3D Printing Info

Filament comparison

PA-CF ESD vs PLA Silk

Compare printing settings, strength, heat resistance, dated prices and sources.

ESD-safe CF nylon guideSilk PLA guide

2 selected · all documented properties

Open these two in the interactive comparisonMore PA-CF ESD comparisonsMore PLA Silk comparisons
PA-CF ESD vs PLA Silk — documented properties and sources
PropertyESD-safe CF nylonPASilk PLAPLA
Market snapshot
Listing priceUSD/kg; dated snapshots$129.98/kg median; $129.98–$129.98/kg across 1 dated product listings$19.49/kg median; $9.75–$24.99/kg across 15 dated product listings
Identity & Market
Base polymer / chemistryCarbon-filled polyamide compounded to a static-dissipative resistivity — Polymaker's grade uses a PA612 matrix[1]PLA with a gloss-forming additive package; suppliers publish the composition as polylactic acid only[2]
Densityg/cm³1.10 (ISO 1183)[1]1.27 (ISO 1183)[2]
Typical priceUSD/kg1 kg-equivalent spools cluster near 130[3]Mainstream 1 kg spools cluster near 20[4][5][6]
Price range across brandsUSD/kg130 at Polymaker's 0.5 kg pricing[3]10–25 across brands; CHCKX 10 in a 16-roll bundle, SUNLU 13, LANDU 18, YXPOLYER 20, Polymaker 22, Devil Design 25[7][8][9][10][11]
Market availability1–5Special order, 1–2 makers worldwide[3]Stocked by most mainstream brands[4][7][12]
Spool sizes & diameters1.75 mm; 0.5 kg spools[3]1.75 mm; 1 and 1.1 kg spools; dual- and tri-colour coextruded variants[13][14]
Typical applicationsElectronics jigs and trays that also need nylon toughness and heat resistance[1]Decorative prints where surface gloss matters more than strength[2]
Diameter tolerance± mmNot documented±0.03 (Bambu Lab)[15]
Printing Parameters
Nozzle temperature°CNot documented210–240 — 20 °C above the plain PLA window[2]
Bed temperature°CNot documented35–45[2]
Enclosure / chamber requirement1–5Enclosure required (passive)[16]Open frame is fine[2][17]
Part cooling fanNot documentedFan on[2]
Bed surface & adhesion aidPEI sheet with a glue stick, or a dedicated adhesive such as Magigoo[18][16]Cool Plate SuperTack, smooth PEI or textured PEI[2]
Warping tendency1–5Not documentedNone[2]
Bed-adhesion difficulty1–5Needs a specific surface plus adhesive[18]Sticks to anything[19]
Stringing / oozing tendency1–5Moderate — retraction tuning needed[16]Not documented
Overall printing difficulty1–5Expert / industrial hardware only[16][20]Easy — minor profile tuning; hotter nozzle and slower cap of 250 mm/s[2]
Hardware Wear & Reliability
Nozzle hardness required1–4Hardened steel required — Polymaker measures brass nozzle life at about 9 h on PA612-ESD and recommends hardened steel or ruby[1]Brass fine indefinitely[17]
Abrasiveness1–5Highly abrasive — carbon-filled nylon composite; Polymaker puts brass nozzle life at roughly 9 h on PA612-ESD[1]Non-abrasive[21][17]
Nozzle clog risk1–5High — jams from moisture, heat creep or particles[20]Very low[17]
Heat-creep / jam sensitivity1–5Moderate — good heatbreak cooling needed[18]Moderate — good heatbreak cooling needed; PLA softens below 60 °C[22]
Hotend requirementMay require an all-metal hot end (Simplify3D)[18]No special hot-end required[19]
Moisture Behaviour
Moisture absorption (hygroscopicity)1–5High (0.8–2 %) — the PA612 matrix sits between PA6 and PA12[23][24]Moderate — 0.40 % saturated at 25 °C / 55 % RH[2]
Equilibrium moisture content at ~50 % RH%Not documented0.40 saturated at 25 °C / 55 % RH (Bambu Lab)[2]
