3D Printing InfoFilament comparison
PA-CF ESD vs PEBA
Compare printing settings, strength, heat resistance, dated prices and sources.
2 selected · all documented properties
| Property | ESD-safe CF nylonPA | PEBA (polyether block amide)FLEX |
|---|---|---|
| Market snapshot | ||
| Listing priceUSD/kg; dated snapshots | $129.98/kg median; $129.98–$129.98/kg across 1 dated product listings | $60.99/kg median; $60.99–$60.99/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] | Polyether block amide: rigid polyamide and flexible polyether blocks.[2] |
| Densityg/cm³ | 1.10 (ISO 1183)[1] | 1.01 g/cm³ (GB/T 1033; eSUN manufacturer data)[2] |
| Typical priceUSD/kg | 1 kg-equivalent spools cluster near 130[3] | Not documented |
| Price range across brandsUSD/kg | 130 at Polymaker's 0.5 kg pricing[3] | Not documented |
| Market availability1–5 | Special order, 1–2 makers worldwide[3] | Not documented |
| Spool sizes & diameters | 1.75 mm; 0.5 kg spools[3] | 1.75 mm diameter, 1 kg spool.[4] |
| Typical applications | Electronics jigs and trays that also need nylon toughness and heat resistance[1] | Manufacturer applications include footwear, sports equipment and cushioning.[2] |
| Printing Parameters | ||
| Nozzle temperature°C | Not documented | 230–260 °C; 240 °C recommended.[2] |
| Bed temperature°C | Not documented | 60–90 °C[2] |
| Enclosure / chamber requirement1–5 | Enclosure required (passive)[5] | Not documented |
| Part cooling fan | Not documented | 10–50% fan recommended; mechanical-test specimens used 50–100%.[2] |
| Bed surface & adhesion aid | PEI sheet with a glue stick, or a dedicated adhesive such as Magigoo[6][5] | PEI build plate[2] |
| Maximum volumetric flow (mm³/s; see test conditions)mm³/s | Not documented | 9 mm³/s maximum in eSUN spiral-vase test; mechanical specimens used 2 mm³/s. Linear recommendation 25–110 mm/s is a separate quantity.[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] | Not documented |
| 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] | Not documented |
| 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] | Not documented |
| Drying temperature & time | Not documented | 70–75 °C for 6–8 h; re-dry after receiving or extended exposure.[2] |
| 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] | Not documented |
| 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[10][11] | 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] | >16.5 MPa printed XY, GB/T 1040; manufacturer lower bound, not an exact measurement.[2] |
| Young's modulusMPa | 4293.7 ± 116.4 printed XY dry and 3730.8 ± 156.2 conditioned, ISO 527[1] | Not documented |
| Elongation at break% | 3.0 ± 0.1 printed XY dry and 4.2 ± 0.4 conditioned, ISO 527[1] | >520% printed XY, GB/T 1040; manufacturer lower bound.[2] |
| 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] | 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] | 7.5 MPa printed Z, GB/T 1040 (manufacturer test)[2] |
| 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] | 90 Shore A nominal grade designation; do not compare numerically with Shore D or Rockwell.[4] |
| 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] | Not documented |
| Elasticity / flexibility1–5 | Rigid[1] | Not documented |
| Z strength as % of XY% | 26 (printed Z against XY tensile)[1] | Not documented |
| Thermal Properties | ||
| HDT at 0.45 MPa°C | 157.0 (ISO 75, 0.45 MPa)[1] | Not documented |
| HDT at 1.8 MPa°C | 125.4 (ISO 75, 1.8 MPa)[1] | Not documented |
| Glass transition (Tg)°C | 41.8 (DSC)[1] | Not documented |
| Melting point / Vicat°C | 187.3 melting (DSC); Vicat 190.0 (ISO 306)[1] | 110 °C Vicat softening (GB/T 1633, 120 °C/h, 10 N); not HDT or a continuous-use rating.[2] |
| Flammability / UL 94 | Flammable; no UL 94 rating published for the grades surveyed[10] | 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 |
| Food contact | Not food-contact certified as filament[5] | Not documented |
| Biodegradability / compostability | Not biodegradable[5] | Not documented |
| 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] | Not documented |
| 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] | Not documented |
| Dust & fibre handling hazard | Fibre is bound in the matrix; sanding dust should not be inhaled[10] | 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] | Not documented |
| Softened or crazed by | Zinc chloride solutions stress-crack the nylon matrix, alcoholic calcium chloride dissolves it, mineral acids attack it.[15] | Not documented |
| Solvent welding & smoothing agent | None — nylon's only solvents (formic acid, phenol, HFIP) degrade the part, and the fibre blocks surface flow anyway.[15] | Not documented |
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
- eSUN PEBA-90A Technical Data Sheet v1.0 (Aug 2025), checked 2026-10-17 eSUN · 2025-08 · tds
- Polymaker product catalogue Polymaker · 2026-08 · vendor
- eSUN PEBA-90A official product page: 1 kg price and product identity eSUN · 2026-10-17 · 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
- Fiberon PA6-CF20 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
- 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