3D Printing InfoFilament comparison
PA aramid vs PA11
Compare printing settings, strength, heat resistance, dated prices and sources.
2 selected · all documented properties
| Property | Aramid-fibre nylonPA | PA11 (Nylon 11)PA |
|---|---|---|
| Market snapshot | ||
| Listing priceUSD/kg; dated snapshots | Not documented | $194.98/kg median; $194.98–$194.98/kg across 1 dated product listings |
| Identity & Market | ||
| Base polymer / chemistry | Aramid-fibre reinforced polyamide[1] | Polyamide 11, polymerised from castor-oil-derived aminoundecanoic acid — a bio-based nylon[2][3] |
| Densityg/cm³ | Not documented | 1.02 (ISO 1183)[2] |
| Market availability1–5 | Special order, 1–2 makers worldwide — no aramid-filled nylon filament was found in any catalogue searched; the aramid filaments that do exist in the retail market use an ASA matrix[4][5] | Niche, a handful of specialist brands[3] |
| Spool sizes & diameters | Not documented | 1.75 mm; 1 kg spools[3] |
| Typical applications | Not documented | 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 | Not documented | 275 ± 10 (Prusament)[2] |
| Bed temperature°C | Not documented | 100 ± 10 (Prusament)[2] |
| Enclosure / chamber requirement1–5 | Enclosure required (passive) — as for every nylon[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] |
| Overall printing difficulty1–5 | Not documented | Advanced — enclosure, hardware upgrades, tuning[2][1] |
| Extruder requirement | Not documented | Prusa printed its test specimens with a high-flow CHT nozzle[2] |
| Hardware Wear & Reliability | ||
| Nozzle hardness required1–4 | Hardened steel required — no aramid-filled nylon datasheet was obtainable; Polymaker measures about 9 h of brass nozzle life on its fibre-filled nylons[6] | Brass fine indefinitely for unfilled grades[1] |
| Abrasiveness1–5 | Highly abrasive — fibre-reinforced nylon composite[6] | Non-abrasive when unfilled[1] |
| Nozzle clog risk1–5 | High — jams from moisture, heat creep or particles; nylon already needs a drybox and Prusa names kevlar among the fibres that raise nozzle-clogging risk[7] | High — jams from moisture, heat creep or particles[8] |
| Moisture Behaviour | ||
| Moisture absorption (hygroscopicity)1–5 | Very high (>2 %) — the polyamide matrix governs uptake[8] | 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][8] |
| 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[9] |
| Effect of moisture on strength | Polymaker's printed dry-versus-wet blocks for its CoPA nylon show what conditioning does to the family: tensile 78.0 → 34.3 MPa and modulus 2703 → 724 MPa, with notched Charpy rising 6.9 → 27.7 kJ/m². Fibre reinforcement reduces but does not remove the effect[10][9] | Prusa publishes no dry-versus-conditioned columns; the CoPA reference shows the PA-family response — stiffness and strength fall sharply, impact and elongation rise[9][10] |
| Storage requirement | Not documented | Sealed below 20 % RH with desiccant[8] |
| 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 | Not documented | 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[1] |
| Elasticity / flexibility1–5 | Not documented | 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 | ||
| Water / humidity resistance in service1–5 | Not documented | Absorbs water, properties shift[9] |
| Biodegradability / compostability | Not documented | Bio-based — the monomer comes from castor oil[3] |
| Health & Safety | ||
| Fume toxicity1–5 | Moderate — measurable VOCs and UFPs, ventilation advised[11] | Moderate — measurable VOCs and UFPs, ventilation advised[11] |
| VOC emission rateµg/min | Up to 180 caprolactam, the dominant VOC from nylon and the largest single-VOC rate in the study[11] | Up to 180 caprolactam, the dominant VOC from nylon; total VOC reached nearly 200 µg/min, the highest of the nine filaments tested[11] |
| Ultrafine-particle emission rateparticles/min | ≈2 × 10⁸ median for nylon — low for particles despite the highest VOC mass measured[11] | ≈2 × 10⁸ median — low for ultrafine particles despite the highest VOC mass of any filament tested[11] |
| Hazardous species emitted | Caprolactam, at up to 180 µg/min from nylon filament[11] | Caprolactam, at up to 180 µg/min from nylon filament — the largest single-VOC emission rate measured in the study[11] |
| Ventilation / filtration requirement1–5 | Ventilated room or enclosure recommended[11] | Ventilated room or enclosure recommended[11] |
| Solvents & Solubility | ||
| Soluble in | Formic acid, phenol, m-cresol and hexafluoroisopropanol dissolve the matrix at 23 °C, leaving the fibre; laboratory reagents.[12] | Dissolved at 23 °C by formic acid, phenol, m-cresol, 96 % sulphuric acid or hexafluoroisopropanol — all laboratory reagents.[12][13] |
| Softened or crazed by | Zinc chloride solutions stress-crack the nylon matrix, alcoholic calcium chloride dissolves it, mineral acids attack it.[12] | 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 — nylon's only solvents (formic acid, phenol, HFIP) degrade the part, and the fibre blocks surface flow anyway.[12] | 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
- PA (Nylon) — material basics Polymaker Wiki · 2026-08 · doc
- Prusament PA11 Technical Datasheet v1.0 Prusa Polymers · 2026-07 · tds
- Prusament PA11 — material page Prusa Polymers · 2026-08 · doc
- Polymaker product catalogue Polymaker · 2026-08 · vendor
- 3DXTech product catalogue 3DXTech · 2026-08 · vendor
- Fiberon PA6-CF20 Technical Data Sheet V1.1 Polymaker · 2024-12 · tds
- Composite materials filled with carbon, kevlar or glass 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
- 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