3D Printing InfoFilament comparison
PA-CF ESD vs PA11
Compare printing settings, strength, heat resistance, dated prices and sources.
2 selected · all documented properties
| Property | ESD-safe CF nylonPA | PA11 (Nylon 11)PA |
|---|---|---|
| Market snapshot | ||
| Listing priceUSD/kg; dated snapshots | $129.98/kg median; $129.98–$129.98/kg across 1 dated product listings | $194.98/kg median; $194.98–$194.98/kg across 1 dated product listings |
| Identity & Market | ||
| Base polymer / chemistry | Carbon-filled polyamide compounded to a static-dissipative resistivity — Polymaker's grade uses a PA612 matrix[1] | Polyamide 11, polymerised from castor-oil-derived aminoundecanoic acid — a bio-based nylon[2][3] |
| Densityg/cm³ | 1.10 (ISO 1183)[1] | 1.02 (ISO 1183)[2] |
| Typical priceUSD/kg | 1 kg-equivalent spools cluster near 130[4] | Not documented |
| Price range across brandsUSD/kg | 130 at Polymaker's 0.5 kg pricing[4] | Not documented |
| Market availability1–5 | Special order, 1–2 makers worldwide[4] | Niche, a handful of specialist brands[3] |
| Spool sizes & diameters | 1.75 mm; 0.5 kg spools[4] | 1.75 mm; 1 kg spools[3] |
| Typical applications | Electronics jigs and trays that also need nylon toughness and heat resistance[1] | Tough, chemically resistant functional parts; Prusa targets it at impact-loaded and vibration-loaded components[3] |
| Diameter tolerance± mm | Not documented | ±0.02 (Prusament)[2] |
| Printing Parameters | ||
| Nozzle temperature°C | Not documented | 275 ± 10 (Prusament)[2] |
| Bed temperature°C | Not documented | 100 ± 10 (Prusament)[2] |
| Enclosure / chamber requirement1–5 | Enclosure required (passive)[5] | Enclosure required (passive) — Prusament specifies a 55 ± 5 °C chamber[2] |
| Recommended chamber temperature°C | Not documented | 55 ± 5 (Prusament)[2] |
| Bed surface & adhesion aid | PEI sheet with a glue stick, or a dedicated adhesive such as Magigoo[6][5] | PA nylon sheet (Prusament)[2] |
| Bed-adhesion difficulty1–5 | Needs a specific surface plus adhesive[6] | Not documented |
| Stringing / oozing tendency1–5 | Moderate — retraction tuning needed[5] | Not documented |
| Overall printing difficulty1–5 | Expert / industrial hardware only[5][7] | Advanced — enclosure, hardware upgrades, tuning[2][5] |
| Extruder requirement | Not documented | Prusa printed its test specimens with a high-flow CHT nozzle[2] |
| Hardware Wear & Reliability | ||
| Nozzle hardness required1–4 | Hardened steel required — Polymaker measures brass nozzle life at about 9 h on PA612-ESD and recommends hardened steel or ruby[1] | Brass fine indefinitely for unfilled grades[5] |
| Abrasiveness1–5 | Highly abrasive — carbon-filled nylon composite; Polymaker puts brass nozzle life at roughly 9 h on PA612-ESD[1] | Non-abrasive when unfilled[5] |
| Nozzle clog risk1–5 | High — jams from moisture, heat creep or particles[7] | High — jams from moisture, heat creep or particles[7] |
| Heat-creep / jam sensitivity1–5 | Moderate — good heatbreak cooling needed[6] | Not documented |
| Hotend requirement | May require an all-metal hot end (Simplify3D)[6] | Not documented |
| Moisture Behaviour | ||
| Moisture absorption (hygroscopicity)1–5 | High (0.8–2 %) — the PA612 matrix sits between PA6 and PA12[8][9] | High (0.8–2 %) — Prusa measures 0.46 % after 7 days at 22 % RH, but PA11 sits between PA12 and PA6 in the family[2][7] |
| Equilibrium moisture content at ~50 % RH% | Not documented | 0.26 after 24 h and 0.46 after 7 days (Prusa Polymers method)[2] |
| Symptoms when wet | Not documented | Popping and cracking during extrusion, then hard-to-diagnose defects[9] |
