3D Printing InfoFilament comparison
PA11 vs PE
Compare printing settings, strength, heat resistance, dated prices and sources.
2 selected · all documented properties
| Property | PA11 (Nylon 11)PA | Polyethylene (PE)POLYOLEFIN |
|---|---|---|
| Market snapshot | ||
| Listing priceUSD/kg; dated snapshots | $194.98/kg median; $194.98–$194.98/kg across 1 dated product listings | $87.72/kg median; $87.72–$87.72/kg across 1 dated product listings |
| Identity & Market | ||
| Base polymer / chemistry | Polyamide 11, polymerised from castor-oil-derived aminoundecanoic acid — a bio-based nylon[1][2] | Polyethylene — the simplest polyolefin, non-polar and highly crystalline. The one retailed filament grade, Spectrum HDPE, uses what Spectrum calls Low Warp technology and is denser and stiffer than plain HDPE[3][4] |
| Densityg/cm³ | 1.02 (ISO 1183)[1] | 1.10 (Spectrum HDPE filament, ISO 1183) against 0.95 for extruded HDPE stock — the filament is a modified formulation[3][4] |
| Typical priceUSD/kg | Not documented | 1 kg-equivalent spools cluster near 88[5] |
| Price range across brandsUSD/kg | Not documented | 87.72 — Spectrum's 500 g spools at 3DJAKE are the only PE filament listing found[5] |
| Market availability1–5 | Niche, a handful of specialist brands[2] | Niche, a handful of specialist brands — Spectrum HDPE in six colours is the only PE filament in the 3DJAKE and igo3d product sitemaps, at MatterHackers or at Printed Solid, but it is a normal stocked item rather than a special order[6][7][8][5] |
| Spool sizes & diameters | 1.75 mm; 1 kg spools[2] | 1.75 mm; 500 g spools in six colours[5][6] |
| Typical applications | Tough, chemically resistant functional parts; Prusa targets it at impact-loaded and vibration-loaded components[2] | Chemically resistant containers, packaging prototypes and consumer goods where HDPE is the production material[3] |
| Diameter tolerance± mm | ±0.02 (Prusament)[1] | Not documented |
| Printing Parameters | ||
| Nozzle temperature°C | 275 ± 10 (Prusament)[1] | 240-290 (Spectrum HDPE)[3] |
| Bed temperature°C | 100 ± 10 (Prusament)[1] | 80-100 (Spectrum HDPE)[3] |
| Enclosure / chamber requirement1–5 | Enclosure required (passive) — Prusament specifies a 55 ± 5 °C chamber[1] | Enclosure recommended — Spectrum recommends a closed chamber for larger prints[3] |
| Recommended chamber temperature°C | 55 ± 5 (Prusament)[1] | Not documented |
| Part cooling fan | Not documented | 0-50 % part cooling (Spectrum HDPE)[3] |
| Bed surface & adhesion aid | PA nylon sheet (Prusament)[1] | Spectrum states no adhesive is necessary for its low-warp HDPE, depending on geometry[3] |
| Warping tendency1–5 | Not documented | Moderate — needs adhesion aid or draught shield. Spectrum's low-warp grade is sold as printable on desktop machines, which is not true of plain polyethylene[3] |
| Bed-adhesion difficulty1–5 | Not documented | Needs the right surface or a thin adhesive; Spectrum states no adhesive is necessary but recommends a closed chamber for large parts[3] |
| Overall printing difficulty1–5 | Advanced — enclosure, hardware upgrades, tuning[1][9] | Intermediate — dry filament and a tuned profile; Spectrum sells the grade as desktop-printable with no dry box and no hardened nozzle[3] |
| 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[9] | Brass fine indefinitely — Spectrum states a ruby or hardened nozzle is not required[3] |
| Abrasiveness1–5 | Non-abrasive when unfilled[9] | Non-abrasive[3] |
| Nozzle clog risk1–5 | High — jams from moisture, heat creep or particles[10] | Low — Spectrum lists no drybox and no ruby or hardened nozzle for HDPE, and very low moisture absorption[3] |
