Moderately abrasive — metal fill[1] | Highly abrasive — standard GF composite[10] |
| 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[11] | High — jams from moisture, heat creep or particles[12] |
| Heat-creep / jam sensitivity1–5 | Not documented | Moderate — good heatbreak cooling needed[9] |
| Hotend requirement | Proto-pasta recommends a wear-resistant or larger nozzle for longer service intervals[1] | May require an all-metal hot end (Simplify3D)[9] |
| Moisture Behaviour | ||
| Moisture absorption (hygroscopicity)1–5 | Not documented | High (0.8–2 %) — the PA12 matrix takes up far less than PA6, on the evidence of Polymaker's 1.5 % for PA12-CF10 against 3.33 % for PA6-GF25[13][14] |
| 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[12] | Polymaker's PA12 grades change little between wet and dry, unlike PA6; the CoPA dry-to-wet blocks show the PA6-type response[7][15] |
| Storage requirement | Not documented | Sealed below 20 % RH with desiccant[12] |
| Hydrolysis at melt temperature | Not documented | Polymaker specifies an 80–100 °C dry and storage below 20 % RH; no molecular-weight loss figure is published, and the wet data it does publish is conditioning rather than melt hydrolysis[10][15] |
| Mechanical Properties | ||
| Tensile strength (XY)MPa | Not documented | 82 at break (printed XY, ISO 527)[2] |
| Young's modulusMPa | Not documented | 7800 (printed XY, ISO 527)[2] |
| Elongation at break% | Not documented | 4.5 at break (printed XY, ISO 527) — nearly double the 2.4 % of Polymaker's PA6-GF25[2][14] |
| Flexural strengthMPa | Not documented | 94 (printed XY, ISO 178)[2] |
| Flexural modulusMPa | Not documented | 7550 (printed XY, ISO 178)[2] |
| Brittleness1–5 | Brittle — Proto-pasta describes the filament as more brittle than standard PLA and needing extra care in handling[1] | Moderate[2] |
| Hardness (scale-specific)Shore A / Shore D / Rockwell | Not documented | Rockwell M88 / R117 on extruded PA66-GF30 stock (ASTM D785); no figure is published for a glass-fibre PA12 filament[16] |
| Creep resistance / sustained load1–5 | Not documented | Good. Ensinger lists high creep resistance for extruded PA66-GF30 stock, and the PA12 matrix absorbs far less water than PA6, so a PA12-GF part holds load better in a humid environment[16][8] |
| Fatigue / repeated-flex resistance1–5 | Not documented | Good. Ensinger lists high fatigue strength as a headline property of extruded PA66-GF30 stock[16] |
| Elasticity / flexibility1–5 | Rigid[1] | Rigid[2] |
| Thermal Properties | ||
| Thermal expansion (CTE)µm/m·K | Not documented | 48.6 on extruded PA66-GF30 stock (ASTM D696; source states 2.7e-5 in/in/°F) — no figure is published for a glass-fibre PA12 filament[16] |
| Flammability / UL 94 | Not documented | Flammable; no UL 94 rating published for the grades surveyed[10] |
| Environment & Chemical | ||
| UV resistance1–5 | Not documented | Months outdoors before embrittlement — unstabilised polyamide yellows under UV[8] |
| Outdoor durability | Deliberately rustable — Proto-pasta markets the iron content as oxidising when exposed to moisture[1] | Not documented |
| Chemical resistance | Not documented | Withstands oils, fuels and alkalis[8] |
| Water / humidity resistance in service1–5 | Not documented | Good — minor absorption relative to PA6-based composites[7] |
| Food contact | Not documented | Not food-contact certified as filament[8] |
| Biodegradability / compostability | Not documented | Not biodegradable[8] |
| Recyclability | Not documented | Not accepted in household plastic collection[8] |