| Effect of moisture on strength | Polymaker publishes dry and wet printed blocks for PA612-ESD itself: at 4.64 % moisture tensile falls 84.3 → 73.6 MPa and modulus 4294 → 3731 MPa[1][9] | Prusa publishes no dry-versus-conditioned columns; the CoPA reference shows the PA-family response — stiffness and strength fall sharply, impact and elongation rise[9][10] |
| Storage requirement | Sealed below 20 % RH with desiccant[7] | Sealed below 20 % RH with desiccant[7] |
| Hydrolysis at melt temperature | Polymaker specifies an 80–100 °C dry and storage below 20 % RH; no molecular-weight loss figure is published, and the wet data it does publish is conditioning rather than melt hydrolysis[11][10] | Not documented |
| Mechanical Properties | ||
| Tensile strength (XY)MPa | 84.3 ± 2.3 printed XY dry (annealed 100 °C/16 h), 73.6 ± 2.3 conditioned to 4.64 % moisture, ISO 527[1] | 38.3 ± 0.8 printed horizontal and 39.5 ± 0.5 printed vertical at yield, ISO 527-1[2] |
| Young's modulusMPa | 4293.7 ± 116.4 printed XY dry and 3730.8 ± 156.2 conditioned, ISO 527[1] | 1200 printed, both orientations, ISO 527-1[2] |
| Elongation at break% | 3.0 ± 0.1 printed XY dry and 4.2 ± 0.4 conditioned, ISO 527[1] | 5.6 ± 0.1 at yield, printed, ISO 527-1[2] |
| Flexural modulusMPa | Not documented | 1100 printed horizontal and 1000 printed vertical, ISO 178[2] |
| Charpy impact, notchedkJ/m² | 5.9 ± 0.4 printed XY dry and 4.9 ± 0.3 conditioned, ISO 179 notched[1] | 12.9 ± 2.1 printed horizontal and 11.7 ± 1.2 printed vertical, ISO 179-1 notched[2] |
| Other impact data | Charpy unnotched 24.1 ± 2.4 printed XY and 4.5 ± 0.2 printed Z (ISO 179)[1] | Not documented |
| Layer adhesion / Z tensileMPa | 21.5 ± 2.7 printed Z dry — only a quarter of XY, the most anisotropic nylon composite here; 19.2 ± 1.6 conditioned[1] | 32 ± 1 (Prusa Polymers interlayer adhesion test) — the highest interlayer figure Prusa publishes for any of its filaments[2] |
| Brittleness1–5 | Brittle — snaps with little warning; elongation 3.0 % in XY and 1.4 % in Z[1] | Tough — absorbs impact, yields before breaking[2] |
| Hardness (scale-specific)Shore A / Shore D / Rockwell | Rockwell M88 / R117 on extruded PA66-GF30 stock (ASTM D785); no figure is published for a conductive carbon-filled nylon filament[12] | 70 Shore D (Prusa Polymers method)[2] |
| Creep resistance / sustained load1–5 | Good. Ensinger rates its PA66-CF30 compound for sustained static and dynamic load at 110 °C continuous service; the PA612 matrix here still takes up 4.64 % moisture at conditioning, which softens it[13][1] | Not documented |
| Fatigue / repeated-flex resistance1–5 | Good. Ensinger states carbon-filled PA66 compounds have improved fatigue strength in tension, flexure and compression[13] | Excellent — living hinges viable[5] |
| Elasticity / flexibility1–5 | Rigid[1] | Semi-flexible[2] |
| Z strength as % of XY% | 26 (printed Z against XY tensile)[1] | 84 — Prusa publishes a tensile anisotropy coefficient of 0.84, the ratio of Z to XY tensile strength[2] |
| Thermal Properties | ||
| HDT at 0.45 MPa°C | 157.0 (ISO 75, 0.45 MPa)[1] | 58.7 (ISO 75, 0.45 MPa)[2] |
| HDT at 1.8 MPa°C | 125.4 (ISO 75, 1.8 MPa)[1] | 49.9 (ISO 75, 1.8 MPa)[2] |
| Glass transition (Tg)°C | 41.8 (DSC)[1] | Not documented |
| Melting point / Vicat°C | 187.3 melting (DSC); Vicat 190.0 (ISO 306)[1] | Not documented |
| Flammability / UL 94 | Flammable; no UL 94 rating published for the grades surveyed[11] | Not documented |
| Environment & Chemical | ||
| UV resistance1–5 | Months outdoors before embrittlement — unstabilised polyamide yellows under UV[5] | Not documented |
| Chemical resistance | Withstands oils, fuels and alkalis[5] | Not documented |
| Water / humidity resistance in service1–5 | Not documented | Absorbs water, properties shift[9] |
| Food contact | Not food-contact certified as filament[5] | Not documented |
