3D Printing InfoFilament comparison
PA aramid vs PAHT-CF
Compare printing settings, strength, heat resistance, dated prices and sources.
2 selected · all documented properties
| Property | Aramid-fibre nylonPA | High-temperature CF nylon (PAHT-CF)PA |
|---|---|---|
| Market snapshot | ||
| Listing priceUSD/kg; dated snapshots | Not documented | $59.98/kg median; $49.99–$69.98/kg across 2 dated product listings |
| Identity & Market | ||
| Base polymer / chemistry | Aramid-fibre reinforced polyamide[1] | High-temperature carbon-fibre nylon. Bambu Lab's PAHT-CF and Polymaker's PA612-CF15 both use a long-chain polyamide matrix for lower moisture uptake than PA6[2][3] |
| Densityg/cm³ | Not documented | 1.03 (Polymaker PA612-CF15) and 1.06 (Bambu Lab), ISO 1183[2][3] |
| Typical priceUSD/kg | Not documented | 1 kg-equivalent spools cluster near 60[2][4] |
| Price range across brandsUSD/kg | Not documented | 50–70 across brands; Bambu Lab 50, Polymaker Fiberon PA612-CF15 70[2][4] |
| 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] | Available from several mainstream brands[2][4] |
| Spool sizes & diameters | Not documented | 1.75 mm; 0.5 and 1 kg spools[4][2] |
| Typical applications | Not documented | Under-bonnet and near-motor parts needing 170 °C-plus heat deflection with less humidity drift than PA6[2][3] |
| Printing Parameters | ||
| Nozzle temperature°C | Not documented | 260–290 (Bambu Lab)[2] |
| Enclosure / chamber requirement1–5 | Enclosure required (passive) — as for every nylon[1] | Enclosure required (passive) — Bambu Lab specifies a 45–60 °C chamber[2] |
| Recommended chamber temperature°C | Not documented | 45–60 (Bambu Lab)[2] |
| Bed surface & adhesion aid | Not documented | PEI sheet with a glue stick, or a dedicated adhesive such as Magigoo[6][1] |
| Maximum volumetric flow (mm³/s; see test conditions)mm³/s | Not documented | 8 at Bambu Lab's 100 mm/s cap on a 0.4 mm nozzle at 0.2 mm layer[2][7] |
| Bed-adhesion difficulty1–5 | Not documented | Needs a specific surface plus adhesive[6] |
| Stringing / oozing tendency1–5 | Not documented | Moderate — retraction tuning needed[1] |
| Overall printing difficulty1–5 | Not documented | Expert / industrial hardware only[2][8] |
| Extruder requirement | Not documented | 0.6 mm nozzle recommended by Bambu Lab; 0.4 and 0.8 also supported[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[9] | Hardened steel required — Polymaker measures brass nozzle life at about 9 h on PA612-CF15 and recommends hardened steel or ruby[3] |
| Abrasiveness1–5 | Highly abrasive — fibre-reinforced nylon composite[9] | Highly abrasive — standard CF composite; Polymaker puts brass nozzle life at roughly 9 h on PA612-CF15[3] |
| 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[10] | High — jams from moisture, heat creep or particles[8] |
| Heat-creep / jam sensitivity1–5 | Not documented | Moderate — good heatbreak cooling needed[6] |
| Hotend requirement | Not documented | May require an all-metal hot end (Simplify3D)[6] |
| Moisture Behaviour | ||
| Moisture absorption (hygroscopicity)1–5 | Very high (>2 %) — the polyamide matrix governs uptake[8] | High (0.8–2 %) — 0.88 % saturated at 25 °C / 55 % RH for Bambu Lab PAHT-CF, a third of its PA6-CF; Polymaker's PA612-CF15 reaches 2.2 % equilibrium[2][3][11] |
| Equilibrium moisture content at ~50 % RH% | Not documented | 0.88 saturated at 25 °C / 55 % RH (Bambu Lab PAHT-CF); 2.2 equilibrium (Polymaker PA612-CF15)[2][3] |
