3D Printing Info

Filament comparison

PA aramid vs PC-CF

Compare printing settings, strength, heat resistance, dated prices and sources.

Aramid-fibre nylon guideCarbon-fibre PC (PC-CF) guide

2 selected · all documented properties

Open these two in the interactive comparisonMore PA aramid comparisonsMore PC-CF comparisons
PA aramid vs PC-CF — documented properties and sources
PropertyAramid-fibre nylonPACarbon-fibre PC (PC-CF)PC
Market snapshot
Listing priceUSD/kg; dated snapshotsNot documented$62.58/kg median; $34.99–$117.33/kg across 6 dated product listings
Identity & Market
Base polymer / chemistryAramid-fibre reinforced polyamide[1]Polycarbonate reinforced with chopped carbon fibre[2][3]
Densityg/cm³Not documented1.22 (Prusament) and 1.36 (3DXTech), ISO 1183[2][3]
Typical priceUSD/kgNot documented1 kg-equivalent spools span 35–117; the middle of the market is about 63[4][5][6][7][8]
Price range across brandsUSD/kgNot documented35–117 across brands; Ambrosia 35, IEMAI 39, YXPOLYER 55, Spectrum PC CF 70, Prusament 94, 3DXTech 117[4][5][6][7][8]
Market availability1–5Special 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[9][6]Available from several mainstream brands[4][6][10]
Spool sizes & diametersNot documented1.75 and 2.85 mm; 0.75, 0.8 and 1 kg spools[4][6]
Typical applicationsNot documentedStiff high-temperature structural parts — jigs, drone frames and under-bonnet brackets[2][3]
Diameter tolerance± mmNot documented±0.04 (Prusament PC Blend Carbon Fiber)[2]
Printing Parameters
Nozzle temperature°CNot documented285 ± 10 (Prusament)[2]
Bed temperature°CNot documented110 ± 10 (Prusament)[2]
Enclosure / chamber requirement1–5Enclosure required (passive) — as for every nylon[1]Enclosure required (passive)[2][11]
Part cooling fanNot documentedOff — Prusa allows 0–20 % and warns cooling significantly reduces interlayer adhesion[2]
Bed surface & adhesion aidNot documentedPEI with a glue stick or a commercial adhesive[12]
Warping tendency1–5Not documentedHigh — enclosure needed for reliable large parts; the fibre reduces warping against unfilled PC[2][11]
Bed-adhesion difficulty1–5Not documentedNeeds a specific surface plus adhesive[12][13]
Stringing / oozing tendency1–5Not documentedModerate — retraction tuning needed; Polymaker flags stringing as a common PC problem[13]
Overall printing difficulty1–5Not documentedAdvanced — enclosure, hardware upgrades, tuning; hardened nozzle mandatory[11][2]
Hardware Wear & Reliability
Nozzle hardness required1–4Hardened steel required — no aramid-filled nylon datasheet was obtainable; Polymaker measures about 9 h of brass nozzle life on its fibre-filled nylons[14]Hardened steel required[11]
Abrasiveness1–5Highly abrasive — fibre-reinforced nylon composite[14]Highly abrasive — standard CF composite[11]
Nozzle clog risk1–5High — jams from moisture, heat creep or particles; nylon already needs a drybox and Prusa names kevlar among the fibres that raise nozzle-clogging risk[15]High — jams from moisture, heat creep or particles; PC already absorbs water from the air and 3DXTech adds a hardened 0.4 mm minimum nozzle, 0.25 mm layers and a 120 °C pre-dry[16][12][15]
Heat-creep / jam sensitivity1–5Not documentedSlightly sensitive[12]
Hotend requirementNot documentedAll-metal hot end required (Simplify3D)[12]
Moisture Behaviour
Moisture absorption (hygroscopicity)1–5Very high (>2 %) — the polyamide matrix governs uptake[17]Low (0.1–0.3 %) — the PC matrix takes up 0.15–0.25 % and 3DXTech specifies a 120 °C, 4 h pre-dry[18][19][16]
Equilibrium moisture content at ~50 % RH%Not documented0.11 after 7 days at 24 °C / 22 % RH (Prusa Polymers)[2]
Symptoms when wetNot documentedBubbling and popping at the nozzle, stringing and a rough surface[17]
Effect of moisture on strengthPolymaker'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[20][21]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[13][17]
Storage requirementNot documentedAirtight containers with desiccant to prevent reabsorption[13]
Mechanical Properties
Tensile strength (XY)MPaNot documented64 ± 3 printed horizontal and 70 ± 3 printed vertical at yield, ISO 527-1 (Prusament); 3DXTech quotes 73 at break[2][3]
Young's modulusMPaNot documented2600 printed horizontal and 3200 printed vertical, ISO 527-1 (Prusament); 3DXTech quotes 6980[2][3]
Elongation at break%Not documented4.6 at yield printed horizontal (Prusament); 3DXTech quotes 2.1 at break[2][3]
