3D Printing InfoFilament comparison
PA blend vs PP
Compare printing settings, strength, heat resistance, dated prices and sources.
2 selected · all documented properties
| Property | PA6/66 copolymer blendsPA | Polypropylene (PP)POLYOLEFIN |
|---|---|---|
| Market snapshot | ||
| Listing priceUSD/kg; dated snapshots | $65.62/kg median; $62.00–$113.33/kg across 4 dated product listings | $46.56/kg median; $31.99–$53.00/kg across 4 dated product listings |
| Identity & Market | ||
| Base polymer / chemistry | PA6/66 copolymer — a nylon alloy that lowers the melting point and improves printability against straight PA6[1][2] | Polypropylene — a semi-crystalline polyolefin with no polar groups, so it neither absorbs water nor bonds to most bed surfaces[3][4] |
| Densityg/cm³ | 1.12 (ISO 1183, Polymaker CoPA)[1] | 0.91 (Prusa PP composite, ISO 1183) — the lightest common filament[5] |
| Typical priceUSD/kg | 1 kg-equivalent spools cluster near 65[6][7][8] | 1 kg-equivalent spools span 27–53; the middle of the market is about 44[9][10][11][12] |
| Price range across brandsUSD/kg | 62–113 across brands; add:north Adura 62, PrimaCreator NylonPower PA6/66 65 at 500 g, Polymaker CoPA 67, 3DXTech AmideX Nylon 6-66 113[6][13][7][8] | 27–53 across brands; Reli3D 32 on Amazon, SUNLU 44 at 0.8 kg, Fiberlogy 49 at 750 g, IEMAI 3D 53, and the 3DJake PP listing spans 27–49[9][14][10][11][12] |
| Market availability1–5 | Available from several mainstream brands[6][13] | Available from several mainstream brands[14][10][9] |
| Spool sizes & diameters | 1.75 and 2.85 mm; 0.5, 0.75 and 1 kg spools[6][13][7][8] | 1.75 and 2.85 mm; 0.75 kg spools are common[10] |
| Typical applications | General-purpose nylon parts and, unusually, CoPA can support itself if the support is removed before it absorbs moisture[1] | Living hinges, chemical-resistant containers, automotive clips and packaging prototypes[3] |
| Printing Parameters | ||
| Nozzle temperature°C | 250–270 (Polymaker CoPA)[1] | 210–230 (Braskem-type PE/PP window); Formfutura's Centaur PP melts at 205 ± 15 °C[3] |
| Bed temperature°C | 25–50 (Polymaker CoPA)[1] | Not documented |
| Enclosure / chamber requirement1–5 | Enclosure required (passive) — Polymaker specifies a chamber at ambient temperature[1] | Enclosure recommended — Simplify3D lists an enclosure as a hardware requirement and Polymaker advises one below 70 °C ambient to stop warping and cracking[15][4] |
| Part cooling fan | Not documented | Part cooling fan required (Simplify3D)[15] |
| Bed surface & adhesion aid | Not documented | Packing tape, a polypropylene sheet, or a PP-specific adhesive such as Magigoo PP — ordinary PLA and ABS adhesives do not hold it[15][4] |
| Maximum volumetric flow (mm³/s; see test conditions)mm³/s | 16 at Polymaker's 200 mm/s cap on a 0.4 mm nozzle at 0.2 mm layer[1][16] | Not documented |
| Warping tendency1–5 | Not documented | High — enclosure needed for reliable large parts; PP's crystallinity drives shrinkage and Prusa recommends a brim on its PP grades[5][17] |
| Bed-adhesion difficulty1–5 | Not documented | Very difficult — special plates or slurry required. PP bonds to almost nothing; a polypropylene-specific tape or adhesive is the normal answer[5][4] |
| Stringing / oozing tendency1–5 | Not documented | Slight — Polymaker advises 1–2 mm retraction at 20–30 mm/s[4] |
| Overall printing difficulty1–5 | Advanced — enclosure, hardware upgrades, tuning; must be kept below 20 % RH throughout[1][18] | Advanced — enclosure, hardware upgrades, tuning; bed adhesion is the whole problem[4][5] |
| Hardware Wear & Reliability | ||
