3D Printing InfoFilament comparison
PA aramid vs PA12
Compare printing settings, strength, heat resistance, dated prices and sources.
2 selected · all documented properties
| Property | Aramid-fibre nylonPA | PA12 (Nylon 12)PA |
|---|---|---|
| Market snapshot | ||
| Listing priceUSD/kg; dated snapshots | Not documented | $64.33/kg median; $36.00–$170.67/kg across 3 dated product listings |
| Identity & Market | ||
| Base polymer / chemistry | Aramid-fibre reinforced polyamide[1] | Polyamide 12 — the longest-chain common nylon, with the fewest amide groups per unit mass and so the least moisture uptake[1][2] |
| Densityg/cm³ | Not documented | 1.01 specific gravity (Stratasys FDM Nylon 12, ASTM D792)[3] |
| Typical priceUSD/kg | Not documented | 1 kg-equivalent spools span 36–171; the middle of the market is about 64[4][5] |
| Price range across brandsUSD/kg | Not documented | 36–171 across brands; IEMAI 3D 36, Fiberlogy 64 at 3DJake, 3DXTech AmideX Nylon 12 171[4][6][5] |
| 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[7][6] | Available from several mainstream brands[4][6] |
| Spool sizes & diameters | Not documented | 1.75 and 2.85 mm; 750 g and 1 kg spools[6][4] |
| Typical applications | Not documented | Dimensionally stable functional parts, ducting and living hinges where PA6 would move too much with humidity[1][8] |
| Printing Parameters | ||
| Nozzle temperature°C | Not documented | 260–290 (Extrudr DURAPRO PA12)[9] |
| Bed temperature°C | Not documented | 110 (Extrudr DURAPRO PA12)[9] |
| Enclosure / chamber requirement1–5 | Enclosure required (passive) — as for every nylon[1] | Enclosure required (passive)[1] |
| Part cooling fan | Not documented | Part cooling fan not required (Simplify3D)[10] |
| Bed surface & adhesion aid | Not documented | PEI sheet with a glue stick, or a dedicated adhesive such as Magigoo[10][1] |
| Maximum volumetric flow (mm³/s; see test conditions)mm³/s | Not documented | 12 at Extrudr's 150 mm/s cap on a 0.4 mm nozzle at 0.2 mm layer[9][11] |
| Bed-adhesion difficulty1–5 | Not documented | Needs a specific surface plus adhesive[10][1] |
| Stringing / oozing tendency1–5 | Not documented | Moderate — retraction tuning needed[1] |
| Overall printing difficulty1–5 | Not documented | Advanced — enclosure, hardware upgrades, tuning[1] |
| 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[12] | Brass fine indefinitely for unfilled grades[1] |
| Abrasiveness1–5 | Highly abrasive — fibre-reinforced nylon composite[12] | 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[13] | High — jams from moisture, heat creep or particles[8][14] |
| Heat-creep / jam sensitivity1–5 | Not documented | Moderate — good heatbreak cooling needed[10] |
| Hotend requirement | Not documented | May require an all-metal hot end (Simplify3D)[10] |
| Moisture Behaviour | ||
| Moisture absorption (hygroscopicity)1–5 | Very high (>2 %) — the polyamide matrix governs uptake[14] | High (0.8–2 %) — Polymaker's PA12-CF10 reaches 1.5 % equilibrium against 3.33 % for its PA6-GF25, and Polymaker developed the PA12 grade specifically for lower moisture sensitivity[2][8] |
| Drying temperature & time | Not documented | 60–80 °C for 8–12 h (Extrudr DURAPRO PA12); 100 °C for 8 h (Polymaker CoPA)[9][15] |
| Symptoms when wet | Not documented | Popping and cracking during extrusion, then hard-to-diagnose defects[8] |
| 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[15][8] | Polymaker states its PA12 grade changes little between wet and dry, unlike its PA6-based materials; the CoPA dry-to-wet reference shows what the PA6-type response looks like[8][15] |