Flexural strengthMPaNot documented94 ± 3 printed horizontal and 130 ± 2 printed vertical, ISO 178 (Prusament); 3DXTech quotes 85[2][3]
Flexural modulusMPaNot documented3500 printed horizontal and 4200 printed vertical, ISO 178 (Prusament); 3DXTech quotes 6540[2][3]
Charpy impact, notchedkJ/m²Not documented12 ± 1 printed horizontal and 17 ± 2 printed vertical, ISO 179-1 notched (Prusament)[2]
Other impact dataNot documentedCharpy unnotched 32 ± 5 printed horizontal and 35 ± 4 printed vertical (Prusament, ISO 179-1)[2]
Layer adhesion / Z tensileMPaNot documented23 ± 2 (Prusa Polymers interlayer adhesion test) — above the 21 ± 2 of unfilled Prusament PC Blend[2][19]
Brittleness1–5Not documentedModerate[2][3]
Hardness (scale-specific)Shore A / Shore D / RockwellNot documented83 Shore D (Prusa Polymers method), against 79 for unfilled Prusament PC Blend[2][19]
Creep resistance / sustained load1–5Not documentedExcellent — holds load for years. Room-temperature tensile creep of moulded unfilled PC ran unbroken at 41 MPa until the test was stopped; short carbon fibre raises the flexural modulus from about 2.1 to 3.5-6.5 GPa, which reduces creep strain further[22][2]
Fatigue / repeated-flex resistance1–5Not documentedGood. No fatigue test data was found for a carbon-fibre PC filament; the unfilled polymer is rated Good on the same scale[22]
Elasticity / flexibility1–5Not documentedRigid[2]
Thermal Properties
HDT at 0.45 MPa°CNot documented114 (ISO 75, 0.45 MPa, Prusament)[2]
HDT at 1.8 MPa°CNot documented106 (ISO 75, 1.8 MPa, Prusament), against 93 for unfilled Prusament PC Blend[2][19]
Glass transition (Tg)°CNot documented127 (3DXTech, DSC)[3]
Continuous service temperature°CNot documented113 — Prusa publishes this as the temperature resistance of Prusament PC Blend[19]
Environment & Chemical
UV resistance1–5Not documentedDegrades within weeks outdoors unless stabilised[13]
Chemical resistanceNot documentedWithstands oils, solvents and fuels; Polymaker rates it good against weak acids[13]
Food contactNot documentedBisphenol-A polycarbonate is not offered as food-contact filament[13]
Biodegradability / compostabilityNot documentedNot biodegradable[13]
RecyclabilityNot documentedMechanically recyclable but not accepted in household plastic collection[13]
Electrical & ESD propertiesNot documentedSurface resistance above 10⁹ ohm/sq — not static-dissipative (3DXTech, ASTM D257)[3]
Health & Safety
Fume toxicity1–5Moderate — measurable VOCs and UFPs, ventilation advised[23]Moderate — measurable VOCs and UFPs, ventilation advised[23]
VOC emission rateµg/minUp to 180 caprolactam, the dominant VOC from nylon and the largest single-VOC rate in the study[23]Not documented
Ultrafine-particle emission rateparticles/min≈2 × 10⁸ median for nylon — low for particles despite the highest VOC mass measured[23]≈4 × 10¹⁰ median — the highest ultrafine-particle rate of the nine filaments in the chamber study, above every ABS tested[23]
Hazardous species emittedCaprolactam, at up to 180 µg/min from nylon filament[23]Not documented
Ventilation / filtration requirement1–5Ventilated room or enclosure recommended[23]Ventilated room or enclosure recommended[23][11]
Dust & fibre handling hazardNot documentedCarbon fibre is bound in the matrix; sanding dust should not be inhaled[3]
Post-Processing
Sanding & machiningNot documentedSands and machines well; the toughness means it cuts rather than chips[12]
Gluing & solvent weldingNot documentedCyanoacrylate; dichloromethane solvent-welds PC but is a laboratory reagent[12]
Vapour / chemical smoothingNot documentedNo practical vapour smoothing[12]
Support material pairingNot documentedPrints its own supports; 3DXTech sells a dedicated PC break-away support[12]
Solvents & Solubility
Soluble inFormic acid, phenol, m-cresol and hexafluoroisopropanol dissolve the matrix at 23 °C, leaving the fibre; laboratory reagents.[24]Dichloromethane and chloroform dissolve the matrix and leave the fibre; DMF and dioxane do the same (Covestro).[25]
Softened or crazed byZinc chloride solutions stress-crack the nylon matrix, alcoholic calcium chloride dissolves it, mineral acids attack it.[24]Methanol, butyl acetate, ether, 1 % NaOH and phthalate plasticisers stress-crack it; acetone, MEK and xylene swell it.[25]
Solvent welding & smoothing agentNone — nylon's only solvents (formic acid, phenol, HFIP) degrade the part, and the fibre blocks surface flow anyway.[24]Dichloromethane cement welds the resin, but the fibre keeps the joint from flowing closed. Controlled carcinogen.[26]