Drying temperature & timeNot documented55 °C for 8 h in a forced-air dryer, or 65–75 °C for 12 h on an X1 heatbed[2][25]
Symptoms when wetNot documentedBubbling and popping at the nozzle, stringing, rough surface and weak layers[20]
Effect of moisture on strengthPolymaker 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][24]Polymaker rates PLA low-sensitivity — the loss shows as poor layer adhesion and brittle layers rather than a published strength figure[20]
Storage requirementSealed below 20 % RH with desiccant[20]Sealed with desiccant below 20 % RH; shelf life at ambient is long[26][19]
Hydrolysis at melt temperaturePolymaker 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[27][28]Not documented
Mechanical Properties
Tensile strength (XY)MPa84.3 ± 2.3 printed XY dry (annealed 100 °C/16 h), 73.6 ± 2.3 conditioned to 4.64 % moisture, ISO 527[1]33 (printed XY, ISO 527); eSun Silk broke 22 % below the 16-brand PLA mean on identical 4×4 mm bars[2][29]
Young's modulusMPa4293.7 ± 116.4 printed XY dry and 3730.8 ± 156.2 conditioned, ISO 527[1]2130 (printed XY, ISO 527)[2]
Elongation at break%3.0 ± 0.1 printed XY dry and 4.2 ± 0.4 conditioned, ISO 527[1]2.8 (printed XY, ISO 527) — a quarter of PLA Basic at 12.2[2][26]
Flexural strengthMPaNot documented75 (printed XY, ISO 178)[2]
Flexural modulusMPaNot documented2460 (printed XY, ISO 178)[2]
Charpy impact, notchedkJ/m²5.9 ± 0.4 printed XY dry and 4.9 ± 0.3 conditioned, ISO 179 notched[1]10.3 (printed XY, ISO 179, notched); unnotched 18.5[2]
Other impact dataCharpy unnotched 24.1 ± 2.4 printed XY and 4.5 ± 0.2 printed Z (ISO 179)[1]Not documented
Layer adhesion / Z tensileMPa21.5 ± 2.7 printed Z dry — only a quarter of XY, the most anisotropic nylon composite here; 19.2 ± 1.6 conditioned[1]25 (printed Z, ISO 527), and flexural Z collapses to 30 against 75 in XY; eSun Silk broke at 12.3 kg where twelve of the 16 plain PLAs managed 44.6–61.5 kg[2][29][30]
Brittleness1–5Brittle — snaps with little warning; elongation 3.0 % in XY and 1.4 % in Z[1]Brittle — snaps with little warning[2]
Hardness (scale-specific)Shore A / Shore D / RockwellRockwell M88 / R117 on extruded PA66-GF30 stock (ASTM D785); no figure is published for a conductive carbon-filled nylon filament[31]Not documented
Creep resistance / sustained load1–5Good. 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[32][1]Poor — no silk-specific creep data published; plain PLA sagged from 12 to 18.7–20.3 mm over 5 days at 1.25 kg[33][34]
Fatigue / repeated-flex resistance1–5Good. Ensinger states carbon-filled PA66 compounds have improved fatigue strength in tension, flexure and compression[32]Poor — no grade-specific S-N curve; plain printed PLA ran 38 000–49 000 cycles at 30 % of tensile strength (R = 0.2)[35][22]
Elasticity / flexibility1–5Rigid[1]Rigid[2]
Z strength as % of XY%26 (printed Z against XY tensile)[1]76 by tensile, 40 by flexural (printed, Bambu Lab)[2]
Thermal Properties
HDT at 0.45 MPa°C157.0 (ISO 75, 0.45 MPa)[1]60 (ISO 75, 0.45 MPa)[2]
HDT at 1.8 MPa°C125.4 (ISO 75, 1.8 MPa)[1]56 (ISO 75, 1.8 MPa)[2]
Glass transition (Tg)°C41.8 (DSC)[1]57 (DSC)[2]
Melting point / Vicat°C187.3 melting (DSC); Vicat 190.0 (ISO 306)[1]158 peak melt (DSC); Vicat 66 °C[2]
Continuous service temperature°CNot documented50 — a loaded bar begins to move at this temperature (My Tech Fun, eSun eSilk PLA)[30]
Annealing responseNot documented50–55 °C for 6–12 h[2]