| 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] | Negligible (<0.1 % EMC) — Spectrum lists very low moisture absorption and no dry box[3] |
| 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 | No drying step published; Spectrum lists a dry box as not required[3] |
| Symptoms when wet | Popping and cracking during extrusion, then hard-to-diagnose defects[11] | Not documented |
| 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][12] | Not applicable in practice — Spectrum lists very low moisture absorption and no drybox requirement for HDPE[3] |
| Storage requirement | Sealed below 20 % RH with desiccant[10] | Store dry at 18-25 °C out of sunlight; Spectrum quotes a 24-month shelf life[3] |
| 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] | 29 at break (Spectrum HDPE, ISO 527; specimen type not stated) against 25.5 at yield on extruded HDPE stock (ASTM D638, from 3700 psi)[3][4] |
| Young's modulusMPa | 1200 printed, both orientations, ISO 527-1[1] | 3500 (Spectrum HDPE, ISO 527) against 965 on extruded HDPE stock (ASTM D638, from 140,000 psi) — the filament grade is nearly four times stiffer than plain polyethylene[3][4] |
| Elongation at break% | 5.6 ± 0.1 at yield, printed, ISO 527-1[1] | 18 at break (Spectrum HDPE, ISO 527) against above 100 on extruded stock (ASTM D638)[3][4] |
| Flexural strengthMPa | Not documented | 27.6 on extruded HDPE stock (ASTM D790; converted from 4000 psi)[4] |
| Flexural modulusMPa | 1100 printed horizontal and 1000 printed vertical, ISO 178[1] | 3200 (Spectrum HDPE, ISO 178) against 965 on extruded stock (ASTM D790, from 140,000 psi)[3][4] |
| 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 | Charpy 10 kJ/m2 (Spectrum HDPE, ISO 179-1; notch condition not stated); Izod 104 J/m on extruded stock, converted from 1.94 ft-lb/in (ASTM D256)[3][4] |
| Layer adhesion / Z tensileMPa | 32 ± 1 (Prusa Polymers interlayer adhesion test) — the highest interlayer figure Prusa publishes for any of its filaments[1] | Not documented |
| Brittleness1–5 | Tough — absorbs impact, yields before breaking[1] | Tough — absorbs impact, yields before breaking; 18 % elongation at break on the filament and above 100 % on extruded stock[3][4] |
| Hardness (scale-specific)Shore A / Shore D / Rockwell | 70 Shore D (Prusa Polymers method)[1] | Shore D 67 and Rockwell R54 on extruded HDPE stock (ASTM D2240, D785); Spectrum quotes Rockwell 80 HRM for its filament (ISO 2039-2)[4][3] |
| Fatigue / repeated-flex resistance1–5 | Excellent — living hinges viable[9] | Good — Spectrum lists outstanding abrasion and crack resistance for its HDPE, but no repeated-flex or fatigue test data was found for any PE filament[3] |
| Elasticity / flexibility1–5 | Semi-flexible[1] | Slightly flexible in thin sections — Spectrum's low-warp grade has a 3.5 GPa tensile modulus; plain extruded HDPE at 965 MPa is genuinely semi-flexible[3][4] |
| Z strength as % of XY% | 84 — Prusa publishes a tensile anisotropy coefficient of 0.84, the ratio of Z to XY tensile strength[1] | Not documented |
| Thermal Properties | ||
| HDT at 0.45 MPa°C | 58.7 (ISO 75, 0.45 MPa)[1] | 75 on extruded HDPE stock (ASTM D648 at 66 psi; converted from 167 °F)[4] |
| HDT at 1.8 MPa°C | 49.9 (ISO 75, 1.8 MPa)[1] | Not documented |
| Continuous service temperature°C | Not documented | 110 stated as heat resistance by Spectrum with no test standard given; extruded stock is rated 120 long-term maximum (converted from 248 °F) and brittle below -76[3][4] |
| Thermal expansion (CTE)µm/m·K | Not documented | 117 (extruded HDPE stock, ASTM D696; source states 6.5e-5 in/in/°F)[4] |
