3D Printing InfoFilament comparison
PA aramid vs PA6/66
Compare printing settings, strength, heat resistance, dated prices and sources.
2 selected · all documented properties
| Property | Aramid-fibre nylonPA | PA66 (Nylon 66)PA |
|---|---|---|
| Market snapshot | ||
| Listing priceUSD/kg; dated snapshots | Not documented | Not documented |
| Identity & Market | ||
| Base polymer / chemistry | Aramid-fibre reinforced polyamide[1] | Polyamide 66, condensed from hexamethylenediamine and adipic acid; melts around 40 °C above PA6[1] |
| Densityg/cm³ | Not documented | 1.14 (extruded unfilled PA66 stock)[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[3][4] | Special order, 1–2 makers worldwide — no unfilled PA66 filament appeared in any catalogue searched, and the 3DXTech nylon range offers PA6, PA12 and a 6/66 copolymer but no straight PA66[4][3] |
| Printing Parameters | ||
| Enclosure / chamber requirement1–5 | Enclosure required (passive) — as for every nylon[1] | Enclosure required (passive)[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[5] | Not documented |
| Abrasiveness1–5 | Highly abrasive — fibre-reinforced nylon composite[5] | Not documented |
| 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[6] | Very high — frequent jams without careful setup[7][8] |
| Moisture Behaviour | ||
| Moisture absorption (hygroscopicity)1–5 | Very high (>2 %) — the polyamide matrix governs uptake[8] | Very high (>2 %)[8] |
| Equilibrium moisture content at ~50 % RH% | Not documented | 8.5 at saturation on extruded PA66 stock (ASTM D570) — the highest uptake of any polymer in this dataset[2] |
| 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[9][7] | Measured dry against wet on printed specimens at 6.16 % moisture (Polymaker CoPA): tensile 78.0 → 34.3 MPa, Young's modulus 2703 → 724 MPa, flexural strength 109.8 → 22.6 MPa, while notched Charpy rises 6.9 → 27.7 kJ/m² and elongation 12.7 → 13.2 %[9][7] |
| Mechanical Properties | ||
| Tensile strength (XY)MPa | Not documented | 82.7 at yield and 84.8 at break on extruded PA66 stock (ASTM D638; converted from 12,000 and 12,300 psi) — no printed figure exists because no unfilled PA66 filament was found[2] |
| Young's modulusMPa | Not documented | 2413 on extruded PA66 stock (ASTM D638; converted from 350,000 psi)[2] |
| Elongation at break% | Not documented | 50 at break on extruded PA66 stock (ASTM D638)[2] |
| Flexural strengthMPa | Not documented | 113.8 on extruded PA66 stock (ASTM D790; converted from 16,500 psi)[2] |
| Flexural modulusMPa | Not documented | 3034 on extruded PA66 stock (ASTM D790; converted from 440,000 psi)[2] |
| Other impact data | Not documented | Izod 53 J/m on extruded PA66 stock, converted from 1.0 ft-lb/in (ASTM D256)[2] |
| Hardness (scale-specific)Shore A / Shore D / Rockwell | Not documented | Shore D 86 and Rockwell 85 (108) — the source does not name the scales on extruded PA66 stock (ASTM D2240, D785)[2] |
| Fatigue / repeated-flex resistance1–5 | Not documented | Excellent — living hinges viable[1] |
| Elasticity / flexibility1–5 | Not documented | Semi-flexible[7] |
| Wear resistance & friction | Not documented | Wear factor 200e-10 in3*min/(ft*lb*h) on extruded PA66 stock (ASTM D3702); Ensinger lists very good slide and wear properties[2] |
| Thermal Properties | ||
| HDT at 0.45 MPa°C | Not documented | 232 on extruded PA66 stock (ASTM D648 at 66 psi; converted from 450 °F)[2] |
| HDT at 1.8 MPa°C | Not documented | 90 on extruded PA66 stock (ASTM D648 at 264 psi; converted from 194 °F) — the gap to the 0.45 MPa figure is the widest in the dataset[2] |
| Melting point / Vicat°C | Not documented | 255 melting on extruded PA66 stock (ASTM D2133; converted from 491 °F)[2] |
| Continuous service temperature°C | Not documented | 85 long term and 149 short term on extruded PA66 stock (converted from 185 °F and 300 °F)[2] |
| Thermal expansion (CTE)µm/m·K | Not documented | 81.0 (extruded PA66 stock, ASTM D696; source states 4.5e-5 in/in/°F)[2] |
| Flammability / UL 94 | Not documented | UL 94 V-2 on extruded PA66 stock[2] |
| Environment & Chemical | ||
| Electrical & ESD properties | Not documented | Volume resistance 1e15 ohm-cm and dielectric constant 4 on extruded PA66 stock (ASTM D257, D150)[2] |
| Health & Safety | ||
| Fume toxicity1–5 | Moderate — measurable VOCs and UFPs, ventilation advised[10] | Moderate — measurable VOCs and UFPs, ventilation advised[10] |
| VOC emission rateµg/min | Up to 180 caprolactam, the dominant VOC from nylon and the largest single-VOC rate in the study[10] | 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 | ≈2 × 10⁸ median for nylon — low for particles despite the highest VOC mass measured[10] | ≈2 × 10⁸ median — low for ultrafine particles despite the highest VOC mass of any filament tested[10] |
| Hazardous species emitted | Caprolactam, at up to 180 µg/min from nylon filament[10] | 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 | Ventilated room or enclosure recommended[10] | Ventilated room or enclosure recommended[10] |
| Solvents & Solubility | ||
| Soluble in | Formic acid, phenol, m-cresol and hexafluoroisopropanol dissolve the matrix at 23 °C, leaving the fibre; laboratory reagents.[11] | Dissolved at 23 °C by formic acid above ~80 %, phenol, m-cresol, 96 % sulphuric acid or hexafluoroisopropanol — laboratory reagents.[11] |
| Softened or crazed by | Zinc chloride solutions stress-crack the nylon matrix, alcoholic calcium chloride dissolves it, mineral acids attack it.[11] | Zinc chloride solutions stress-crack it — 10 % marginal, 37 % not resistant; alcoholic calcium chloride dissolves it.[11] |
| Solvent welding & smoothing agent | None — nylon's only solvents (formic acid, phenol, HFIP) degrade the part, and the fibre blocks surface flow anyway.[11] | None — nylon's only solvents are formic acid, phenol and HFIP, all of which degrade the part they wet.[11] |
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
- TECAMID 66 natural (PA66) — stock shape properties Ensinger · 2026-08 · tds
- 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
- Moisture Conditioning — effect on printed nylon properties Polymaker Wiki · 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
- 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