3D Printing InfoFilament comparison
PA-CF ESD vs PA6/66
Compare printing settings, strength, heat resistance, dated prices and sources.
2 selected · all documented properties
| Property | ESD-safe CF nylonPA | PA66 (Nylon 66)PA |
|---|---|---|
| Market snapshot | ||
| Listing priceUSD/kg; dated snapshots | $129.98/kg median; $129.98–$129.98/kg across 1 dated product listings | Not documented |
| Identity & Market | ||
| Base polymer / chemistry | Carbon-filled polyamide compounded to a static-dissipative resistivity — Polymaker's grade uses a PA612 matrix[1] | Polyamide 66, condensed from hexamethylenediamine and adipic acid; melts around 40 °C above PA6[2] |
| Densityg/cm³ | 1.10 (ISO 1183)[1] | 1.14 (extruded unfilled PA66 stock)[3] |
| 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] | Special order, 1–2 makers worldwide — no unfilled PA66 filament appeared in any catalogue searched, and the 3DXTech nylon range offers PA6, PA12 and a 6/66 copolymer but no straight PA66[5][4] |
| Spool sizes & diameters | 1.75 mm; 0.5 kg spools[4] | Not documented |
| Typical applications | Electronics jigs and trays that also need nylon toughness and heat resistance[1] | Not documented |
| Printing Parameters | ||
| Enclosure / chamber requirement1–5 | Enclosure required (passive)[2] | Enclosure required (passive)[2] |
| Bed surface & adhesion aid | PEI sheet with a glue stick, or a dedicated adhesive such as Magigoo[6][2] | Not documented |
| Bed-adhesion difficulty1–5 | Needs a specific surface plus adhesive[6] | Not documented |
| Stringing / oozing tendency1–5 | Moderate — retraction tuning needed[2] | Not documented |
| Overall printing difficulty1–5 | Expert / industrial hardware only[2][7] | Advanced — enclosure, hardware upgrades, tuning[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] | Not documented |
| Abrasiveness1–5 | Highly abrasive — carbon-filled nylon composite; Polymaker puts brass nozzle life at roughly 9 h on PA612-ESD[1] | Not documented |
| Nozzle clog risk1–5 | High — jams from moisture, heat creep or particles[7] | Very high — frequent jams without careful setup[8][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[9][8] | Very high (>2 %)[7] |
| Equilibrium moisture content at ~50 % RH% | Not documented | 8.5 at saturation on extruded PA66 stock (ASTM D570) — the highest uptake of any polymer in this dataset[3] |
| 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][8] | 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 %[10][8] |
| Storage requirement | Sealed below 20 % RH with desiccant[7] | Not documented |
| 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] | 82.7 at yield and 84.8 at break on extruded PA66 stock (ASTM D638; converted from 12,000 and 12,300 psi) — no printed figure exists because no unfilled PA66 filament was found[3] |
| Young's modulusMPa | 4293.7 ± 116.4 printed XY dry and 3730.8 ± 156.2 conditioned, ISO 527[1] | 2413 on extruded PA66 stock (ASTM D638; converted from 350,000 psi)[3] |
| Elongation at break% | 3.0 ± 0.1 printed XY dry and 4.2 ± 0.4 conditioned, ISO 527[1] | 50 at break on extruded PA66 stock (ASTM D638)[3] |
| Flexural strengthMPa | Not documented | 113.8 on extruded PA66 stock (ASTM D790; converted from 16,500 psi)[3] |
| Flexural modulusMPa | Not documented | 3034 on extruded PA66 stock (ASTM D790; converted from 440,000 psi)[3] |
| Charpy impact, notchedkJ/m² | 5.9 ± 0.4 printed XY dry and 4.9 ± 0.3 conditioned, ISO 179 notched[1] | Not documented |
| Other impact data | Charpy unnotched 24.1 ± 2.4 printed XY and 4.5 ± 0.2 printed Z (ISO 179)[1] | Izod 53 J/m on extruded PA66 stock, converted from 1.0 ft-lb/in (ASTM D256)[3] |