| Drying temperature & time | Not documented | 80 °C for 8–12 h (Bambu Lab)[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[12][13] | Polymaker publishes dry and wet printed blocks for PA612-CF15 itself: at 2.57 % moisture tensile falls only 91.9 → 83.1 MPa and modulus 5137 → 3991 MPa — the PA612 backbone absorbs far less than PA6[3][13] |
| Storage requirement | Not documented | Sealed below 20 % RH with desiccant[8] |
| 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[9][12] |
| Mechanical Properties | ||
| Tensile strength (XY)MPa | Not documented | 92 ± 7 (Bambu Lab) and 91.9 ± 2.0 (Polymaker PA612-CF15, dry/annealed) printed XY, ISO 527; the Polymaker grade only falls to 83.1 ± 2.2 conditioned to 2.57 % moisture[2][3] |
| Young's modulusMPa | Not documented | 3860 ± 230 (Bambu Lab) and 5137 ± 192 (Polymaker PA612-CF15, dry) printed XY, ISO 527; Polymaker 3991 ± 137 conditioned[2][3] |
| Elongation at break% | Not documented | 2.6 ± 0.2 dry (Polymaker PA612-CF15) to 8.4 ± 1.8 (Bambu Lab) printed XY, ISO 527; Polymaker 4.1 ± 0.3 conditioned[2][3] |
| Flexural modulusMPa | Not documented | 4230 ± 210 printed XY, ISO 178 (Bambu Lab)[2] |
| Charpy impact, notchedkJ/m² | Not documented | 8.1 ± 0.8 printed XY dry and 7.7 ± 0.5 conditioned, ISO 179 notched (Polymaker PA612-CF15)[3] |
| Other impact data | Not documented | Charpy unnotched 57.5 ± 3.4 and notched 22.8 ± 1.8 printed XY (Bambu Lab, ISO 179)[2] |
| Layer adhesion / Z tensileMPa | Not documented | 47 ± 5 (Bambu Lab) and 48.3 ± 3.9 (Polymaker PA612-CF15, dry) printed Z, ISO 527; Polymaker 35.6 ± 3.0 conditioned[2][3] |
| Brittleness1–5 | Not documented | 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 carbon-fibre long-chain nylon filament[14] |
| Creep resistance / sustained load1–5 | Not documented | Good. Ensinger rates its PA66-CF30 compound for sustained static and dynamic load with 110 °C continuous service; the long-chain PA612 matrix takes up 0.88 % at saturation, a third of the same maker's PA6-CF, so it holds dimension better[15][3] |
| Fatigue / repeated-flex resistance1–5 | Not documented | Good. Ensinger states carbon-filled PA66 compounds have improved fatigue strength in tension, flexure and compression[15] |
| Elasticity / flexibility1–5 | Not documented | Rigid[2] |
| Z strength as % of XY% | Not documented | 51 (Bambu Lab) to 53 (Polymaker PA612-CF15), printed[2][3] |
| Thermal Properties | ||
| HDT at 0.45 MPa°C | Not documented | 175 (Polymaker PA612-CF15) and 194 (Bambu Lab), ISO 75 at 0.45 MPa[2][3] |
| HDT at 1.8 MPa°C | Not documented | 114 (Polymaker PA612-CF15) and 170 (Bambu Lab), ISO 75 at 1.8 MPa[2][3] |
| Glass transition (Tg)°C | Not documented | 70 (Bambu Lab, DSC)[2] |
| Melting point / Vicat°C | Not documented | 210 (Polymaker PA612-CF15) and 225 (Bambu Lab) melting, DSC; Vicat 206 (Polymaker)[2][3] |
| Flammability / UL 94 | Not documented | Flammable; no UL 94 rating published for the grades surveyed[9] |
| Environment & Chemical | ||
| UV resistance1–5 | Not documented | Months outdoors before embrittlement — unstabilised polyamide yellows under UV[1] |
| Chemical resistance | Not documented | Withstands oils, fuels and alkalis[1] |
| Water / humidity resistance in service1–5 | Not documented | Absorbs water, properties shift — less than PA6 but more than PA12[13][2] |
| Food contact | Not documented | Not food-contact certified as filament[1] |
| Biodegradability / compostability | Not documented | Not biodegradable[1] |