| Environment & Chemical | ||
| UV resistance1–5 | Not documented | Moderate — a season or two. Spectrum describes its HDPE as UV-stable and weather-resistant but publishes no exposure data[3] |
| Chemical resistance | Not documented | Excellent chemical resistance to acids, bases, oils and solvents (Spectrum); Ensinger lists broad chemical compatibility for HDPE stock[3][4] |
| Water / humidity resistance in service1–5 | Absorbs water, properties shift[11] | Excellent — essentially unaffected; Ensinger lists low moisture absorption for HDPE stock and Spectrum very low absorption for the filament[3][4] |
| Biodegradability / compostability | Bio-based — the monomer comes from castor oil[2] | Not documented |
| Recyclability | Not documented | Spectrum states the filament is fully recyclable; HDPE is resin code 2[3] |
| Health & Safety | ||
| Fume toxicity1–5 | Moderate — measurable VOCs and UFPs, ventilation advised[13] | Not documented |
| 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[13] | Not documented |
| Ultrafine-particle emission rateparticles/min | ≈2 × 10⁸ median — low for ultrafine particles despite the highest VOC mass of any filament tested[13] | Not documented |
| Hazardous species emitted | Caprolactam, at up to 180 µg/min from nylon filament — the largest single-VOC emission rate measured in the study[13] | Not documented |
| Ventilation / filtration requirement1–5 | Ventilated room or enclosure recommended[13] | Not documented |
| Post-Processing | ||
| Sanding & machining | Not documented | Easy to machine — Ensinger lists machinability as a headline property of HDPE stock[4] |
| Dimensional accuracy & detail | Not documented | Spectrum lists a shiny surface finish and no adhesive requirement; shrinkage remains the limit on large flat parts[3] |
| Solvents & Solubility | ||
| Soluble in | Dissolved at 23 °C by formic acid, phenol, m-cresol, 96 % sulphuric acid or hexafluoroisopropanol — all laboratory reagents.[14][15] | None at room temperature; xylene dissolves HDPE at about 105 °C and LDPE at 75 °C. Hot decalin does the same.[16][17] |
| Softened or crazed by | Mineral acids, oxidants, halogens and zinc chloride solutions attack the amide bond; ordinary solvents do not (BASF, PA6/66).[14] | Toluene, xylene, styrene, chloroform, dichloromethane, MEK and trichloroethylene are all unsatisfactory at 21 °C.[17] |
| Solvent welding & smoothing agent | None — nylon's only solvents are formic acid, phenol and HFIP, all of which degrade the part they wet.[14] | None — polyethylene has no room-temperature solvent, so joints are made by heat welding.[17][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
- Spectrum HDPE Technical Data Sheet Spectrum Filaments · 2025-10 · tds
- TECAFINE HDPE natural — stock shape properties Ensinger · 2026-08 · tds
- Spectrum HDPE Traffic Black, 1.75 mm / 500 g 3DJAKE · 2026-08 · vendor
- 3DJAKE product catalogue 3DJAKE · 2026-08 · vendor
- igo3d product sitemap (17452 product URLs) igo3d · 2026-08 · vendor
- Printed Solid product catalogue Printed Solid · 2026-08 · vendor
- PA (Nylon) — material basics Polymaker Wiki · 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
- PolyMide CoPA Technical Data Sheet V5.4 (dry and wet status blocks) Polymaker · 2024-11 · 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
- US 5,278,282 Polymer recycling by selective dissolution — xylene dissolution temperatures Nauman & Lynch, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute · 1994-01 · paper
- HDPE Chemical Resistance Guide (21 °C and 60 °C) INEOS Olefins & Polymers USA · 2026-08 · tds