3D Printing InfoFilament comparison
PA aramid vs Breakaway
Compare printing settings, strength, heat resistance, dated prices and sources.
2 selected · all documented properties
| Property | Aramid-fibre nylonPA | Break-away supportSUPPORT |
|---|---|---|
| Market snapshot | ||
| Listing priceUSD/kg; dated snapshots | Not documented | $42.49/kg median; $26.00–$79.98/kg across 4 dated product listings |
| Identity & Market | ||
| Base polymer / chemistry | Aramid-fibre reinforced polyamide[1] | Break-away support compounds matched to a specific model material — Polymaker sells separate grades for PLA and for PA12[2][3] |
| Densityg/cm³ | Not documented | 1.22 (PolySupport for PLA) and 1.29 (PolySupport for PA12), ISO 1183[2][3] |
| Typical priceUSD/kg | Not documented | 1 kg-equivalent spools span 26–80; the middle of the market is about 45[4][5][6] |
| Price range across brandsUSD/kg | Not documented | 26–80 across brands and grades; IEMAI 3D E-REMOVE 26, Polymaker PolySupport for PLA 40 at 750 g, YXPOLYER 45, PolySupport for PA12 80 at 500 g[4][5][6] |
| 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][7] | Available from several mainstream brands[4][7] |
| Spool sizes & diameters | Not documented | 1.75 and 2.85 mm; 0.5 and 0.75 kg spools[4] |
| Typical applications | Not documented | Support that peels off by hand, avoiding the moisture handling and dissolution time that soluble supports demand[2] |
| Printing Parameters | ||
| Nozzle temperature°C | Not documented | 220–230 (PolySupport for PLA)[2] |
| Bed temperature°C | Not documented | 25–60 (PolySupport for PLA)[2] |
| Enclosure / chamber requirement1–5 | Enclosure required (passive) — as for every nylon[1] | Open frame is fine[2] |
| Maximum volumetric flow (mm³/s; see test conditions)mm³/s | Not documented | 4–12 at Polymaker's 50–150 mm/s on a 0.4 mm nozzle at 0.2 mm layer[2] |
| Overall printing difficulty1–5 | Not documented | Easy — minor profile tuning[2] |
| Extruder requirement | Not documented | A second extruder or a tool changer[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] | Moderate — needs dry filament and a clean nozzle; Polymaker specifies a 55 °C dry for the PLA grade and warns brass nozzle life falls to about 9 h on the PA12 grade[2][3] |
| Moisture Behaviour | ||
| Moisture absorption (hygroscopicity)1–5 | Very high (>2 %) — the polyamide matrix governs uptake[10] | Moderate — 0.64 % equilibrium water absorption (PolySupport for PLA)[2] |
| Equilibrium moisture content at ~50 % RH% | Not documented | 0.64 equilibrium water absorption (Polymaker PolySupport for PLA)[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[11][12] | Not a structural material; no dry-versus-conditioned data is published[10] |
| Thermal Properties | ||
| HDT at 0.45 MPa°C | Not documented | 43 (ISO 75, 0.45 MPa, PolySupport for PA12). Polymaker's sheet prints a higher figure at the higher load, which is physically inverted; treat both HDT numbers as approximate[3] |
| HDT at 1.8 MPa°C | Not documented | 53 (ISO 75, 1.8 MPa, PolySupport for PA12) — printed above the 0.45 MPa figure on Polymaker's own sheet, which cannot be right; treat both as approximate[3] |
| Melting point / Vicat°C | Not documented | Vicat 171 (PolySupport for PA12, ISO 306)[3] |
| Environment & Chemical | ||
| Electrical & ESD properties | Not documented | Surface resistance above 10^13 ohm/sq (ASTM D257, THERMAX HTS2 and MTS1)[13][14] |
| Health & Safety | ||
| Fume toxicity1–5 | Moderate — measurable VOCs and UFPs, ventilation advised[15] | Low hazard — minimal VOC and particle emission; none of these materials was in the chamber study[15] |
| VOC emission rateµg/min | Up to 180 caprolactam, the dominant VOC from nylon and the largest single-VOC rate in the study[15] | Not documented |
| Ultrafine-particle emission rateparticles/min | ≈2 × 10⁸ median for nylon — low for particles despite the highest VOC mass measured[15] | Not documented |
| Hazardous species emitted | Caprolactam, at up to 180 µg/min from nylon filament[15] | Not documented |
| Ventilation / filtration requirement1–5 | Ventilated room or enclosure recommended[15] | Open a window / occasional ventilation[15] |
| Post-Processing | ||
| Support material pairing | Not documented | This is the support material. Polymaker publishes an adhesion matrix per model material, from very good to unusable, because break-away supports only work against the polymer they were matched to[2][3] |
| Solvents & Solubility | ||
| Soluble in | Formic acid, phenol, m-cresol and hexafluoroisopropanol dissolve the matrix at 23 °C, leaving the fibre; laboratory reagents.[16] | None — break-away support is removed mechanically; 3DXTech lists no water or solvent route for it.[17] |
| 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] | None — there is no solvent to weld or smooth with.[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
- PolySupport Technical Data Sheet V5.4 Polymaker · 2024-11 · tds
- PolySupport for PA12 Technical Data Sheet V5.4 Polymaker · 2024-11 · tds
- Polymaker product catalogue Polymaker · 2026-08 · vendor
- YXPOLYER Breakaway Support Filament 1 kg Black — product page YXPOLYER · 2026-08 · vendor
- IEMAI 3D E-REMOVE breakaway support filament — store page IEMAI 3D · 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
- Wet Filament — signs, causes and drying Polymaker 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
- THERMAX HTS2 Break Away Support Technical Data Sheet v1.0 3DXTech · 2026-08 · tds
- THERMAX MTS1 Break Away Support Technical Data Sheet v1.0 3DXTech · 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
- THERMAX HTS1 — product page 3DXTech · 2026-08 · vendor