Flammability / UL 94Flammable; no UL 94 rating published for the grades surveyed[27]Flammable; no UL 94 rating published by the major brands[26][36]
Environment & Chemical
UV resistance1–5Months outdoors before embrittlement — unstabilised polyamide yellows under UV[16]Degrades within weeks outdoors[22][37]
Chemical resistanceWithstands oils, fuels and alkalis[16]Good against weak acids, oils and grease; poor against strong acids and alkalis; dissolved by chloroform, THF and hot benzene[36][22]
Water / humidity resistance in service1–5Not documentedGood — insoluble in water[26]
Food contactNot food-contact certified as filament[16]Base resin is food-contact grade, but printed layer grooves harbour bacteria; Prusa advises against food use[22]
Biodegradability / compostabilityNot biodegradable[16]Industrially compostable only — needs sustained 55 °C; not home compostable[38][22]
RecyclabilityNot accepted in household plastic collection[16]Mechanically recyclable; not accepted in household plastic collection[38]
Electrical & ESD propertiesStatic-dissipative — the reason the grade exists; Polymaker's insulating nylon composites sit above 10¹² ohm by contrast[1][23]Not documented
Health & Safety
Fume toxicity1–5Moderate — measurable VOCs and UFPs, ventilation advised[39]Low hazard — minimal VOC and particle emission[39]
VOC emission rateµg/minUp to 180 caprolactam, the dominant VOC from nylon and the largest single-VOC rate in the study[39]Not documented
Ultrafine-particle emission rateparticles/min≈2 × 10⁸ median for nylon — low for particles despite the highest VOC mass measured[39]Not documented
Hazardous species emittedCaprolactam, at up to 180 µg/min from nylon filament[39]Not documented
Ventilation / filtration requirement1–5Ventilated room or enclosure recommended[39]None needed in a normal room[39]
Dust & fibre handling hazardFibre is bound in the matrix; sanding dust should not be inhaled[27]Not documented
Post-Processing
Sanding & machiningSands poorly — gums rather than powders[18]Wet sanding — dry sanding heats the surface by friction and smears it[37][22]
Gluing & solvent weldingCyanoacrylate; no common solvent welds polyamide[18]Cyanoacrylate for most joints; some grades partially dissolve and bond with acetone[22][40]
Vapour / chemical smoothingNo practical vapour smoothing[18]No practical vapour smoothing — only chloroform, hot benzene or THF, which are laboratory-only[22]
Support material pairingNot documentedSupport for PLA (Bambu Lab)[2]
Dimensional accuracy & detailNot documented55° overhangs and 30 mm bridges; gloss hides fine detail and is destroyed by sanding[2]
Solvents & Solubility
Soluble inFormic acid, phenol, m-cresol and hexafluoroisopropanol dissolve the matrix at 23 °C, leaving the fibre; laboratory reagents.[41]Chloroform: 10 % w/v in 2–4 h at 23 °C, every grade and morphology; THF and DMF only at 65 °C. Laboratory reagents.[42]
Softened or crazed byZinc chloride solutions stress-crack the nylon matrix, alcoholic calcium chloride dissolves it, mineral acids attack it.[41]Acetone, ethyl acetate and toluene plasticise it but dissolve <1 % even at 65 °C; submersion in acetone crazes and destroys parts.[42][43]
Solvent welding & smoothing agentNone — nylon's only solvents (formic acid, phenol, HFIP) degrade the part, and the fibre blocks surface flow anyway.[41]Chloroform vapour smooths and welds PLA at the cost of tensile strength; acetone does not smooth it at all.[44][43]