| Nozzle hardness required1–4 | Brass fine indefinitely for unfilled grades[19] | Brass fine indefinitely for unfilled grades — Simplify3D states no special hotend is required[15] |
| Abrasiveness1–5 | Non-abrasive when unfilled[19] | Non-abrasive when unfilled[15] |
| Nozzle clog risk1–5 | Very high — frequent jams without careful setup[20][18] | Low — Simplify3D lists no special hotend requirement for PP and clogging is not among its listed drawbacks[18][15] |
| Heat-creep / jam sensitivity1–5 | Not documented | Slightly sensitive[15] |
| Hotend requirement | Not documented | No special hot-end required (Simplify3D)[15] |
| Moisture Behaviour | ||
| Moisture absorption (hygroscopicity)1–5 | Very high (>2 %) — Polymaker's own wet-state specimens reached 6.16 % moisture content after 48 h immersion at 60 °C[1][18] | Negligible (<0.1 % EMC) — Prusa measures 0.03 % in 24 h and 0.04 % in 7 days on its PP composite, the lowest figures it publishes for any filament[5] |
| Equilibrium moisture content at ~50 % RH% | Not documented | 0.03 after 24 h and 0.04 after 7 days at 24 °C / 22 % RH (Prusa Polymers, measured on its PP composite)[5] |
| Drying temperature & time | 100 °C for 8 h (Polymaker CoPA)[1] | No drying step is published for PP; uptake is below the level that affects printing[5] |
| Symptoms when wet | Popping and cracking during extrusion, then hard-to-diagnose defects[20] | Bubbling and popping at the nozzle; Polymaker still advises a 70 °C dry for 4–6 h despite the low uptake[4] |
| Effect of moisture on strength | Measured dry against wet on printed specimens at 6.16 % moisture (Polymaker CoPA): tensile 78.0 → 34.3 MPa, Young's modulus 2703 → 724 MPa, flexural strength 109.8 → 22.6 MPa, while notched Charpy rises 6.9 → 27.7 kJ/m² and elongation 12.7 → 13.2 %[1][20] | Not applicable in practice — with equilibrium uptake at 0.04 %, there is no moisture-driven strength loss to measure. Polymaker's sensitivity tiers put polyolefins below even PLA[5][18] |
| Storage requirement | Polymaker states CoPA must always be stored and used below 20 % relative humidity[1] | No special storage needed[5] |
| Hydrolysis at melt temperature | Polymaker requires a 100 °C dry for 8 h and storage below 20 % RH; no molecular-weight loss figure is published, and the published wet data is conditioning rather than melt hydrolysis[1][21] | Not documented |
| Mechanical Properties | ||
| Tensile strength (XY)MPa | 78.0 ± 0.7 printed XY dry and 34.3 ± 2.5 wet, ISO 527 (Polymaker CoPA)[1] | 12 at yield (Formfutura Centaur PP, ASTM D638)[3] |
| Young's modulusMPa | 2703 ± 259 printed XY dry and 724 ± 61 wet, ISO 527 (Polymaker CoPA)[1] | 724 on extruded PP stock (ASTM D638; converted from 105,000 psi)[22] |
| Elongation at break% | 12.7 ± 2.1 printed XY dry and 13.2 ± 2.3 wet, ISO 527 (Polymaker CoPA)[1] | Above 600 at break (Formfutura Centaur PP, ASTM D638)[3] |
| Flexural strengthMPa | 109.8 ± 1.3 printed XY dry and 22.6 ± 0.5 wet, ISO 178 (Polymaker CoPA)[1] | 31.0 on extruded PP stock (ASTM D790; converted from 4500 psi)[22] |
| Flexural modulusMPa | 2510 ± 25 printed XY dry and 636 ± 11 wet, ISO 178 (Polymaker CoPA)[1] | 402 flexural modulus (Formfutura Centaur PP, ASTM D790) — an order of magnitude below any rigid filament[3] |
| Charpy impact, notchedkJ/m² | 6.9 ± 1.4 printed XY dry and 27.7 ± 1.2 wet, ISO 179 notched (Polymaker CoPA) — impact quadruples when conditioned[1] | Not documented |
| Other impact data | Not documented | Izod notched 112 J/m on extruded PP stock, converted from 2.1 ft-lb/in (ASTM D256)[22] |
| Layer adhesion / Z tensileMPa | 45.8 ± 1.5 printed Z dry, falling to 13.7 ± 1.2 wet, ISO 527 (Polymaker CoPA)[1] | Not documented |
| Brittleness1–5 | Tough — absorbs impact, yields before breaking[1] | Very ductile — bends far before failing[3] |
