3D Printing InfoFilament comparison
Magnetic vs PC-ESD
Compare printing settings, strength, heat resistance, dated prices and sources.
2 selected · all documented properties
| Property | Magnetic filamentSPECIALTY | ESD-safe PCPC |
|---|---|---|
| Market snapshot | ||
| Listing priceUSD/kg; dated snapshots | $64.99/kg median; $64.99–$64.99/kg across 1 dated product listings | $180.00/kg median; $180.00–$180.00/kg across 1 dated product listings |
| Identity & Market | ||
| Base polymer / chemistry | PLA loaded with ferromagnetic iron powder, so printed parts respond to magnets[1] | Polycarbonate compounded with a conductive filler for static-dissipative parts[2] |
| Densityg/cm³ | About 1.85 (Proto-pasta manufacturer figure) — 1.5× standard PLA[1] | 1.24 (ISO 1183, 3DXTech); Stratasys specific gravity 1.195 (ASTM D792)[2][3] |
| Typical priceUSD/kg | 1 kg spools cluster near 65[4] | 1 kg-equivalent spools cluster near 180[5] |
| Price range across brandsUSD/kg | 64–70 across formats; 1 kg spool 65, 500 g 70, 2 kg 70[4] | 180 at 3DXTech's 750 g pricing — the most expensive material in this group[5] |
| Market availability1–5 | Niche, a handful of specialist brands[4] | Special order, 1–2 makers worldwide[5] |
| Spool sizes & diameters | 1.75 and 2.85 mm; 0.1, 0.5, 1 and 2 kg spools[4] | 1.75 and 2.85 mm; 750 g spools plus Stratasys-compatible cartridges[5] |
| Typical applications | Sensor targets, magnetic fixtures, and props that need to stick to a magnet or rust deliberately[1] | Electronics fixtures and trays that need PC heat resistance and static dissipation together[2] |
| 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)[6][7] |
| Bed surface & adhesion aid | Not documented | PEI with a glue stick or a commercial adhesive[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 |
| Warping tendency1–5 | Not documented | Severe — heated chamber needed[6][7] |
| Bed-adhesion difficulty1–5 | Not documented | Needs a specific surface plus adhesive[8][9] |
| Stringing / oozing tendency1–5 | Not documented | Moderate — retraction tuning needed; Polymaker flags stringing as a common PC problem[9] |
| Overall printing difficulty1–5 | Intermediate — dry filament and a tuned profile; slow, and brittle in filament form[1] | Advanced — enclosure, hardware upgrades, tuning[6] |
| 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[2] |
| Abrasiveness1–5 | Moderately abrasive — metal fill[1] | Moderately abrasive — conductive carbon filler[2] |
| 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[10] | Moderate — needs dry filament and a clean nozzle; 3DXTech lists no special nozzle concerns but a 120 °C pre-dry[11] |
| Heat-creep / jam sensitivity1–5 | Not documented | Slightly sensitive[8] |
| Hotend requirement | Proto-pasta recommends a wear-resistant or larger nozzle for longer service intervals[1] | All-metal hot end required (Simplify3D)[8] |
| Moisture Behaviour | ||
| Moisture absorption (hygroscopicity)1–5 | Not documented | Low (0.1–0.3 %) — the PC matrix takes up 0.15–0.25 % and 3DXTech specifies a 120 °C, 4 h pre-dry[12][13][11] |
| Symptoms when wet | Not documented | Bubbling and popping at the nozzle, stringing and a rough surface[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[14] | No dry-versus-conditioned figures are published. Polymaker calls PC highly hygroscopic and requires a 70–80 °C dry for 6–8 h; run wet, the loss shows as surface defects and poor layer adhesion[9][14] |
| Storage requirement | Not documented | Airtight containers with desiccant to prevent reabsorption[9] |
| Mechanical Properties | ||
| Tensile strength (XY)MPa | Not documented | 68 at break (printed XY, ISO 527, 3DXTech) — above the 58 of 3DXTech's unfilled ezPC; Stratasys prints 47.6-49.4 at yield in XZ (ASTM D638)[2][15][3] |
| Young's modulusMPa | Not documented | 2300 (printed XY, ISO 527); Stratasys prints 1960 in XZ and 1810-1910 in ZX (ASTM D638)[2][3] |
| Elongation at break% | Not documented | 6 at break (printed XY, ISO 527), against 14 for the unfilled grade[2][15] |
| Flexural strengthMPa | Not documented | 95 (printed XY, ISO 178); Stratasys prints 82.6-83.2 at break in XZ against 46.3-49.5 in ZX (ASTM D790)[2][3] |
| Flexural modulusMPa | Not documented | 2310 (printed XY, ISO 178)[2] |
| Layer adhesion / Z tensileMPa | Not documented | 32.5-37.9 at yield printed ZX (Stratasys, ASTM D638 on the Fortus 450mc and F900)[3] |
| 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 70 (118) — the source does not name the scales and Shore D 79 on extruded unfilled PC stock (ASTM D785, D2240); no figure is published for an ESD grade[16] |
| Creep resistance / sustained load1–5 | Not documented | Excellent — holds load for years. Moulded unfilled PC was still running unbroken under 41 MPa tensile creep at room temperature when the test was stopped, and the conductive filler leaves the glass transition unchanged at 142 °C, so the creep mechanism is polycarbonate's[17][3] |
| Elasticity / flexibility1–5 | Rigid[1] | Rigid[2] |
