3D Printing InfoFilament comparison
PA aramid vs PLA Matte
Compare printing settings, strength, heat resistance, dated prices and sources.
2 selected · all documented properties
| Property | Aramid-fibre nylonPA | Matte PLAPLA |
|---|---|---|
| Market snapshot | ||
| Listing priceUSD/kg; dated snapshots | Not documented | $19.09/kg median; $10.99–$32.16/kg across 10 dated product listings |
| Identity & Market | ||
| Base polymer / chemistry | Aramid-fibre reinforced polyamide[1] | PLA compounded with a mineral filler — Fiberlogy names chalk — that scatters light into a diffuse finish[2][3] |
| Densityg/cm³ | Not documented | 1.31 (Bambu Lab, ISO 1183) to 1.38 (Fiberlogy PLA Mineral, method not stated) — above plain PLA from the filler[3][2] |
| Typical priceUSD/kg | Not documented | Mainstream 1 kg spools cluster near 21[4][5][6] |
| Price range across brandsUSD/kg | Not documented | 11–32 across brands; budget house brands 11–19, Fiberlogy PLA Mineral 32[7][5][8] |
| 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[9][10] | Stocked by most mainstream brands[7][6][4] |
| Spool sizes & diameters | Not documented | 1.75 mm; 1 kg spools plus spool-less refills[4][11] |
| Typical applications | Not documented | Display models and visible parts where a matte, non-reflective finish matters[3] |
| Diameter tolerance± mm | Not documented | ±0.03 (Bambu Lab)[12] |
| Printing Parameters | ||
| Nozzle temperature°C | Not documented | 190–230 (Bambu Lab); 190–210 (Fiberlogy PLA Mineral)[3][2] |
| Bed temperature°C | Not documented | 35–45 (Bambu Lab); 60 (Fiberlogy)[3][2] |
| Enclosure / chamber requirement1–5 | Enclosure required (passive) — as for every nylon[1] | Open frame is fine[3][2] |
| Part cooling fan | Not documented | Fan on; Fiberlogy specifies 75–100 %[3][2] |
| Bed surface & adhesion aid | Not documented | Cool plate, high-temperature plate or textured PEI with glue (Bambu Lab); smooth PEI, textured PEI or glass (Fiberlogy)[3][2] |
| Warping tendency1–5 | Not documented | None[3] |
| Bed-adhesion difficulty1–5 | Not documented | Sticks to anything[13] |
| Overall printing difficulty1–5 | Not documented | Beginner — prints on any machine out of the box[3][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[14] | Brass fine indefinitely[15][3][2] |
| Abrasiveness1–5 | Highly abrasive — fibre-reinforced nylon composite[14] | Slightly abrasive — mineral filler pushes density from 1.24 to 1.31–1.38[2][3][16] |
| 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[17] | Very low[15] |
| Heat-creep / jam sensitivity1–5 | Not documented | Moderate — good heatbreak cooling needed; PLA softens below 60 °C[18] |
| Hotend requirement | Not documented | No special hot-end required[13] |
| Moisture Behaviour | ||
| Moisture absorption (hygroscopicity)1–5 | Very high (>2 %) — the polyamide matrix governs uptake[19] | Moderate — 0.40 % saturated at 25 °C / 55 % RH[3] |
| Equilibrium moisture content at ~50 % RH% | Not documented | 0.40 saturated at 25 °C / 55 % RH (Bambu Lab)[3] |
| Drying temperature & time | Not documented | 50 °C for 8 h in a forced-air dryer, or 60–70 °C for 12 h on an X1 heatbed; Fiberlogy specifies 50 °C for 6 h[3][2][20] |
| Symptoms when wet | Not documented | Bubbling and popping at the nozzle, stringing, rough surface and weak layers[19] |
| 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[21][22] | Polymaker rates PLA low-sensitivity — the loss shows as poor layer adhesion and brittle layers rather than a published strength figure[19] |
| Storage requirement | Not documented | Sealed with desiccant below 20 % RH; shelf life at ambient is long[16][13] |
| Mechanical Properties | ||
| Tensile strength (XY)MPa | Not documented | 30 (printed XY, ISO 527, Bambu Lab); 35.1 on My Tech Fun bars for PolyTerra PLA[3][23] |