| Hardness (scale-specific)Shore A / Shore D / Rockwell | Shore D 86 and Rockwell 85 (108) — the source does not name the scales on extruded unfilled PA66 stock (ASTM D2240, D785)[23] | Rockwell R102 (and M95) on extruded PP stock (ASTM D785)[22] |
| Creep resistance / sustained load1–5 | Not documented | Below average[3] |
| Fatigue / repeated-flex resistance1–5 | Excellent — living hinges viable[19] | Excellent — living hinges viable, the classic polypropylene application[3] |
| Elasticity / flexibility1–5 | Semi-flexible[20] | Semi-flexible[3] |
| Z strength as % of XY% | 59 dry (45.8 Z against 78.0 XY) and 40 wet, printed[1] | Not documented |
| Thermal Properties | ||
| HDT at 0.45 MPa°C | 111 (ISO 75, 0.45 MPa, Polymaker CoPA)[1] | 74 on extruded PP stock (ASTM D648 at 66 psi; converted from 165 °F)[22] |
| HDT at 1.8 MPa°C | 70 (ISO 75, 1.8 MPa, Polymaker CoPA)[1] | Not documented |
| Glass transition (Tg)°C | 66 (DSC, Polymaker CoPA)[1] | Not documented |
| Melting point / Vicat°C | 189 melting (DSC); Vicat 180, crystallisation 148, decomposition 370 (Polymaker CoPA)[1] | 205 ± 15 melting (Formfutura Centaur PP)[3] |
| Continuous service temperature°C | Not documented | Bounded by a melting point of 205 ± 15 °C and by the 158 °C heat deflection of the carbon-filled grade; no loaded-bar service figure is published for unfilled PP[3][5] |
| Annealing response | 80 °C for 6 h (Polymaker CoPA)[1] | Not documented |
| Thermal expansion (CTE)µm/m·K | 81.0 on extruded unfilled PA66 stock (ASTM D696; source states 4.5e-5 in/in/°F) — the same chemistry as a PA6/66 copolymer[23] | Not documented |
| Flammability / UL 94 | Not documented | Flammable; no UL 94 rating published for the grades surveyed[5] |
| Environment & Chemical | ||
| UV resistance1–5 | Not documented | Months outdoors before embrittlement — unstabilised polypropylene chalks under UV[4] |
| Chemical resistance | Not documented | Excellent against acids, alkalis and most solvents — the usual reason to choose PP[4] |
| Water / humidity resistance in service1–5 | Absorbs water, properties shift — 6.16 % uptake cost 56 % of tensile strength and 73 % of modulus[1] | Excellent — essentially unaffected[5] |
| Food contact | Not documented | Polypropylene is a common food-packaging polymer, but no filament here carries a food-contact certification[4] |
| Biodegradability / compostability | Not documented | Not biodegradable[4] |
| Recyclability | Not documented | Mechanically recyclable as resin code 5, but printed waste is not accepted in household collection[4] |
| Health & Safety | ||
| Fume toxicity1–5 | Moderate — measurable VOCs and UFPs, ventilation advised[24] | Low hazard — minimal VOC and particle emission. Inferred: no polyolefin was among the nine filaments in the Azimi chamber study, so this is a family-level judgement rather than a measurement[24] |
| VOC emission rateµg/min | Up to 180 caprolactam, the dominant VOC from nylon; total VOC reached nearly 200 µg/min, the highest of the nine filaments tested[24] | Not documented |
| Ultrafine-particle emission rateparticles/min | ≈2 × 10⁸ median — low for ultrafine particles despite the highest VOC mass of any filament tested[24] | Not documented |
| Hazardous species emitted | Caprolactam, at up to 180 µg/min from nylon filament — the largest single-VOC emission rate measured in the study[24] | Not documented |
| Ventilation / filtration requirement1–5 | Ventilated room or enclosure recommended[24] | Open a window / occasional ventilation. Inferred — no polyolefin was measured in the chamber study[24] |
| Post-Processing | ||