| Z strength as % of XY% | Not documented | 68-77 (Stratasys ZX against XZ tensile yield, ASTM D638)[3] |
| Thermal Properties | ||
| HDT at 0.45 MPa°C | Not documented | 143-146 printed in XY, XZ and ZX (Stratasys, ASTM D648 Method B at 66 psi); 135 moulded[3] |
| HDT at 1.8 MPa°C | Not documented | 140-144 printed in XY, XZ and ZX (Stratasys, ASTM D648 Method B at 264 psi); 124 moulded[3] |
| Glass transition (Tg)°C | Not documented | 143 (DSC, 3DXTech) and 142 (Stratasys, ASTM D7426)[2][3] |
| Continuous service temperature°C | Not documented | 113 — Prusa publishes this as the temperature resistance of Prusament PC Blend[13] |
| Thermal expansion (CTE)µm/m·K | Not documented | 68.4 on extruded unfilled PC stock (ASTM D696; source states 3.8e-5 in/in/°F); no figure is published for a conductive-filled grade[16] |
| Environment & Chemical | ||
| 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, solvents and fuels; Polymaker rates it good against weak acids[9] |
| Food contact | Not documented | Bisphenol-A polycarbonate is not offered as food-contact filament[9] |
| Biodegradability / compostability | Not documented | Not biodegradable[9] |
| Recyclability | Not documented | Mechanically recyclable but not accepted in household plastic collection[9] |
| Electrical & ESD properties | Ferromagnetic: Proto-pasta states it responds to magnets and behaves similarly to pure iron[1] | Surface resistance 10⁷–10⁹ ohm/sq, the static-dissipative band (ASTM D257), against above 10¹³ for unfilled ezPC[2][15] |
| Health & Safety | ||
| Fume toxicity1–5 | Low hazard — minimal VOC and particle emission; none of these materials was in the chamber study[18] | Moderate — measurable VOCs and UFPs, ventilation advised[18] |
| Ultrafine-particle emission rateparticles/min | Not documented | ≈4 × 10¹⁰ median — the highest ultrafine-particle rate of the nine filaments in the chamber study, above every ABS tested[18] |
| Ventilation / filtration requirement1–5 | Open a window / occasional ventilation[18] | Ventilated room or enclosure recommended[18][6] |
| Dust & fibre handling hazard | Not documented | Conductive carbon filler is bound in the matrix; avoid inhaling sanding dust[2] |
| Post-Processing | ||
| Sanding & machining | Polishing and deliberate rusting are the intended finishes[1] | Sands and machines well; the toughness means it cuts rather than chips[8] |
| Gluing & solvent welding | Not documented | Cyanoacrylate; dichloromethane solvent-welds PC but is a laboratory reagent[8] |
| Vapour / chemical smoothing | Not documented | No practical vapour smoothing[8] |
| Support material pairing | Not documented | Prints its own supports; 3DXTech sells a dedicated PC break-away support[8] |
| Solvents & Solubility | ||
| Soluble in | Chloroform dissolves the PLA matrix and leaves the iron powder behind; laboratory reagent, not workshop stock.[19][1] | Dichloromethane, chloroform, DMF and dioxane dissolve it outright (Covestro, 6 days at 23 °C). Laboratory reagents.[20] |
| Softened or crazed by | Acetone and ethyl acetate plasticise the matrix rather than dissolving it; water attacks the exposed iron.[19][1] | Methanol, butyl acetate, ether, 1 % NaOH and phthalate plasticisers stress-crack it; acetone, MEK and xylene swell it.[20] |
| Solvent welding & smoothing agent | None — PLA has no workshop-safe solvent, and the iron loading blocks the surface flow smoothing needs.[19] | Dichloromethane cement welds PC — 16.5 MPa lap shear at one week (IPS Weld-On 3). A controlled carcinogen.[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
- Magnetic Iron PLA — product page and technical data Proto-pasta · 2026-08 · tds
- 3DXSTAT ESD-PC Technical Data Sheet 3DXTech · 2026-08 · tds
- PC-ESD — FDM Material Data Sheet Stratasys · 2024-10 · tds
- Proto-pasta product catalogue Proto-pasta · 2026-08 · vendor
- 3DXTech product catalogue 3DXTech · 2026-08 · vendor
- ABS / ASA / PC Usage Guide Bambu Lab Wiki · 2026-08 · doc
- PolyLite PC Technical Data Sheet V5.4 Polymaker · 2024-11 · tds
- Polycarbonate — Ultimate 3D Printing Materials Guide Simplify3D · 2026-08 · doc
- PC — material basics Polymaker Wiki · 2026-08 · doc
- Composite materials with metal or wood particles Prusa Knowledge Base · 2026-08 · doc
- 3DXSTAT ESD-PC — product page (print recommendations) 3DXTech · 2026-08 · doc
- Bambu Filament Technical Data Sheet V2.0 — PC Bambu Lab · 2026-08 · tds
- Prusament PC Blend Technical Datasheet v1.1 Prusa Polymers · 2022-02 · tds
- Wet Filament — signs, causes and drying Polymaker Wiki · 2026-08 · doc
- ezPC Polycarbonate Technical Data Sheet 3DXTech · 2026-08 · tds
- TECANAT natural (PC) — stock shape properties Ensinger · 2026-08 · tds
- Experimental data for creep and dynamic mechanical properties of polycarbonate and polycarbonate/ABS Data in Brief 42:108264 · 2022-06 · paper
- 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
- Makrolon — The chemical resistance (Makrolon 2800, 6 days at 23 °C and 50 °C) Covestro · 2016-12 · tds
- Weld-On 3 Acrylic Plastic Cement — technical data sheet (shipped as dichloromethane) IPS Corporation · 2002-07 · tds