| Young's modulusMPa | Not documented | 1960 (Bambu Lab, printed XY, ISO 527); Fiberlogy PLA Mineral quotes 3500 (ISO 527, specimen type not stated)[3][2] |
| Elongation at break% | Not documented | 14.8 (printed XY, ISO 527)[3] |
| Flexural strengthMPa | Not documented | 53 (printed XY, ISO 178) — 30 % below PLA Basic at 76[3][16] |
| Flexural modulusMPa | Not documented | 2360 (printed XY, ISO 178)[3] |
| Charpy impact, notchedkJ/m² | Not documented | 6.3 (printed XY, ISO 179, notched); unnotched 19.2[3] |
| Other impact data | Not documented | Izod 6.1 kJ/m² on My Tech Fun printed bars for PolyTerra PLA[23] |
| Layer adhesion / Z tensileMPa | Not documented | 22 (printed Z, ISO 527); flexural Z falls to 29 against 53 in XY; 12.9 on My Tech Fun layer-adhesion bars[3][23] |
| Brittleness1–5 | Not documented | Brittle — snaps with little warning[3] |
| Creep resistance / sustained load1–5 | Not documented | Poor — 12 mm bar sagged to 18.7 mm over 5 days at 1.25 kg[23] |
| Fatigue / repeated-flex resistance1–5 | Not documented | Poor — no grade-specific S-N curve; plain printed PLA ran 38 000–49 000 cycles at 30 % of tensile strength (R = 0.2)[24][18] |
| Elasticity / flexibility1–5 | Not documented | Rigid[3] |
| Z strength as % of XY% | Not documented | 73 by tensile, 55 by flexural (printed, Bambu Lab)[3] |
| Thermal Properties | ||
| HDT at 0.45 MPa°C | Not documented | 58 (Bambu Lab) and 48 (Fiberlogy PLA Mineral), ISO 75 at 0.45 MPa[3][2] |
| HDT at 1.8 MPa°C | Not documented | 52 (ISO 75, 1.8 MPa)[3] |
| Glass transition (Tg)°C | Not documented | 61 (DSC)[3] |
| Melting point / Vicat°C | Not documented | 163 peak melt (DSC); Vicat 63 °C[3] |
| Continuous service temperature°C | Not documented | 54 — loaded bars begin to move at this temperature[23] |
| Annealing response | Not documented | 50–60 °C for 6–12 h; some prints deform or warp, and a forced-air oven is required[3] |
| Flammability / UL 94 | Not documented | Flammable; no UL 94 rating published by the major brands[16][25] |
| Environment & Chemical | ||
| UV resistance1–5 | Not documented | Degrades within weeks outdoors[18][26] |
| Chemical resistance | Not documented | Good against weak acids, oils and grease; poor against strong acids and alkalis; dissolved by chloroform, THF and hot benzene[25][18] |
| Water / humidity resistance in service1–5 | Not documented | Good — insoluble in water[16] |
| Food contact | Not documented | Base resin is food-contact grade, but printed layer grooves harbour bacteria; Prusa advises against food use[18] |
| Biodegradability / compostability | Not documented | Industrially compostable only — needs sustained 55 °C; not home compostable[27][18] |
| Recyclability | Not documented | Mechanically recyclable; not accepted in household plastic collection[27] |
| Health & Safety | ||
| Fume toxicity1–5 | Moderate — measurable VOCs and UFPs, ventilation advised[28] | Low hazard — minimal VOC and particle emission[28] |
| VOC emission rateµg/min | Up to 180 caprolactam, the dominant VOC from nylon and the largest single-VOC rate in the study[28] | Not documented |
| Ultrafine-particle emission rateparticles/min | ≈2 × 10⁸ median for nylon — low for particles despite the highest VOC mass measured[28] | Not documented |
| Hazardous species emitted | Caprolactam, at up to 180 µg/min from nylon filament[28] | Not documented |
| Ventilation / filtration requirement1–5 | Ventilated room or enclosure recommended[28] | None needed in a normal room[28] |
| Post-Processing | ||
| Sanding & machining | Not documented | Wet sanding — dry sanding heats the surface by friction and smears it[26][18] |
| Gluing & solvent welding | Not documented | Cyanoacrylate for most joints; some grades partially dissolve and bond with acetone[18][29] |
