3D Printing InfoFilament comparison
PA11 vs PA6
Compare printing settings, strength, heat resistance, dated prices and sources.
2 selected · all documented properties
| Property | PA11 (Nylon 11)PA | PA6 (Nylon 6)PA |
|---|---|---|
| Market snapshot | ||
| Listing priceUSD/kg; dated snapshots | $194.98/kg median; $194.98–$194.98/kg across 1 dated product listings | $104.00/kg median; $38.99–$136.00/kg across 3 dated product listings |
| Identity & Market | ||
| Base polymer / chemistry | Polyamide 11, polymerised from castor-oil-derived aminoundecanoic acid — a bio-based nylon[1][2] | Polyamide 6, ring-opened from caprolactam — the most hygroscopic of the common nylons[3][4] |
| Densityg/cm³ | 1.02 (ISO 1183)[1] | 1.06 (ISO 1183, 3DXTech iOn PA6 alloy)[5] |
| Typical priceUSD/kg | Not documented | 1 kg-equivalent spools span 39–136; the middle of the market is about 104, though budget unfilled PA6 has now arrived at 39[6][7] |
| Price range across brandsUSD/kg | Not documented | 39–136 across brands; YXPOLYER 39, 3DXTech iOn Nylon 6 Alloy 104, WearX Nylon 6 136. Unfilled PA6 filament stays rare — most PA6 reaches the market glass- or carbon-filled[6][7] |
| Market availability1–5 | Niche, a handful of specialist brands[2] | Niche, a handful of specialist brands[6] |
| Spool sizes & diameters | 1.75 mm; 1 kg spools[2] | 1.75 and 2.85 mm; 500 g and 750 g spools[6] |
| Typical applications | Tough, chemically resistant functional parts; Prusa targets it at impact-loaded and vibration-loaded components[2] | Wear parts, bushings and gears where PA6's toughness and abrasion resistance matter more than dimensional stability[3] |
| Diameter tolerance± mm | ±0.02 (Prusament)[1] | Not documented |
| Printing Parameters | ||
| Nozzle temperature°C | 275 ± 10 (Prusament)[1] | 220–260 (Polymaker); 225–265 (Simplify3D)[3][8] |
| Bed temperature°C | 100 ± 10 (Prusament)[1] | 70–100 (Polymaker); 70–90 (Simplify3D)[3][8] |
| Enclosure / chamber requirement1–5 | Enclosure required (passive) — Prusament specifies a 55 ± 5 °C chamber[1] | Enclosure required (passive)[9][3] |
| Recommended chamber temperature°C | 55 ± 5 (Prusament)[1] | Not documented |
| Part cooling fan | Not documented | Part cooling fan not required (Simplify3D)[8] |
| Bed surface & adhesion aid | PA nylon sheet (Prusament)[1] | PEI sheet with a glue stick, or a dedicated adhesive such as Magigoo[8][3] |
| Bed-adhesion difficulty1–5 | Not documented | Needs a specific surface plus adhesive[8][3] |
| Stringing / oozing tendency1–5 | Not documented | Moderate — retraction tuning needed[3] |
| Overall printing difficulty1–5 | Advanced — enclosure, hardware upgrades, tuning[1][3] | Advanced — enclosure, hardware upgrades, tuning; the filament must be kept dry throughout the print[3][10] |
| Extruder requirement | Prusa printed its test specimens with a high-flow CHT nozzle[1] | Not documented |
| Hardware Wear & Reliability | ||
| Nozzle hardness required1–4 | Brass fine indefinitely for unfilled grades[3] | Brass fine indefinitely for unfilled grades[3] |
| Abrasiveness1–5 | Non-abrasive when unfilled[3] | Non-abrasive when unfilled[3] |
| Nozzle clog risk1–5 | High — jams from moisture, heat creep or particles[10] | Very high — frequent jams without careful setup; wet nylon pops and cracks in the melt[11][10] |
| Heat-creep / jam sensitivity1–5 | Not documented | Moderate — good heatbreak cooling needed[8] |
| Hotend requirement | Not documented | May require an all-metal hot end (Simplify3D)[8] |
| Moisture Behaviour | ||
| Moisture absorption (hygroscopicity)1–5 | High (0.8–2 %) — Prusa measures 0.46 % after 7 days at 22 % RH, but PA11 sits between PA12 and PA6 in the family[1][10] | Very high (>2 %) — Polymaker groups nylon with PVA as the most moisture-prone class, and its own PA6-based composites reach 2.35–3.33 % equilibrium[10][12] |
| Equilibrium moisture content at ~50 % RH% | 0.26 after 24 h and 0.46 after 7 days (Prusa Polymers method)[1] | Not documented |
| Drying temperature & time | Not documented | 100 °C for 8 h (Polymaker CoPA); storage below 20 % RH[9][13] |
| Symptoms when wet | Popping and cracking during extrusion, then hard-to-diagnose defects[11] | Popping and cracking during extrusion, then defects that Polymaker describes as very hard to diagnose[11] |
