3D Printing InfoFilament comparison
PA aramid vs TPE SEBS
Compare printing settings, strength, heat resistance, dated prices and sources.
2 selected · all documented properties
| Property | Aramid-fibre nylonPA | TPE (SEBS)FLEX |
|---|---|---|
| Market snapshot | ||
| Listing priceUSD/kg; dated snapshots | Not documented | $98.25/kg median; $76.50–$120.00/kg across 2 dated product listings |
| Identity & Market | ||
| Base polymer / chemistry | Aramid-fibre reinforced polyamide[1] | Styrene-ethylene-butadiene-styrene thermoplastic elastomer — a styrenic rubber, not a polyurethane[2] |
| Densityg/cm³ | Not documented | 1.044 printed part density (BASF Ultrafuse TPS 90A, ISO 1183-1) — the lightest elastomer here[2] |
| Typical priceUSD/kg | Not documented | 1 kg-equivalent spools cluster near 77[3] |
| Price range across brandsUSD/kg | Not documented | 77 for the Recreus 600 g spool; Proto-pasta only lists a 50 g coil, which prices at 120[3][4] |
| 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[5][6] | Niche, a handful of specialist brands[2][4][3] |
| Spool sizes & diameters | Not documented | 1.75 and 2.85 mm; 0.05 and 0.6 kg spools[2][3] |
| Typical applications | Not documented | Soft-touch overmoulds and skin-contact parts where a non-polyurethane elastomer is wanted[2] |
| Printing Parameters | ||
| Nozzle temperature°C | Not documented | 260–280 (BASF Ultrafuse TPS 90A) — far hotter than any TPU here[2] |
| Bed temperature°C | Not documented | 70–90 (BASF Ultrafuse TPS 90A)[2] |
| Enclosure / chamber requirement1–5 | Enclosure required (passive) — as for every nylon[1] | Open frame is fine[2] |
| Bed surface & adhesion aid | Not documented | PEI sheet or painter's tape; Polymaker warns TPU can over-stick and advises a glue stick as a release agent[7][8] |
| Maximum volumetric flow (mm³/s; see test conditions)mm³/s | Not documented | 0.8–2.4 at the 10–30 mm/s BASF specifies on a 0.4 mm nozzle at 0.2 mm layer — the slowest material in this group[2] |
| Overall printing difficulty1–5 | Not documented | Advanced — enclosure, hardware upgrades, tuning[2] |
| Extruder requirement | Not documented | Nozzle 0.4 mm or larger; BASF caps print speed at 10–30 mm/s[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[9] | Brass fine indefinitely[10] |
| Abrasiveness1–5 | Highly abrasive — fibre-reinforced nylon composite[9] | Non-abrasive[10] |
| 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[11] | Moderate — needs dry filament and a clean nozzle; BASF caps print speed at 10–30 mm/s and Simplify3D warns that raised feed rates on flexibles most likely end in a jam[7][2] |
| Hotend requirement | Not documented | No special hot-end required, but a direct-drive extruder is (Simplify3D)[7] |
| Moisture Behaviour | ||
| Moisture absorption (hygroscopicity)1–5 | Very high (>2 %) — the polyamide matrix governs uptake[12] | Negligible (<0.1 % EMC) — BASF states drying is not necessary, unique among the elastomers here[2] |
| Drying temperature & time | Not documented | None — BASF states Ultrafuse TPS 90A arrives in a printable condition and drying is not necessary[2] |
| Symptoms when wet | Not documented | Bubbling and popping at the nozzle, stringing and a rough surface[12] |
| 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[13][14] | Not applicable — the SEBS chemistry has no amide or ester linkages to take up water, and BASF specifies no drying at all[2] |
| Storage requirement | Not documented | Sealed with desiccant; often kept in a dryer during the print[12] |
| Mechanical Properties | ||
| Brittleness1–5 | Not documented | Very ductile — bends far before failing[2] |
| Hardness (scale-specific)Shore A / Shore D / Rockwell | Not documented | 89 Shore A and 29 Shore D (BASF Ultrafuse TPS 90A, ISO 7619-1)[2] |
| Creep resistance / sustained load1–5 | Not documented | Poor — no SEBS creep test; a printed 95A TPU bar crept from 74.5 to 82.7 mm over 5 days at 1.25 kg[15] |
| Fatigue / repeated-flex resistance1–5 | Not documented | Excellent — living hinges viable[8] |