| Biodegradability / compostability | Not biodegradable[5] | Bio-based — the monomer comes from castor oil[3] |
| Recyclability | Not accepted in household plastic collection[5] | Not documented |
| Electrical & ESD properties | Static-dissipative — the reason the grade exists; Polymaker's insulating nylon composites sit above 10¹² ohm by contrast[1][8] | Not documented |
| Health & Safety | ||
| Fume toxicity1–5 | Moderate — measurable VOCs and UFPs, ventilation advised[14] | Moderate — measurable VOCs and UFPs, ventilation advised[14] |
| VOC emission rateµg/min | Up to 180 caprolactam, the dominant VOC from nylon and the largest single-VOC rate in the study[14] | Up to 180 caprolactam, the dominant VOC from nylon; total VOC reached nearly 200 µg/min, the highest of the nine filaments tested[14] |
| Ultrafine-particle emission rateparticles/min | ≈2 × 10⁸ median for nylon — low for particles despite the highest VOC mass measured[14] | ≈2 × 10⁸ median — low for ultrafine particles despite the highest VOC mass of any filament tested[14] |
| Hazardous species emitted | Caprolactam, at up to 180 µg/min from nylon filament[14] | Caprolactam, at up to 180 µg/min from nylon filament — the largest single-VOC emission rate measured in the study[14] |
| Ventilation / filtration requirement1–5 | Ventilated room or enclosure recommended[14] | Ventilated room or enclosure recommended[14] |
| Dust & fibre handling hazard | Fibre is bound in the matrix; sanding dust should not be inhaled[11] | Not documented |
| Post-Processing | ||
| Sanding & machining | Sands poorly — gums rather than powders[6] | Not documented |
| Gluing & solvent welding | Cyanoacrylate; no common solvent welds polyamide[6] | Not documented |
| Vapour / chemical smoothing | No practical vapour smoothing[6] | Not documented |
| Solvents & Solubility | ||
| Soluble in | Formic acid, phenol, m-cresol and hexafluoroisopropanol dissolve the matrix at 23 °C, leaving the fibre; laboratory reagents.[15] | Dissolved at 23 °C by formic acid, phenol, m-cresol, 96 % sulphuric acid or hexafluoroisopropanol — all laboratory reagents.[15][16] |
| Softened or crazed by | Zinc chloride solutions stress-crack the nylon matrix, alcoholic calcium chloride dissolves it, mineral acids attack it.[15] | Mineral acids, oxidants, halogens and zinc chloride solutions attack the amide bond; ordinary solvents do not (BASF, PA6/66).[15] |
| 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 — nylon's only solvents are formic acid, phenol and HFIP, all of which degrade the part they wet.[15] |
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
- Fiberon PA612-ESD Technical Data Sheet V1.0 Polymaker · 2025-06 · tds
- Prusament PA11 Technical Datasheet v1.0 Prusa Polymers · 2026-07 · tds
- Prusament PA11 — material page Prusa Polymers · 2026-08 · doc
- Polymaker product catalogue Polymaker · 2026-08 · vendor
- PA (Nylon) — material basics Polymaker Wiki · 2026-08 · doc
- Nylon — Ultimate 3D Printing Materials Guide Simplify3D · 2026-08 · doc
- Wet Filament — signs, causes and drying Polymaker Wiki · 2026-08 · doc
- Fiberon PA612-CF15 Technical Data Sheet V1.1 Polymaker · 2024-12 · tds
- Moisture Conditioning — effect on printed nylon properties Polymaker Wiki · 2026-08 · doc
- PolyMide CoPA Technical Data Sheet V5.4 (dry and wet status blocks) Polymaker · 2024-11 · tds
- Fiberon PA6-CF20 Technical Data Sheet V1.1 Polymaker · 2024-12 · tds
- TECAMID 66 GF30 black (PA66-GF30) — stock shape properties Ensinger · 2026-08 · tds
- TECACOMP PA66 CF30 black — injection-moulding compound 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
- Chemical resistance — resistance of Ensinger plastics to chemicals (DIN 50 014, 23/50) Ensinger · 2026-08 · tds