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

  1. Fiberon PA612-ESD Technical Data Sheet V1.0 Polymaker · 2025-06 · tds
  2. Bambu Filament Technical Data Sheet V1.0 — PLA Silk+ Bambu Lab · 2026-08 · tds
  3. Polymaker product catalogue Polymaker · 2026-08 · vendor
  4. Panchroma Silk PLA collection Polymaker Shop · 2026-08 · vendor
  5. Spectrum PLA Silk — product listing 3DJake International · 2026-08 · vendor
  6. 3DJake ecoPLA Silk Black 1.75mm 1000g 3DJake International · 2026-08 · vendor
  7. Sunlu Silk PLA+ 1.75mm 1kg Sunlu Official Store · 2026-08 · vendor
  8. Bambu Lab PLA Silk 1.75mm 1kg 3D Universe · 2026-08 · vendor
  9. CHCKX 16 Pack Silk Dual Color PLA Filament Bundle CHCKX (Amazon US) · 2026-08 · vendor
  10. YXPOLYER Silk PLA Black&Gold product page YXPOLYER · 2026-08 · vendor
  11. LANDU Silk Tri-Color PLA Filament 1.75 mm 1 kg LANDU (Amazon US) · 2026-08 · vendor
  12. Overture Silk PLA 1.75mm Overture3D · 2026-08 · vendor
  13. eSUN PLA-Silk Magic 1.75mm eSUN Official Store · 2026-08 · vendor
  14. JAYO Silk PLA+ 1.75mm 1.1kg JAYO Official Store · 2026-08 · vendor
  15. PLA Basic — product page Bambu Lab US Store · 2026-08 · vendor
  16. PA (Nylon) — material basics Polymaker Wiki · 2026-08 · doc
  17. Filament Material Guide Prusa Knowledge Base · 2026-08 · doc
  18. Nylon — Ultimate 3D Printing Materials Guide Simplify3D · 2026-08 · doc
  19. PLA — Ultimate 3D Printing Materials Guide Simplify3D · 2026-08 · doc
  20. Wet Filament — signs, causes and drying Polymaker Wiki · 2026-08 · doc
  21. Prusament PLA — material page Prusa Polymers · 2026-08 · doc
  22. PLA — material guide Prusa Knowledge Base · 2026-08 · doc
  23. Fiberon PA612-CF15 Technical Data Sheet V1.1 Polymaker · 2024-12 · tds
  24. Moisture Conditioning — effect on printed nylon properties Polymaker Wiki · 2026-08 · doc
  25. Filament Drying Recommendations Bambu Lab Wiki · 2026-08 · doc
  26. Bambu Filament Technical Data Sheet V3.0 — PLA Basic Bambu Lab · 2026-08 · tds
  27. Fiberon PA6-CF20 Technical Data Sheet V1.1 Polymaker · 2024-12 · tds
  28. PolyMide CoPA Technical Data Sheet V5.4 (dry and wet status blocks) Polymaker · 2024-11 · tds
  29. 16 PLA brand comparison test — results spreadsheet My Tech Fun (Igor Gaspar) · 2022-10 · test
  30. Testing eSun PLA filaments: PLA-ST vs PLA+ vs Silk PLA My Tech Fun (Igor Gaspar) · 2026-08 · test
  31. TECAMID 66 GF30 black (PA66-GF30) — stock shape properties Ensinger · 2026-08 · tds
  32. TECACOMP PA66 CF30 black — injection-moulding compound Ensinger · 2026-08 · tds
  33. BambuLab PLA Basic vs PLA Tough vs PLA-CF — results spreadsheet My Tech Fun (Igor Gaspar) · 2026-08 · test
  34. PolyTerra PLA vs PLA+ — results spreadsheet My Tech Fun (Igor Gaspar) · 2026-08 · test
  35. Mechanical Properties of Additively Manufactured Polymeric Materials — PLA and PETG — For Biomechanical Applications Polymers 16(13):1868 · 2024-06 · paper
  36. PolyLite PLA Technical Data Sheet V5.4 Polymaker · 2024-11 · tds
  37. Prusament PLA Technical Data Sheet v1.0 Prusa Polymers · 2018-09 · tds
  38. Filamentive PLA (recycled) — product page Filamentive · 2026-08 · vendor
  39. 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
  40. Prusament rPLA Corn Pigment 1kg — product page Prusa Research · 2026-08 · vendor
  41. Ultramid Nylon Chemical Resistance guide (unmodified PA6 B27E and PA66 A27E) BASF · 2026-08 · tds
  42. Solubility Study of Ingeo Biopolymer Grades in Common Organic Solvents (NWPD003) NatureWorks · 2019-10 · tds
  43. Improve your 3D prints with chemical smoothing Prusa Research · 2026-08 · doc
  44. Effect of vapour smoothing in trichloromethane on 3D printed PLA — surface, mechanical and chemical structure Pitale, Keche & Chopra, Engineering Research Express 6(4) 045579 · 2024-12 · paper