3D Printing InfoFilament comparison
PA aramid vs PVB
Compare printing settings, strength, heat resistance, dated prices and sources.
2 selected · all documented properties
| Property | Aramid-fibre nylonPA | PVBSPECIALTY |
|---|---|---|
| Market snapshot | ||
| Listing priceUSD/kg; dated snapshots | Not documented | $66.65/kg median; $49.32–$79.98/kg across 3 dated product listings |
| Identity & Market | ||
| Base polymer / chemistry | Aramid-fibre reinforced polyamide[1] | Polyvinyl butyral — a printable thermoplastic whose surface can be smoothed with isopropyl alcohol instead of a hot solvent[2] |
| Densityg/cm³ | Not documented | 1.10 (Polymaker PolySmooth, ISO 1183); Prusament PVB 1.10[2][3] |
| Typical priceUSD/kg | Not documented | 1 kg-equivalent spools cluster near 80[4][5] |
| Price range across brandsUSD/kg | Not documented | 49–102 across brands; Polymaker PolySmooth 49 at 750 g, Prusament PVB 80–102 at 500 g[4][5] |
| 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][6] | Available from several mainstream brands[4][5] |
| Spool sizes & diameters | Not documented | 1.75 and 2.85 mm; 0.5 and 0.75 kg spools[4][5] |
| Typical applications | Not documented | Display models and light guides where a layer-free surface matters more than strength[2] |
| Diameter tolerance± mm | Not documented | +/- 0.03 (Prusament PVB)[3] |
| Printing Parameters | ||
| Nozzle temperature°C | Not documented | 215 +/- 10 (Prusament PVB)[3] |
| Bed temperature°C | Not documented | 75 +/- 5 (Prusament PVB)[3] |
| Enclosure / chamber requirement1–5 | Enclosure required (passive) — as for every nylon[1] | Open frame is fine[2] |
| Part cooling fan | Not documented | 100 % part cooling (Prusament PVB)[3] |
| Bed surface & adhesion aid | Not documented | Smooth PEI sheet or satin sheet; Prusa states a brim is not generally necessary[3] |
| Overall printing difficulty1–5 | Not documented | Easy — minor profile tuning; it prints close to PLA[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[7] | Brass fine indefinitely[2] |
| Abrasiveness1–5 | Highly abrasive — fibre-reinforced nylon composite[7] | 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[8] | Moderate — needs dry filament and a clean nozzle; Prusa calls PVB very prone to absorbing moisture and requires a 60 °C, 4 h dry before every print[9][10] |
| Moisture Behaviour | ||
| Moisture absorption (hygroscopicity)1–5 | Very high (>2 %) — the polyamide matrix governs uptake[10] | Very high (>2 %) — 2.36 % equilibrium water absorption (Polymaker PolySmooth), above every PLA and PETG grade here[2] |
| Equilibrium moisture content at ~50 % RH% | Not documented | 2.36 equilibrium water absorption (Polymaker PolySmooth); 2.09 for PolyCast; Prusament PVB takes up 0.18 in 24 h and 0.35 in 7 days at 24 °C and 22 % RH[2][11][3] |
| Drying temperature & time | Not documented | Maximum 60 °C for 4-8 h depending on how wet the filament is (Prusament PVB)[3] |
| 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 no dry-versus-conditioned figures; at 2.36 % equilibrium uptake the material has to be kept dry to print cleanly[2][10] |
| Storage requirement | Not documented | Sealed with desiccant[10] |
| Mechanical Properties | ||
| Tensile strength (XY)MPa | Not documented | 51.8 ± 0.7 printed XY, ISO 527 (PolySmooth); 53.2 ± 1.1 for PolyCast; Prusament PVB gives 50 +/- 5 at yield printed horizontal (ISO 527-1) and 57 +/- 1 on the filament (ISO 527)[2][11][3] |
| Young's modulusMPa | Not documented | 2199 ± 43 printed XY and 2010 ± 69 printed Z, ISO 527 (PolySmooth); Prusament PVB gives 1700 +/- 100 in both print directions (ISO 527-1)[2][3] |
| Elongation at break% | Not documented | 5.7 ± 0.5 printed XY, ISO 527 (PolyCast)[11] |
| Flexural strengthMPa | Not documented | 72 +/- 1 printed horizontal and 73 +/- 3 printed vertical, ISO 178 (Prusament PVB)[3] |
| Flexural modulusMPa | Not documented | 2233 ± 106 printed XY, ISO 178 (PolyCast); Prusament PVB gives 2200 +/- 100 horizontal and 2300 +/- 100 vertical (ISO 178)[11][3] |
| Charpy impact, notchedkJ/m² | Not documented | 7 +/- 1 printed horizontal and 10 +/- 1 printed vertical, ISO 179-1 notched (Prusament PVB)[3] |