| 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] | Not documented |
| Brittleness1–5 | Brittle — snaps with little warning; elongation 3.0 % in XY and 1.4 % in Z[1] | Not documented |
| 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] | Shore D 86 and Rockwell 85 (108) — the source does not name the scales on extruded PA66 stock (ASTM D2240, D785)[3] |
| 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[2] |
| Elasticity / flexibility1–5 | Rigid[1] | Semi-flexible[8] |
| Z strength as % of XY% | 26 (printed Z against XY tensile)[1] | Not documented |
| Wear resistance & friction | Not documented | Wear factor 200e-10 in3*min/(ft*lb*h) on extruded PA66 stock (ASTM D3702); Ensinger lists very good slide and wear properties[3] |
| Thermal Properties | ||
| HDT at 0.45 MPa°C | 157.0 (ISO 75, 0.45 MPa)[1] | 232 on extruded PA66 stock (ASTM D648 at 66 psi; converted from 450 °F)[3] |
| HDT at 1.8 MPa°C | 125.4 (ISO 75, 1.8 MPa)[1] | 90 on extruded PA66 stock (ASTM D648 at 264 psi; converted from 194 °F) — the gap to the 0.45 MPa figure is the widest in the dataset[3] |
| Glass transition (Tg)°C | 41.8 (DSC)[1] | Not documented |
| Melting point / Vicat°C | 187.3 melting (DSC); Vicat 190.0 (ISO 306)[1] | 255 melting on extruded PA66 stock (ASTM D2133; converted from 491 °F)[3] |
| Continuous service temperature°C | Not documented | 85 long term and 149 short term on extruded PA66 stock (converted from 185 °F and 300 °F)[3] |
| Thermal expansion (CTE)µm/m·K | Not documented | 81.0 (extruded PA66 stock, ASTM D696; source states 4.5e-5 in/in/°F)[3] |
| Flammability / UL 94 | Flammable; no UL 94 rating published for the grades surveyed[11] | UL 94 V-2 on extruded PA66 stock[3] |
| Environment & Chemical | ||
| UV resistance1–5 | Months outdoors before embrittlement — unstabilised polyamide yellows under UV[2] | Not documented |
| Chemical resistance | Withstands oils, fuels and alkalis[2] | Not documented |
| Food contact | Not food-contact certified as filament[2] | Not documented |
| Biodegradability / compostability | Not biodegradable[2] | Not documented |
| Recyclability | Not accepted in household plastic collection[2] | Not documented |
| Electrical & ESD properties | Static-dissipative — the reason the grade exists; Polymaker's insulating nylon composites sit above 10¹² ohm by contrast[1][9] | Volume resistance 1e15 ohm-cm and dielectric constant 4 on extruded PA66 stock (ASTM D257, D150)[3] |
| 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 above ~80 %, phenol, m-cresol, 96 % sulphuric acid or hexafluoroisopropanol — laboratory reagents.[15] |
| Softened or crazed by | Zinc chloride solutions stress-crack the nylon matrix, alcoholic calcium chloride dissolves it, mineral acids attack it.[15] | Zinc chloride solutions stress-crack it — 10 % marginal, 37 % not resistant; alcoholic calcium chloride dissolves it.[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
- PA (Nylon) — material basics Polymaker Wiki · 2026-08 · doc
- TECAMID 66 natural (PA66) — stock shape properties Ensinger · 2026-08 · tds
- Polymaker product catalogue Polymaker · 2026-08 · vendor
- 3DXTech product catalogue 3DXTech · 2026-08 · vendor
- Nylon — Ultimate 3D Printing Materials Guide Simplify3D · 2026-08 · doc
- Wet Filament — signs, causes and drying Polymaker Wiki · 2026-08 · doc
- Moisture Conditioning — effect on printed nylon properties Polymaker Wiki · 2026-08 · doc
- Fiberon PA612-CF15 Technical Data Sheet V1.1 Polymaker · 2024-12 · tds
- 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