| Recyclability | Not documented | Not accepted in household plastic collection[1] |
| Electrical & ESD properties | Not documented | Surface resistivity above 10¹² ohm — insulating (Polymaker PA612-CF15, ANSI/ESD S11.11)[3] |
| Health & Safety | ||
| Fume toxicity1–5 | Moderate — measurable VOCs and UFPs, ventilation advised[16] | Moderate — measurable VOCs and UFPs, ventilation advised[16] |
| VOC emission rateµg/min | Up to 180 caprolactam, the dominant VOC from nylon and the largest single-VOC rate in the study[16] | Up to 180 caprolactam, the dominant VOC from nylon and the largest single-VOC rate in the study[16] |
| Ultrafine-particle emission rateparticles/min | ≈2 × 10⁸ median for nylon — low for particles despite the highest VOC mass measured[16] | ≈2 × 10⁸ median for nylon — low for particles despite the highest VOC mass measured[16] |
| Hazardous species emitted | Caprolactam, at up to 180 µg/min from nylon filament[16] | Caprolactam, at up to 180 µg/min from nylon filament[16] |
| Ventilation / filtration requirement1–5 | Ventilated room or enclosure recommended[16] | Ventilated room or enclosure recommended[16] |
| Dust & fibre handling hazard | Not documented | Fibre is bound in the matrix; sanding dust should not be inhaled[9] |
| Post-Processing | ||
| Sanding & machining | Not documented | Sands poorly — gums rather than powders[6] |
| Gluing & solvent welding | Not documented | Cyanoacrylate; no common solvent welds polyamide[6] |
| Vapour / chemical smoothing | Not documented | No practical vapour smoothing[6] |
| Solvents & Solubility | ||
| Soluble in | Formic acid, phenol, m-cresol and hexafluoroisopropanol dissolve the matrix at 23 °C, leaving the fibre; laboratory reagents.[17] | Formic acid, phenol, m-cresol and hexafluoroisopropanol dissolve the matrix at 23 °C, leaving the fibre; laboratory reagents.[17] |
| Softened or crazed by | Zinc chloride solutions stress-crack the nylon matrix, alcoholic calcium chloride dissolves it, mineral acids attack it.[17] | Zinc chloride solutions stress-crack the nylon matrix, alcoholic calcium chloride dissolves it, mineral acids attack it.[17] |
| Solvent welding & smoothing agent | None — nylon's only solvents (formic acid, phenol, HFIP) degrade the part, and the fibre blocks surface flow anyway.[17] | None — nylon's only solvents (formic acid, phenol, HFIP) degrade the part, and the fibre blocks surface flow anyway.[17] |
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
- Bambu Filament Technical Data Sheet — PAHT-CF Bambu Lab · 2026-08 · tds
- Fiberon PA612-CF15 Technical Data Sheet V1.1 Polymaker · 2024-12 · tds
- Polymaker product catalogue Polymaker · 2026-08 · vendor
- 3DXTech product catalogue 3DXTech · 2026-08 · vendor
- Nylon — Ultimate 3D Printing Materials Guide Simplify3D · 2026-08 · doc
- Max volumetric speed Prusa Knowledge Base · 2026-08 · doc
- Wet Filament — signs, causes and drying Polymaker Wiki · 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
- Bambu Filament Technical Data Sheet — PA6-CF Bambu Lab · 2026-08 · tds
- PolyMide CoPA Technical Data Sheet V5.4 (dry and wet status blocks) Polymaker · 2024-11 · tds
- Moisture Conditioning — effect on printed nylon properties Polymaker Wiki · 2026-08 · doc
- TECAMID 66 GF30 black (PA66-GF30) — stock shape properties Ensinger · 2026-08 · tds
- TECACOMP PA66 CF30 black — injection-moulding compound 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
- Ultramid Nylon Chemical Resistance guide (unmodified PA6 B27E and PA66 A27E) BASF · 2026-08 · tds