| Storage requirement | Not documented | Sealed below 20 % RH with desiccant[14] |
| Hydrolysis at melt temperature | Not documented | Polymaker requires a 100 °C dry for 8 h and storage below 20 % RH; no molecular-weight loss figure is published, and the published wet data is conditioning rather than melt hydrolysis[15][16] |
| Mechanical Properties | ||
| Tensile strength (XY)MPa | Not documented | 49.3 at yield and 33.4 at break printed XZ (Stratasys FDM Nylon 12, ASTM D638)[3] |
| Young's modulusMPa | Not documented | 1510 printed XZ and 1250 ZX (Stratasys FDM Nylon 12, ASTM D638)[3] |
| Elongation at break% | Not documented | 30 at break printed XZ against 6.5 in ZX (Stratasys FDM Nylon 12, ASTM D638)[3] |
| Charpy impact, notchedkJ/m² | Not documented | 11 at +23 °C and 6.0 at -30 °C (Extrudr DuraPro PA12, ISO 179/1eA); unnotched does not break[9] |
| Other impact data | Not documented | Izod notched 138 J/m printed XZ against 71.0 J/m in ZX (Stratasys FDM Nylon 12, ASTM D256)[3] |
| Layer adhesion / Z tensileMPa | Not documented | 41.8 at yield and 41.2 at break printed ZX (Stratasys FDM Nylon 12, ASTM D638) — higher than the XZ break figure, because XZ specimens draw and neck first[3] |
| Brittleness1–5 | Not documented | Tough — absorbs impact, yields before breaking[1] |
| Creep resistance / sustained load1–5 | Not documented | Moderate — the long-chain polyamides hold load better than PLA but below PC[1] |
| Fatigue / repeated-flex resistance1–5 | Not documented | Excellent — living hinges viable. Stratasys sells FDM Nylon 12 specifically for repetitive-flex parts such as snap-fit clips and press-fit inserts on the strength of its fatigue properties[1][3] |
| Elasticity / flexibility1–5 | Not documented | Semi-flexible[8] |
| Z strength as % of XY% | Not documented | 85 (Stratasys FDM Nylon 12, ZX against XZ tensile yield, ASTM D638) — one of the least anisotropic unfilled filaments measured[3] |
| Thermal Properties | ||
| HDT at 0.45 MPa°C | Not documented | 94.7 printed XY and 91.9 in XZ/ZX (Stratasys FDM Nylon 12, ASTM D648 at 66 psi)[3] |
| HDT at 1.8 MPa°C | Not documented | 84.3 printed XY and 75.3 in XZ/ZX (Stratasys FDM Nylon 12, ASTM D648 at 264 psi)[3] |
| Glass transition (Tg)°C | Not documented | 34.0 (Stratasys FDM Nylon 12, ASTM D7426 inflection point)[3] |
| Melting point / Vicat°C | Not documented | Vicat A 142 (Extrudr DURAPRO PA12, ISO 306)[9] |
| Continuous service temperature°C | Not documented | Bounded by a Vicat softening point of 142 °C (Extrudr DURAPRO PA12); no loaded-bar service figure is published[9] |
| Thermal expansion (CTE)µm/m·K | Not documented | 84-103 printed (Stratasys FDM Nylon 12, ASTM E831: 84.4 in XY and 85.6 in XZ/ZX over -50 to 10 °C, 89.1 over 10-45 °C, 98.2 over 45-70 °C); Extrudr quotes 100 for DURAPRO PA12 (ISO 11359-2)[9][3] |
| Flammability / UL 94 | Not documented | Flammable; no UL 94 rating published for the unfilled grades surveyed[9] |
| Environment & Chemical | ||
| UV resistance1–5 | Not documented | Months outdoors before embrittlement[1] |
| Chemical resistance | Not documented | Withstands oils, fuels and alkalis[1] |
| Water / humidity resistance in service1–5 | Not documented | Good — minor absorption; the least moisture-sensitive of the common nylons[8] |
| Food contact | Not documented | Not food-contact certified as filament[1] |
| Biodegradability / compostability | Not documented | Not biodegradable[1] |
| Recyclability | Not documented | Mechanically recyclable but not accepted in household plastic collection[1] |