| Electrical & ESD properties | Ferromagnetic: Proto-pasta states it responds to magnets and behaves similarly to pure iron[1] | Surface resistance above 10¹³ ohm/sq — insulating (ASTM D257)[2] |
| Health & Safety | ||
| Fume toxicity1–5 | Low hazard — minimal VOC and particle emission; none of these materials was in the chamber study[17] | Moderate — measurable VOCs and UFPs, ventilation advised[17] |
| VOC emission rateµg/min | Not documented | Up to 180 caprolactam, the dominant VOC from nylon and the largest single-VOC rate in the study[17] |
| Ultrafine-particle emission rateparticles/min | Not documented | ≈2 × 10⁸ median for nylon — low for particles despite the highest VOC mass measured[17] |
| Hazardous species emitted | Not documented | Caprolactam, at up to 180 µg/min from nylon filament[17] |
| Ventilation / filtration requirement1–5 | Open a window / occasional ventilation[17] | Ventilated room or enclosure recommended[17] |
| Dust & fibre handling hazard | Not documented | Glass fibre is bound in the matrix; avoid inhaling sanding dust[2] |
| Post-Processing | ||
| Sanding & machining | Polishing and deliberate rusting are the intended finishes[1] | Sands poorly — gums rather than powders[9] |
| Gluing & solvent welding | Not documented | Cyanoacrylate; no common solvent welds polyamide[9] |
| Vapour / chemical smoothing | Not documented | No practical vapour smoothing[9] |
| Solvents & Solubility | ||
| Soluble in | Chloroform dissolves the PLA matrix and leaves the iron powder behind; laboratory reagent, not workshop stock.[18][1] | Formic acid, phenol, m-cresol and hexafluoroisopropanol dissolve the matrix at 23 °C, leaving the fibre; laboratory reagents.[19] |
| Softened or crazed by | Acetone and ethyl acetate plasticise the matrix rather than dissolving it; water attacks the exposed iron.[18][1] | Zinc chloride solutions stress-crack the nylon matrix, alcoholic calcium chloride dissolves it, mineral acids attack it.[19] |
| Solvent welding & smoothing agent | None — PLA has no workshop-safe solvent, and the iron loading blocks the surface flow smoothing needs.[18] | None — nylon's only solvents (formic acid, phenol, HFIP) degrade the part, and the fibre blocks surface flow anyway.[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
- Magnetic Iron PLA — product page and technical data Proto-pasta · 2026-08 · tds
- FibreX PA12-GF30 Technical Data Sheet v1.0 3DXTech · 2026-08 · tds
- Proto-pasta product catalogue Proto-pasta · 2026-08 · vendor
- 3DXTech product catalogue 3DXTech · 2026-08 · vendor
- IEMAI 3D GF-PA12 3D Printing Filament — store page IEMAI 3D · 2026-08 · vendor
- PrimaCreator SELECT NylonPower Glass Fiber product page PrimaCreator · 2026-08 · vendor
- Moisture Conditioning — effect on printed nylon properties Polymaker Wiki · 2026-08 · doc
- PA (Nylon) — material basics Polymaker Wiki · 2026-08 · doc
- Nylon — Ultimate 3D Printing Materials Guide Simplify3D · 2026-08 · doc
- Fiberon PA6-CF20 Technical Data Sheet V1.1 Polymaker · 2024-12 · tds
- Composite materials with metal or wood particles Prusa Knowledge Base · 2026-08 · doc
- Wet Filament — signs, causes and drying Polymaker Wiki · 2026-08 · doc
- Fiberon PA12-CF10 Technical Data Sheet V1.1 Polymaker · 2025-02 · tds
- Fiberon PA6-GF25 Technical Data Sheet V1.1 Polymaker · 2024-12 · tds
- PolyMide CoPA Technical Data Sheet V5.4 (dry and wet status blocks) Polymaker · 2024-11 · tds
- TECAMID 66 GF30 black (PA66-GF30) — stock shape properties Ensinger · 2026-08 · 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