| Effect of moisture on strength | Prusa publishes no dry-versus-conditioned columns; the CoPA reference shows the PA-family response — stiffness and strength fall sharply, impact and elongation rise[11][9] | 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 %[9][11] |
| Storage requirement | Sealed below 20 % RH with desiccant[10] | Sealed below 20 % RH with desiccant; Polymaker says nylon often needs to stay in a dryer while printing[13][10] |
| Hydrolysis at melt temperature | Not documented | 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[9][13] |
| Mechanical Properties | ||
| Tensile strength (XY)MPa | 38.3 ± 0.8 printed horizontal and 39.5 ± 0.5 printed vertical at yield, ISO 527-1[1] | 62 at break (printed XY, ISO 527, 3DXTech iOn PA6 alloy); Stratasys FDM Nylon 6 conditioned to 20 °C / 50 % RH gives 67.6 ultimate and 49.3 at yield printed XZ (ASTM D638)[5][14] |
| Young's modulusMPa | 1200 printed, both orientations, ISO 527-1[1] | 2110 (printed XY, ISO 527, 3DXTech iOn PA6 alloy); Stratasys FDM Nylon 6 conditioned gives 2232 printed XZ and 1817 ZX (ASTM D638)[5][14] |
| Elongation at break% | 5.6 ± 0.1 at yield, printed, ISO 527-1[1] | 9 at break (printed XY, ISO 527, 3DXTech iOn PA6 alloy); Stratasys FDM Nylon 6 conditioned gives 38 printed XZ against 3.2 in ZX (ASTM D638)[5][14] |
| Flexural strengthMPa | Not documented | 78 (printed XY, ISO 178, 3DXTech iOn PA6 alloy); Stratasys FDM Nylon 6 conditioned gives 97.2 printed XZ and 82 ZX (ASTM D790)[5][14] |
| Flexural modulusMPa | 1100 printed horizontal and 1000 printed vertical, ISO 178[1] | 2200 (printed XY, ISO 178, 3DXTech iOn PA6 alloy); Stratasys FDM Nylon 6 conditioned gives 2196 printed XZ and 1879 ZX (ASTM D790)[5][14] |
| Charpy impact, notchedkJ/m² | 12.9 ± 2.1 printed horizontal and 11.7 ± 1.2 printed vertical, ISO 179-1 notched[1] | Not documented |
| Other impact data | Not documented | Izod notched 106 J/m printed XZ against 43 J/m in ZX; unnotched 2873 against 192 J/m (Stratasys FDM Nylon 6, conditioned 20 °C / 50 % RH, ASTM D256 Method A) — a 15x anisotropy unnotched[14] |
| Layer adhesion / Z tensileMPa | 32 ± 1 (Prusa Polymers interlayer adhesion test) — the highest interlayer figure Prusa publishes for any of its filaments[1] | 36.5 ultimate and 28.9 at yield printed ZX (Stratasys FDM Nylon 6, conditioned 20 °C / 50 % RH, ASTM D638)[14] |
| Brittleness1–5 | Tough — absorbs impact, yields before breaking[1] | Tough — absorbs impact, yields before breaking[3] |
| Hardness (scale-specific)Shore A / Shore D / Rockwell | 70 Shore D (Prusa Polymers method)[1] | Shore D 86 and Rockwell 85 (108) — the source does not name the scales on extruded unfilled PA66 stock (ASTM D2240, D785); no figure is published for a PA6 filament[15] |
| Creep resistance / sustained load1–5 | Not documented | Moderate[3] |
| Fatigue / repeated-flex resistance1–5 | Excellent — living hinges viable[3] | Excellent — living hinges viable[3] |
| Elasticity / flexibility1–5 | Semi-flexible[1] | Semi-flexible[11] |
| Z strength as % of XY% | 84 — Prusa publishes a tensile anisotropy coefficient of 0.84, the ratio of Z to XY tensile strength[1] | 54 (Stratasys FDM Nylon 6 conditioned, ZX against XZ ultimate tensile, ASTM D638); 59 on the yield figures[14] |
| Wear resistance & friction | Not documented | 3DXTech sells a dedicated wear-resistant PA6 grade; abrasion resistance is the usual reason to choose PA6 over PA12[6] |
| Thermal Properties | ||
| HDT at 0.45 MPa°C | 58.7 (ISO 75, 0.45 MPa)[1] | Not documented |
| HDT at 1.8 MPa°C | 49.9 (ISO 75, 1.8 MPa)[1] | 93 (Stratasys FDM Nylon 6, conditioned, ASTM D648 at 264 psi)[14] |
| Glass transition (Tg)°C | Not documented | 105 (DSC, 3DXTech iOn PA6 alloy)[5] |
| Thermal expansion (CTE)µm/m·K | Not documented | 81.0 on extruded unfilled PA66 stock (ASTM D696; source states 4.5e-5 in/in/°F); no figure is published for a PA6 filament, and PA6 and PA66 expand almost identically[15] |
| Flammability / UL 94 | Not documented | Flammable; no UL 94 rating published for the unfilled filament grades surveyed[5] |
| Environment & Chemical | ||
| UV resistance1–5 | Not documented | Months outdoors before embrittlement — unstabilised polyamide yellows and chalks under UV[3] |