| Vapour / chemical smoothing | Not documented | No practical vapour smoothing — only chloroform, hot benzene or THF, which are laboratory-only[18] |
| Support material pairing | Not documented | Support for PLA (Bambu Lab)[3] |
| Dimensional accuracy & detail | Not documented | Matte surface hides layer lines; 55° overhangs and 30 mm bridges as for plain PLA[3] |
| Solvents & Solubility | ||
| Soluble in | Formic acid, phenol, m-cresol and hexafluoroisopropanol dissolve the matrix at 23 °C, leaving the fibre; laboratory reagents.[30] | Chloroform: 10 % w/v in 2–4 h at 23 °C, every grade and morphology; THF and DMF only at 65 °C. Laboratory reagents.[31] |
| Softened or crazed by | Zinc chloride solutions stress-crack the nylon matrix, alcoholic calcium chloride dissolves it, mineral acids attack it.[30] | Acetone, ethyl acetate and toluene plasticise it but dissolve <1 % even at 65 °C; submersion in acetone crazes and destroys parts.[31][32] |
| Solvent welding & smoothing agent | None — nylon's only solvents (formic acid, phenol, HFIP) degrade the part, and the fibre blocks surface flow anyway.[30] | Chloroform vapour smooths and welds PLA at the cost of tensile strength; acetone does not smooth it at all.[33][32] |
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
- PLA Mineral — product and technical data Fiberlogy · 2026-08 · tds
- Bambu Filament Technical Data Sheet V3.0 — PLA Matte Bambu Lab · 2026-08 · tds
- Polymaker Panchroma Matte PLA — product listing 3DJake International · 2026-08 · vendor
- Overture Matte PLA 1.75mm Overture3D · 2026-08 · vendor
- Matte PLA filament collection Anycubic Official Store · 2026-08 · vendor
- Matte PLA filament collection Sunlu Official Store · 2026-08 · vendor
- Fiberlogy PLA Mineral — product listing 3DJake International · 2026-08 · vendor
- Polymaker product catalogue Polymaker · 2026-08 · vendor
- 3DXTech product catalogue 3DXTech · 2026-08 · vendor
- Extrudr PLA NX2 Matt — product listing 3DJake International · 2026-08 · vendor
- PLA Basic — product page Bambu Lab US Store · 2026-08 · vendor
- PLA — Ultimate 3D Printing Materials Guide Simplify3D · 2026-08 · doc
- Fiberon PA6-CF20 Technical Data Sheet V1.1 Polymaker · 2024-12 · tds
- Filament Material Guide Prusa Knowledge Base · 2026-08 · doc
- Bambu Filament Technical Data Sheet V3.0 — PLA Basic Bambu Lab · 2026-08 · tds
- Composite materials filled with carbon, kevlar or glass Prusa Knowledge Base · 2026-08 · doc
- PLA — material guide Prusa Knowledge Base · 2026-08 · doc
- Wet Filament — signs, causes and drying Polymaker Wiki · 2026-08 · doc
- Filament Drying Recommendations Bambu Lab Wiki · 2026-08 · doc
- 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
- PolyTerra PLA vs PLA+ — results spreadsheet My Tech Fun (Igor Gaspar) · 2026-08 · test
- Mechanical Properties of Additively Manufactured Polymeric Materials — PLA and PETG — For Biomechanical Applications Polymers 16(13):1868 · 2024-06 · paper
- PolyLite PLA Technical Data Sheet V5.4 Polymaker · 2024-11 · tds
- Prusament PLA Technical Data Sheet v1.0 Prusa Polymers · 2018-09 · tds
- Filamentive PLA (recycled) — product page Filamentive · 2026-08 · vendor
- 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
- Prusament rPLA Corn Pigment 1kg — product page Prusa Research · 2026-08 · vendor
- Ultramid Nylon Chemical Resistance guide (unmodified PA6 B27E and PA66 A27E) BASF · 2026-08 · tds
- Solubility Study of Ingeo Biopolymer Grades in Common Organic Solvents (NWPD003) NatureWorks · 2019-10 · tds
- Improve your 3D prints with chemical smoothing Prusa Research · 2026-08 · doc
- Effect of vapour smoothing in trichloromethane on 3D printed PLA — surface, mechanical and chemical structure Pitale, Keche & Chopra, Engineering Research Express 6(4) 045579 · 2024-12 · paper