| Health & Safety | ||
| Fume toxicity1–5 | Moderate — measurable VOCs and UFPs, ventilation advised[17] | Moderate — measurable VOCs and UFPs, ventilation advised[17] |
| VOC emission rateµg/min | Up to 180 caprolactam, the dominant VOC from nylon and the largest single-VOC rate in the study[17] | Up to 180 caprolactam, the dominant VOC from nylon; total VOC reached nearly 200 µg/min, the highest of the nine filaments tested[17] |
| Ultrafine-particle emission rateparticles/min | ≈2 × 10⁸ median for nylon — low for particles despite the highest VOC mass measured[17] | ≈2 × 10⁸ median — low for ultrafine particles despite the highest VOC mass of any filament tested[17] |
| Hazardous species emitted | Caprolactam, at up to 180 µg/min from nylon filament[17] | Caprolactam, at up to 180 µg/min from nylon filament — the largest single-VOC emission rate measured in the study[17] |
| Ventilation / filtration requirement1–5 | Ventilated room or enclosure recommended[17] | Ventilated room or enclosure recommended[17] |
| Post-Processing | ||
| Sanding & machining | Not documented | Sands poorly — gums rather than powders[10] |
| Gluing & solvent welding | Not documented | Cyanoacrylate; no common solvent welds polyamide[10] |
| Vapour / chemical smoothing | Not documented | No practical vapour smoothing[10] |
| Support material pairing | Not documented | Polymaker sells a break-away PolySupport matched to PA12[10] |
| Dimensional accuracy & detail | Not documented | Holds dimensions better than PA6 after conditioning — Polymaker singles its PA12 grade out on exactly this point[8] |
| Solvents & Solubility | ||
| Soluble in | Formic acid, phenol, m-cresol and hexafluoroisopropanol dissolve the matrix at 23 °C, leaving the fibre; laboratory reagents.[18] | Dissolved at 23 °C by formic acid, phenol, m-cresol, 96 % sulphuric acid or hexafluoroisopropanol — all laboratory reagents.[18][19] |
| Softened or crazed by | Zinc chloride solutions stress-crack the nylon matrix, alcoholic calcium chloride dissolves it, mineral acids attack it.[18] | Not resistant to 10 % formic acid, phenol, chloroform or dichloromethane (Ensinger); zinc chloride stress-cracks nylon.[19][18] |
| Solvent welding & smoothing agent | None — nylon's only solvents (formic acid, phenol, HFIP) degrade the part, and the fibre blocks surface flow anyway.[18] | None — nylon's only solvents are formic acid, phenol and HFIP, all of which degrade the part they wet.[18] |
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
- Fiberon PA612-CF15 Technical Data Sheet V1.1 Polymaker · 2024-12 · tds
- FDM Nylon 12 — Material Data Sheet Stratasys · 2021-09 · tds
- Nylon PA12 — product listing 3DJake International · 2026-08 · vendor
- IEMAI 3D PA12 3D Printing Filament — store page IEMAI 3D · 2026-08 · vendor
- 3DXTech product catalogue 3DXTech · 2026-08 · vendor
- Polymaker product catalogue Polymaker · 2026-08 · vendor
- Moisture Conditioning — effect on printed nylon properties Polymaker Wiki · 2026-08 · doc
- Extrudr Product Catalogue (DURAPRO PA12 data block) Extrudr · 2025-03 · tds
- Nylon — Ultimate 3D Printing Materials Guide Simplify3D · 2026-08 · doc
- Max volumetric speed Prusa Knowledge Base · 2026-08 · doc
- 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
- PolyMide CoPA Technical Data Sheet V5.4 (dry and wet status blocks) Polymaker · 2024-11 · tds
- PolyMide CoPA — Technical Data Sheet page Polymaker Wiki · 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
- 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