| Sanding & machining | Not documented | Sands poorly — the waxy surface loads abrasive paper[15] |
| Painting & finishing | Not documented | Paint and adhesives do not key to untreated PP; flame or plasma treatment is normally needed first[4] |
| Gluing & solvent welding | Not documented | Nothing common bonds untreated PP; flame or plasma treatment is needed before adhesives key[4] |
| Vapour / chemical smoothing | Not documented | No practical vapour smoothing[15] |
| Support material pairing | CoPA can support itself, but Polymaker warns the support bonds permanently if it absorbs moisture before removal[1] | Prints its own supports; no soluble support is rated for PP[15] |
| Dimensional accuracy & detail | Not documented | Shrinkage and warping dominate; the low modulus means parts flex rather than hold tolerance[5] |
| Solvents & Solubility | ||
| Soluble in | Dissolved at 23 °C by formic acid above ~50 %, phenol, m-cresol, 96 % sulphuric acid or hexafluoroisopropanol — laboratory reagents.[25] | None at room temperature; chloroform dissolves it at 60 °C and xylene at about 118 °C — the xylene-solubles route.[26][27] |
| Softened or crazed by | Zinc chloride solutions stress-crack it — 10 % marginal, 37 % not resistant; alcoholic calcium chloride dissolves it.[25] | Xylene, decalin, CCl4 and chlorobenzene are heavily absorbed at 20 °C; oleum, chlorosulphonic acid and bromine destroy it.[26] |
| Solvent welding & smoothing agent | None — nylon's only solvents are formic acid, phenol and HFIP, all of which degrade the part they wet.[25] | None — nothing softens PP at room temperature, so joints have to be welded thermally rather than chemically.[26] |
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
- PolyMide CoPA Technical Data Sheet V5.4 (dry and wet status blocks) Polymaker · 2024-11 · tds
- AmideX Nylon 6-66 — product page 3DXTech · 2026-08 · vendor
- Centaur PP Technical Data Sheet Formfutura · 2026-08 · tds
- PP — material basics Polymaker Wiki · 2026-08 · doc
- Prusament PP Carbon Fiber Technical Datasheet v1.0 Prusa Polymers · 2024-11 · tds
- Polymaker product catalogue Polymaker · 2026-08 · vendor
- add:north Adura product page add:north · 2026-08 · vendor
- PrimaCreator SELECT NylonPower PA6/66 product page PrimaCreator · 2026-08 · vendor
- SUNLU product catalogue SUNLU · 2026-08 · vendor
- Fiberlogy PP Natural — product page 3DJake International · 2026-08 · vendor
- Reli3D Low Warp PP Filament 1.75 mm 1 kg Black — Amazon listing Amazon.com · 2026-08 · vendor
- IEMAI 3D PP 3D Printing Filament — store page IEMAI 3D · 2026-08 · vendor
- 3DXTech product catalogue 3DXTech · 2026-08 · vendor
- PP filament listing 3DJake International · 2026-08 · vendor
- Polypropylene — Ultimate 3D Printing Materials Guide Simplify3D · 2026-08 · doc
- Max volumetric speed Prusa Knowledge Base · 2026-08 · doc
- Prusament PP Glass Fiber Technical Datasheet v1.0 Prusa Polymers · 2024-11 · tds
- Wet Filament — signs, causes and drying Polymaker Wiki · 2026-08 · doc
- PA (Nylon) — material basics Polymaker Wiki · 2026-08 · doc
- Moisture Conditioning — effect on printed nylon properties Polymaker Wiki · 2026-08 · doc
- PolyMide CoPA — Technical Data Sheet page Polymaker Wiki · 2026-08 · tds
- TECAFINE PP natural — stock shape properties Ensinger · 2026-08 · tds
- TECAMID 66 natural (PA66) — stock shape properties Ensinger · 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
- Pro-fax and Moplen polypropylene — Chemical Resistance Guide (20, 60 and 100 °C) LyondellBasell · 2026-08 · tds
- US 5,278,282 Polymer recycling by selective dissolution — xylene dissolution temperatures Nauman & Lynch, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute · 1994-01 · paper