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

  1. PA (Nylon) — material basics Polymaker Wiki · 2026-08 · doc
  2. Prusament PC Blend Carbon Fiber Technical Datasheet v2.0 Prusa Polymers · 2023-04 · tds
  3. CarbonX Carbon Fiber ezPC Polycarbonate Technical Data Sheet 3DXTech · 2026-08 · tds
  4. Printed Solid product catalogue Printed Solid · 2026-08 · vendor
  5. Spectrum PC CF Carbon Black, 1.75 mm / 250 g 3DJAKE · 2026-08 · vendor
  6. 3DXTech product catalogue 3DXTech · 2026-08 · vendor
  7. IEMAI CF-PC 3D Printing Filament product page IEMAI 3D · 2026-08 · vendor
  8. YXPOLYER PC CF product page YXPOLYER · 2026-08 · vendor
  9. Polymaker product catalogue Polymaker · 2026-08 · vendor
  10. Filastruder product catalogue Filastruder · 2026-08 · vendor
  11. ABS / ASA / PC Usage Guide Bambu Lab Wiki · 2026-08 · doc
  12. Polycarbonate — Ultimate 3D Printing Materials Guide Simplify3D · 2026-08 · doc
  13. PC — material basics Polymaker Wiki · 2026-08 · doc
  14. Fiberon PA6-CF20 Technical Data Sheet V1.1 Polymaker · 2024-12 · tds
  15. Composite materials filled with carbon, kevlar or glass Prusa Knowledge Base · 2026-08 · doc
  16. CARBONX ezPC+CF — product page (print recommendations) 3DXTech · 2026-08 · doc
  17. Wet Filament — signs, causes and drying Polymaker Wiki · 2026-08 · doc
  18. Bambu Filament Technical Data Sheet V2.0 — PC Bambu Lab · 2026-08 · tds
  19. Prusament PC Blend Technical Datasheet v1.1 Prusa Polymers · 2022-02 · tds
  20. PolyMide CoPA Technical Data Sheet V5.4 (dry and wet status blocks) Polymaker · 2024-11 · tds
  21. Moisture Conditioning — effect on printed nylon properties Polymaker Wiki · 2026-08 · doc
  22. Experimental data for creep and dynamic mechanical properties of polycarbonate and polycarbonate/ABS Data in Brief 42:108264 · 2022-06 · paper
  23. 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
  24. Ultramid Nylon Chemical Resistance guide (unmodified PA6 B27E and PA66 A27E) BASF · 2026-08 · tds
  25. Makrolon — The chemical resistance (Makrolon 2800, 6 days at 23 °C and 50 °C) Covestro · 2016-12 · tds
  26. Weld-On 3 Acrylic Plastic Cement — technical data sheet (shipped as dichloromethane) IPS Corporation · 2002-07 · tds