3D Printing InfoFilament comparison
PA aramid vs PLA-PHA
Compare printing settings, strength, heat resistance, dated prices and sources.
2 selected · all documented properties
| Property | Aramid-fibre nylonPA | PLA/PHA blendPLA |
|---|---|---|
| Market snapshot | ||
| Listing priceUSD/kg; dated snapshots | Not documented | $76.40/kg median; $76.40–$76.40/kg across 1 dated product listings |
| Identity & Market | ||
| Base polymer / chemistry | Aramid-fibre reinforced polyamide[1] | PLA blended with polyhydroxyalkanoate, a bacterially fermented bio-polyester[2] |
| Densityg/cm³ | Not documented | 1.2 (ISO 1183)[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] | Niche, a handful of specialist brands[2][5] |
| Spool sizes & diameters | Not documented | 1.75 and 2.85 mm; 750 g and 2200 g spools[2] |
| Typical applications | Not documented | General-purpose printing where PLA's brittleness is the limiting factor[2] |
| Printing Parameters | ||
| Nozzle temperature°C | Not documented | 195–220 (colorFabb)[2] |
| Bed temperature°C | Not documented | 50–60 (colorFabb)[2] |
| Enclosure / chamber requirement1–5 | Enclosure required (passive) — as for every nylon[1] | Open frame is fine[2] |
| Part cooling fan | Not documented | 0–100 %; colorFabb states the blend runs on both heated and unheated beds[2][6] |
| Maximum volumetric flow (mm³/s; see test conditions)mm³/s | Not documented | 3.2–8 at colorFabb's 40–100 mm/s, on a 0.4 mm nozzle at 0.2 mm layer[6][7] |
| Overall printing difficulty1–5 | Not documented | Beginner — prints on any machine out of the box[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[8] | Brass fine indefinitely[2] |
| Abrasiveness1–5 | Highly abrasive — fibre-reinforced nylon composite[8] | Non-abrasive[2] |
| 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[9] | Very low — unfilled PLA blend; Prusa lists no drybox and no hardened nozzle for PLA[10] |
| Moisture Behaviour | ||
| Moisture absorption (hygroscopicity)1–5 | Very high (>2 %) — the polyamide matrix governs uptake[11] | Moderate — the PLA matrix takes up 0.40–0.51 % saturated; colorFabb publishes no figure for the blend[12][13] |
| 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[14][15] | Polymaker rates PLA low-sensitivity and publishes no dry-versus-conditioned figures for this grade; absorbed water flashes to steam and shows as bubbling and poor layer adhesion[11] |
| Mechanical Properties | ||
| Tensile strength (XY)MPa | Not documented | 62–64 (ISO 527-1A, colorFabb; two grades quoted)[2] |
| Young's modulusMPa | Not documented | 2960–3070 (ISO 527-1A, colorFabb)[2] |
| Elongation at break% | Not documented | 4 and 11 (ISO 527-1A, colorFabb; two grades quoted)[2] |
| Flexural modulusMPa | Not documented | 2500–3300 flexural modulus (ISO 178, colorFabb)[2] |
| Charpy impact, notchedkJ/m² | Not documented | 2.8–3.7 (ISO 179, notched, colorFabb)[2] |
| Brittleness1–5 | Not documented | Moderate — colorFabb positions the blend as tougher and less brittle than its generic PLA grades[2] |
| Creep resistance / sustained load1–5 | Not documented | Poor — no PLA/PHA creep test; plain printed PLA sagged from 12 to 16.2–21.8 mm over 5 days at 1.25 kg[16][17][18] |
| Fatigue / repeated-flex resistance1–5 | Not documented | Below average — no S-N curve for the blend; colorFabb positions it as tougher and less brittle than its generic PLA, which ran 38 000–49 000 cycles at 30 % of tensile strength[19][2] |
| Elasticity / flexibility1–5 | Not documented | Rigid[2] |
| Thermal Properties | ||
| Melting point / Vicat°C | Not documented | Above 155 melting (ISO 3146-C)[2] |
| Environment & Chemical | ||
| UV resistance1–5 | Not documented | Degrades within weeks outdoors[20] |
| Biodegradability / compostability | Not documented | colorFabb states the PHA component is 100 % biodegradable[2] |
| Health & Safety | ||
| Fume toxicity1–5 | Moderate — measurable VOCs and UFPs, ventilation advised[21] | Low hazard — minimal VOC and particle emission[21] |
| VOC emission rateµg/min | Up to 180 caprolactam, the dominant VOC from nylon and the largest single-VOC rate in the study[21] | Not documented |
| Ultrafine-particle emission rateparticles/min | ≈2 × 10⁸ median for nylon — low for particles despite the highest VOC mass measured[21] | Not documented |
| Hazardous species emitted | Caprolactam, at up to 180 µg/min from nylon filament[21] | Not documented |
| Ventilation / filtration requirement1–5 | Ventilated room or enclosure recommended[21] | None needed in a normal room[21] |
| Solvents & Solubility | ||
| Soluble in | Formic acid, phenol, m-cresol and hexafluoroisopropanol dissolve the matrix at 23 °C, leaving the fibre; laboratory reagents.[22] | Chloroform dissolves the PLA phase (10 % w/v, 2–4 h at 23 °C); THF and DMF need 65 °C. Laboratory reagents.[23] |
| Softened or crazed by | Zinc chloride solutions stress-crack the nylon matrix, alcoholic calcium chloride dissolves it, mineral acids attack it.[22] | Acetone, ethyl acetate and toluene plasticise it but dissolve <1 % even at 65 °C; submersion in acetone crazes and destroys parts.[23][24] |
| Solvent welding & smoothing agent | None — nylon's only solvents (formic acid, phenol, HFIP) degrade the part, and the fibre blocks surface flow anyway.[22] | Chloroform vapour smooths and welds PLA at the cost of tensile strength; acetone does not smooth it at all.[25][24] |
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/PHA technical data sheet colorFabb · 2026-08 · tds
- Polymaker product catalogue Polymaker · 2026-08 · vendor
- 3DXTech product catalogue 3DXTech · 2026-08 · vendor
- woodFill technical data sheet colorFabb · 2026-08 · tds
- glowFill technical data sheet colorFabb · 2026-08 · tds
- 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
- Filament Material Guide Prusa Knowledge Base · 2026-08 · doc
- Wet Filament — signs, causes and drying Polymaker Wiki · 2026-08 · doc
- Bambu Filament Technical Data Sheet V3.0 — PLA Basic Bambu Lab · 2026-08 · tds
- PolyLite PLA Technical Data Sheet V5.4 Polymaker · 2024-11 · 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
- BambuLab PLA Basic vs PLA Tough vs PLA-CF — results spreadsheet My Tech Fun (Igor Gaspar) · 2026-08 · test
- Polymaker PLA Pro vs PLA-CF — results spreadsheet My Tech Fun (Igor Gaspar) · 2026-08 · test
- Carbon Fiber PLA vs META-PLA vs PLA+ vs PLA by Sunlu — 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
- PLA — material guide Prusa Knowledge Base · 2026-08 · doc
- 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
- 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