| Other impact data | Not documented | Charpy unnotched 55 +/- 7 printed horizontal and 59 +/- 12 printed vertical (Prusament PVB, ISO 179-1)[3] |
| Layer adhesion / Z tensileMPa | Not documented | 26.3 ± 2.1 printed Z, ISO 527 (PolyCast); Prusament PVB gives 49 +/- 5 at yield printed vertical (ISO 527-1) and 9 +/- 1 on Prusa's interlayer adhesion test[11][3] |
| Brittleness1–5 | Not documented | Moderate[2] |
| Hardness (scale-specific)Shore A / Shore D / Rockwell | Not documented | Shore D 77 (Prusa Polymers method)[3] |
| Elasticity / flexibility1–5 | Not documented | Rigid[2] |
| Z strength as % of XY% | Not documented | 98 (Prusament PVB, printed vertical against horizontal tensile yield, ISO 527-1: 49 +/- 5 against 50 +/- 5) — the most isotropic printed material in this dataset[3] |
| Thermal Properties | ||
| HDT at 0.45 MPa°C | Not documented | 68 (PolySmooth) and 67 (PolyCast), ISO 75 at 0.45 MPa; Prusament PVB 63 (ISO 75 at 0.45 MPa)[2][11][3] |
| HDT at 1.8 MPa°C | Not documented | 66 (PolySmooth) and 53 (PolyCast), ISO 75 at 1.8 MPa; Prusament PVB 58 (ISO 75 at 1.8 MPa)[2][11][3] |
| Glass transition (Tg)°C | Not documented | 70 (DSC) for both PolySmooth and PolyCast[2][11] |
| Melting point / Vicat°C | Not documented | Amorphous — no melting point; Vicat 70 (PolySmooth) and 67 (PolyCast), ISO 306[2][11] |
| Health & Safety | ||
| Fume toxicity1–5 | Moderate — measurable VOCs and UFPs, ventilation advised[14] | Low hazard — minimal VOC and particle emission; none of these materials was in the chamber study[14] |
| VOC emission rateµg/min | Up to 180 caprolactam, the dominant VOC from nylon and the largest single-VOC rate in the study[14] | Not documented |
| Ultrafine-particle emission rateparticles/min | ≈2 × 10⁸ median for nylon — low for particles despite the highest VOC mass measured[14] | Not documented |
| Hazardous species emitted | Caprolactam, at up to 180 µg/min from nylon filament[14] | Not documented |
| Ventilation / filtration requirement1–5 | Ventilated room or enclosure recommended[14] | Open a window / occasional ventilation[14] |
| Post-Processing | ||
| Vapour / chemical smoothing | Not documented | Isopropyl alcohol vapour smoothing is the point of the material — Polymaker markets PolySmooth for hands-free post-processing to a layer-free surface[2] |
| Support material pairing | Not documented | PolyDissolve S1 is rated for PVB (Polymaker)[15] |
| Dimensional accuracy & detail | Not documented | PolyCast is the investment-casting variant of the same chemistry — it burns out cleanly rather than being smoothed[11] |
| Solvents & Solubility | ||
| Soluble in | Formic acid, phenol, m-cresol and hexafluoroisopropanol dissolve the matrix at 23 °C, leaving the fibre; laboratory reagents.[16] | Isopropyl alcohol dissolves it; Prusa describes PVB as soluble only in IPA, and it is not water-soluble.[9] |
| Softened or crazed by | Zinc chloride solutions stress-crack the nylon matrix, alcoholic calcium chloride dissolves it, mineral acids attack it.[16] | Not documented |
| Solvent welding & smoothing agent | None — nylon's only solvents (formic acid, phenol, HFIP) degrade the part, and the fibre blocks surface flow anyway.[16] | Isopropyl alcohol: brushed or sprayed on for speed, or several hours in IPA vapour for a glass-like surface.[17][9] |
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
- PolySmooth Technical Data Sheet V5.4 Polymaker · 2024-11 · tds
- Prusament PVB Technical Datasheet v1.1 Prusa Polymers · 2022-02 · tds
- Polymaker product catalogue Polymaker · 2026-08 · vendor
- Printed Solid product catalogue Printed Solid · 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
- Prusament PVB — material page Prusa Polymers · 2026-08 · tds
- Wet Filament — signs, causes and drying Polymaker Wiki · 2026-08 · doc
- PolyCast 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
- 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
- PolyDissolve S1 Technical Data Sheet V5.4 Polymaker · 2024-11 · tds
- Ultramid Nylon Chemical Resistance guide (unmodified PA6 B27E and PA66 A27E) BASF · 2026-08 · tds
- Improve your 3D prints with chemical smoothing Prusa Research · 2026-08 · doc