| Chemical resistance | Not documented | Withstands oils, fuels and alkalis — the usual reason to choose a polyamide[3] |
| Water / humidity resistance in service1–5 | Absorbs water, properties shift[11] | Absorbs water, properties shift — a conditioned part is measurably softer and larger than the same part dry[11][9] |
| Food contact | Not documented | Polymaker notes medical-grade variants exist, but standard filament is not food-contact certified[3] |
| Biodegradability / compostability | Bio-based — the monomer comes from castor oil[2] | Not biodegradable[3] |
| Recyclability | Not documented | Mechanically recyclable but not accepted in household plastic collection[3] |
| Health & Safety | ||
| Fume toxicity1–5 | Moderate — measurable VOCs and UFPs, ventilation advised[4] | Moderate — measurable VOCs and UFPs, ventilation advised[4] |
| 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[4] | Up to 180 caprolactam, the dominant VOC from nylon; total VOC reached nearly 200 µg/min, the highest of the nine filaments tested[4] |
| Ultrafine-particle emission rateparticles/min | ≈2 × 10⁸ median — low for ultrafine particles despite the highest VOC mass of any filament tested[4] | ≈2 × 10⁸ median — low for ultrafine particles despite the highest VOC mass of any filament tested[4] |
| Hazardous species emitted | Caprolactam, at up to 180 µg/min from nylon filament — the largest single-VOC emission rate measured in the study[4] | Caprolactam, at up to 180 µg/min from nylon filament — the largest single-VOC emission rate measured in the study[4] |
| Ventilation / filtration requirement1–5 | Ventilated room or enclosure recommended[4] | Ventilated room or enclosure recommended[4] |
| Post-Processing | ||
| Sanding & machining | Not documented | Sands poorly — the toughness makes it gum rather than powder[8] |
| Gluing & solvent welding | Not documented | Cyanoacrylate; no common solvent welds polyamide[8] |
| Vapour / chemical smoothing | Not documented | No practical vapour smoothing[8] |
| Support material pairing | Not documented | PVA dissolves cleanly against nylon; Polymaker sells a break-away PolySupport for PA12[8] |
| Dimensional accuracy & detail | Not documented | Parts grow as they absorb moisture after printing; Polymaker declines to publish a standard dimensional allowance because it depends on geometry and infill[11] |
| Solvents & Solubility | ||
| Soluble in | Dissolved at 23 °C by formic acid, phenol, m-cresol, 96 % sulphuric acid or hexafluoroisopropanol — all laboratory reagents.[16][17] | Dissolved at 23 °C by formic acid above ~50 %, phenol, m-cresol, 96 % sulphuric acid or hexafluoroisopropanol — laboratory reagents.[16] |
| Softened or crazed by | Mineral acids, oxidants, halogens and zinc chloride solutions attack the amide bond; ordinary solvents do not (BASF, PA6/66).[16] | Zinc chloride solutions stress-crack it — 10 % marginal, 37 % not resistant; alcoholic calcium chloride dissolves it.[16] |
| Solvent welding & smoothing agent | None — nylon's only solvents are formic acid, phenol and HFIP, all of which degrade the part they wet.[16] | None — nylon's only solvents are formic acid, phenol and HFIP, all of which degrade the part they wet.[16] |
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
- Prusament PA11 Technical Datasheet v1.0 Prusa Polymers · 2026-07 · tds
- Prusament PA11 — material page Prusa Polymers · 2026-08 · doc
- PA (Nylon) — material basics Polymaker Wiki · 2026-08 · doc
- 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
- iOn PA6-based Nylon Alloy Technical Data Sheet v2.0 3DXTech · 2026-08 · tds
- 3DXTech product catalogue 3DXTech · 2026-08 · vendor
- YXPOLYER PA6 Black 1 kg — product page YXPOLYER · 2026-08 · vendor
- Nylon — Ultimate 3D Printing Materials Guide Simplify3D · 2026-08 · doc
- PolyMide CoPA Technical Data Sheet V5.4 (dry and wet status blocks) Polymaker · 2024-11 · tds
- 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 page Polymaker Wiki · 2026-08 · tds
- FDM Nylon 6 — data sheet (conditioned 20 °C / 50 % RH) Stratasys · 2017-11 · tds
- TECAMID 66 natural (PA66) — stock shape properties Ensinger · 2026-08 · tds
- 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