3D Printing InfoFilament comparison
PA aramid vs TPU-CF
Compare printing settings, strength, heat resistance, dated prices and sources.
2 selected · all documented properties
| Property | Aramid-fibre nylonPA | Carbon-fibre TPUFLEX |
|---|---|---|
| Market snapshot | ||
| Listing priceUSD/kg; dated snapshots | Not documented | $107.05/kg median; $107.05–$107.05/kg across 1 dated product listings |
| Identity & Market | ||
| Base polymer / chemistry | Aramid-fibre reinforced polyamide[1] | Carbon-fibre reinforced thermoplastic polyurethane at the hard end of the range[2] |
| Densityg/cm³ | Not documented | 1.22 (Extrudr FLEX HARD CF, ISO 2781)[2] |
| Typical priceUSD/kg | Not documented | 107 for the only retail listing found (Extrudr 0.5 kg coil, incl. VAT)[3] |
| Price range across brandsUSD/kg | Not documented | One listing only: EUR 49.56 incl. VAT per 0.5 kg coil, direct from Extrudr; no reseller or second brand found[3] |
| 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][5] | Niche, a handful of specialist brands — Extrudr's FLEX HARD CF is the only carbon-filled flexible with a published datasheet found here[2] |
| Spool sizes & diameters | Not documented | 1.75 mm; 0.5 and 2 kg coils[3] |
| Typical applications | Not documented | Stiffened flexible parts — damping mounts and semi-rigid brackets[2] |
| Printing Parameters | ||
| Nozzle temperature°C | Not documented | 230–260 (Extrudr FLEX HARD CF)[2] |
| Bed temperature°C | Not documented | 50–90 (Extrudr FLEX HARD CF)[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[6][7] |
| Maximum volumetric flow (mm³/s; see test conditions)mm³/s | Not documented | 1.6–8 at the 20–100 mm/s Extrudr specifies on a 0.4 mm nozzle at 0.2 mm layer[2] |
| Overall printing difficulty1–5 | Not documented | Advanced — enclosure, hardware upgrades, tuning; hardened nozzle needed[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] | Hardened steel required — Extrudr marks FLEX HARD CF as needing a hardened nozzle where its unfilled FLEX grades do not[2] |
| Abrasiveness1–5 | Highly abrasive — fibre-reinforced nylon composite[8] | Highly abrasive — standard CF composite[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] | High — jams from moisture, heat creep or particles; a flexible base plus chopped carbon fibre, which Prusa lists as a higher nozzle-clogging risk, and Extrudr requires a hardened nozzle[9][2][6] |
| Hotend requirement | Not documented | No special hot-end required, but a direct-drive extruder is (Simplify3D)[6] |
| Moisture Behaviour | ||
| Moisture absorption (hygroscopicity)1–5 | Very high (>2 %) — the polyamide matrix governs uptake[10] | Moderate[10] |
| Drying temperature & time | Not documented | 60 °C for 6 h (Extrudr FLEX HARD CF)[2] |
| Symptoms when wet | Not documented | Bubbling and popping at the nozzle, stringing and a rough surface[10] |
| 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] | Polymaker groups TPU with the highly hygroscopic materials; no dry-versus-conditioned figures are published[10] |
| Storage requirement | Not documented | Sealed with desiccant; often kept in a dryer during the print[10] |
| Mechanical Properties | ||
| Young's modulusMPa | Not documented | 35 (Extrudr FLEX HARD CF, ISO 527-2/5A/500)[2] |
| Elongation at break% | Not documented | 380 ultimate elongation (Extrudr FLEX HARD CF, ISO 527-2/5A/500), against 490 for the unfilled FLEX HARD[2] |
| Brittleness1–5 | Not documented | Very ductile — bends far before failing[2] |
| Hardness (scale-specific)Shore A / Shore D / Rockwell | Not documented | 70 Shore D (Extrudr FLEX HARD CF, ISO 868), against 58 Shore D for the unfilled FLEX HARD[2] |
| Creep resistance / sustained load1–5 | Not documented | Below average — no CF-grade creep test; the grade is 70 Shore D where a 95A TPU bar crept from 74.5 to 82.7 mm over 5 days at 1.25 kg[2][13] |
| Fatigue / repeated-flex resistance1–5 | Not documented | Good — 380 % ultimate elongation and a damping application set (Extrudr cites longboard wheels), below the unfilled grades[2] |
| Elasticity / flexibility1–5 | Not documented | Semi-flexible[2] |
| Wear resistance & friction | Not documented | Abrasion 26 mm³ (Extrudr FLEX HARD CF, ISO 4649-A) — the same as the unfilled FLEX HARD[2] |
| Thermal Properties | ||
| Glass transition (Tg)°C | Not documented | -24 (Extrudr FLEX HARD CF)[2] |
| Melting point / Vicat°C | Not documented | Vicat A 140 (Extrudr FLEX HARD CF, ISO 306)[2] |
| Environment & Chemical | ||
| UV resistance1–5 | Not documented | Good — years with some colour shift; Polymaker lists UV exposure among the conditions TPU withstands[7] |
| Chemical resistance | Not documented | Withstands industrial solvents and UV exposure (Polymaker)[7] |
| Food contact | Not documented | Not food safe without specific certification (Polymaker)[7] |
| Biodegradability / compostability | Not documented | Not biodegradable[7] |
| Recyclability | Not documented | Not accepted in household plastic collection[7] |
| Health & Safety | ||
| Fume toxicity1–5 | Moderate — measurable VOCs and UFPs, ventilation advised[14] | Low hazard — minimal VOC and particle emission; TPU was not among the nine filaments 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] |
| Dust & fibre handling hazard | Not documented | Carbon fibre is bound in the matrix; sanding dust should not be inhaled[2] |
| Post-Processing | ||
| Sanding & machining | Not documented | Difficult to sand or smooth; Polymaker limits post-processing to trimming or tumbling[7] |
| Gluing & solvent welding | Not documented | Cyanoacrylate bonds TPU; no common solvent welds it[7] |
| Vapour / chemical smoothing | Not documented | No practical vapour smoothing[7] |
| Support material pairing | Not documented | Polymaker warns TPU supports are often very difficult to remove[7] |
| Dimensional accuracy & detail | Not documented | Tear strength 165 kN/m (Extrudr FLEX HARD CF, ISO 34-1B)[2] |
| Solvents & Solubility | ||
| Soluble in | Formic acid, phenol, m-cresol and hexafluoroisopropanol dissolve the matrix at 23 °C, leaving the fibre; laboratory reagents.[15] | DMF, DMSO, NMP and THF dissolve the TPU matrix and leave the fibre; ketones are partial solvents. Laboratory reagents.[16] |
| Softened or crazed by | Zinc chloride solutions stress-crack the nylon matrix, alcoholic calcium chloride dissolves it, mineral acids attack it.[15] | Toluene and benzene swell it up to +50 % by weight at 23 °C; esters swell it severely; ethanol and IPA soften it.[16] |
| Solvent welding & smoothing agent | None — nylon's only solvents (formic acid, phenol, HFIP) degrade the part, and the fibre blocks surface flow anyway.[15] | None practical — the true solvents (DMF, THF, NMP) are laboratory reagents and leave the joint swollen and weak.[16] |
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
- Extrudr Product Catalogue (DURAPRO PA12 data block) Extrudr · 2025-03 · tds
- Extrudr TPU FLEX Hard CF — product page (1.75 mm, 0.5 and 2 kg coils, price) Extrudr (FD3D GmbH) · 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
- 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
- Elastollan — Chemical properties: swelling and chemical resistance BASF · 2026-08 · tds