| Elasticity / flexibility1–5 | Not documented | Rubbery / highly elastic[2] |
| Wear resistance & friction | Not documented | Abrasion 111 mm³ (ISO 4649) — the poorest abrasion resistance in this group, well behind TPU[2] |
| Thermal Properties | ||
| Melting point / Vicat°C | Not documented | 242–249 melting (BASF Ultrafuse TPS 90A, ISO 11357-3)[2] |
| Environment & Chemical | ||
| UV resistance1–5 | Not documented | Good — years with some colour shift; Polymaker lists UV exposure among the conditions TPU withstands[8] |
| Chemical resistance | Not documented | Withstands industrial solvents and UV exposure (Polymaker)[8] |
| Water / humidity resistance in service1–5 | Not documented | Excellent — essentially unaffected[2] |
| Food contact | Not documented | Not food safe without specific certification (Polymaker)[8] |
| Biodegradability / compostability | Not documented | Not biodegradable[8] |
| Recyclability | Not documented | Not accepted in household plastic collection[8] |
| Health & Safety | ||
| Fume toxicity1–5 | Moderate — measurable VOCs and UFPs, ventilation advised[16] | Low hazard — minimal VOC and particle emission; TPU was not among the nine filaments in the chamber study[16] |
| VOC emission rateµg/min | Up to 180 caprolactam, the dominant VOC from nylon and the largest single-VOC rate in the study[16] | Not documented |
| Ultrafine-particle emission rateparticles/min | ≈2 × 10⁸ median for nylon — low for particles despite the highest VOC mass measured[16] | Not documented |
| Hazardous species emitted | Caprolactam, at up to 180 µg/min from nylon filament[16] | Not documented |
| Ventilation / filtration requirement1–5 | Ventilated room or enclosure recommended[16] | Open a window / occasional ventilation[16] |
| Post-Processing | ||
| Sanding & machining | Not documented | Difficult to sand or smooth; Polymaker limits post-processing to trimming or tumbling[8] |
| Gluing & solvent welding | Not documented | Cyanoacrylate bonds TPU; no common solvent welds it[8] |
| Vapour / chemical smoothing | Not documented | No practical vapour smoothing[8] |
| Support material pairing | Not documented | Polymaker warns TPU supports are often very difficult to remove[8] |
| Solvents & Solubility | ||
| Soluble in | Formic acid, phenol, m-cresol and hexafluoroisopropanol dissolve the matrix at 23 °C, leaving the fibre; laboratory reagents.[17] | Toluene dissolves SEBS at room temperature — Kraton quotes solution viscosity at 25 % mass in toluene, 25 °C.[18] |
| Softened or crazed by | Zinc chloride solutions stress-crack the nylon matrix, alcoholic calcium chloride dissolves it, mineral acids attack it.[17] | Soaking in hydrocarbon solvents and oils deteriorates it; short exposures are tolerated. Resists water, acids and bases.[18] |
| Solvent welding & smoothing agent | None — nylon's only solvents (formic acid, phenol, HFIP) degrade the part, and the fibre blocks surface flow anyway.[17] | Toluene will weld it, though the joint stays soft; no workshop-safe agent, and vapour smoothing is not practical.[18] |
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
- Ultrafuse TPS 90A Technical Data Sheet (Version 1.1, SEBS) BASF Forward AM · 2020-12 · tds
- Recreus product catalogue Recreus · 2026-08 · vendor
- Proto-pasta product catalogue Proto-pasta · 2026-08 · vendor
- Polymaker product catalogue Polymaker · 2026-08 · vendor
- 3DXTech product catalogue 3DXTech · 2026-08 · vendor
- Flexible (TPE/TPU) — Ultimate 3D Printing Materials Guide Simplify3D · 2026-08 · doc
- TPU — material basics Polymaker Wiki · 2026-08 · doc
- Fiberon PA6-CF20 Technical Data Sheet V1.1 Polymaker · 2024-12 · tds
- Extrudr Product Catalogue (DURAPRO PA12 data block) Extrudr · 2025-03 · 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
- BambuLab TPU 95A HF vs Qidi TPU 95A HF — results spreadsheet My Tech Fun (Igor Gaspar) · 2024-02 · test
- 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
- KRATON polymers Grade Range — chemical resistance and toluene solution data Kraton Corporation · 2025-07 · tds