3D Printing Info

Filament comparison

PA11 vs PLA Glow

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

PA11 (Nylon 11) guideGlow-in-the-dark PLA guide

2 selected · all documented properties

Open these two in the interactive comparisonMore PA11 comparisonsMore PLA Glow comparisons
PA11 vs PLA Glow — documented properties and sources
PropertyPA11 (Nylon 11)PAGlow-in-the-dark PLAPLA
Market snapshot
Listing priceUSD/kg; dated snapshots$194.98/kg median; $194.98–$194.98/kg across 1 dated product listings$24.99/kg median; $19.99–$49.16/kg across 5 dated product listings
Identity & Market
Base polymer / chemistryPolyamide 11, polymerised from castor-oil-derived aminoundecanoic acid — a bio-based nylon[1][2]PLA with a phosphorescent additive at 2–20 wt% (Bambu Lab SDS, filler not named)[3]
Densityg/cm³1.02 (ISO 1183)[1]1.24 (colorFabb) to 1.26 (Bambu Lab), ISO 1183[4][5]
Typical priceUSD/kgNot documented1 kg spools cluster near 25[6][7]
Price range across brandsUSD/kgNot documented20–49 across brands; ELEGOO 20, Bambu Lab 25, Polymaker 25, Filament PM 49 on 0.5 kg spools[8][6][7][9]
Market availability1–5Niche, a handful of specialist brands[2]Stocked by most mainstream brands[6][7][8]
Spool sizes & diameters1.75 mm; 1 kg spools[2]1.75 and 2.85 mm; 0.75 and 1 kg spools[10][5]
Typical applicationsTough, chemically resistant functional parts; Prusa targets it at impact-loaded and vibration-loaded components[2]Signage, novelty and cosplay parts that glow after light exposure[4]
Diameter tolerance± mm±0.02 (Prusament)[1]Not documented
Printing Parameters
Nozzle temperature°C275 ± 10 (Prusament)[1]190–230 on the Bambu Lab TDS against 210–240 in its own material table; colorFabb advises 195–220[4][11][5]
Bed temperature°C100 ± 10 (Prusament)[1]35–45 (Bambu Lab); 50–60 (colorFabb)[4][5]
Enclosure / chamber requirement1–5Enclosure required (passive) — Prusament specifies a 55 ± 5 °C chamber[1]Open frame is fine[4]
Recommended chamber temperature°C55 ± 5 (Prusament)[1]Not documented
Part cooling fanNot documentedFan on; colorFabb allows 0–100 %[4][5]
Bed surface & adhesion aidPA nylon sheet (Prusament)[1]Not documented
Overall printing difficulty1–5Advanced — enclosure, hardware upgrades, tuning[1][12]Easy — minor profile tuning; a hardened nozzle is mandatory[11][7]
Extruder requirementPrusa printed its test specimens with a high-flow CHT nozzle[1]Bambu Lab: hardened steel and high-flow nozzles only, 0.2 mm excluded, AMS lite not compatible[11]
Hardware Wear & Reliability
Nozzle hardness required1–4Brass fine indefinitely for unfilled grades[12]Hardened steel required[11][7][5]
Abrasiveness1–5Non-abrasive when unfilled[12]Highly abrasive — the phosphor is a hard ceramic; Bambu Lab groups glow with carbon fibre as the materials that wear nozzles and grind AMS PTFE, and both Bambu Lab and Polymaker require a hardened nozzle[11][5]
Nozzle clog risk1–5High — jams from moisture, heat creep or particles[13]Moderate — needs dry filament and a clean nozzle[11]
Hotend requirementNot documentedHardened steel nozzle; Bambu Lab lists glow-in-the-dark among the filaments its hardened-steel nozzle exists for[14][11]
Other hardware wearNot documentedBambu Lab reports the filament adds enough feeding resistance to fail prints on the AMS lite; colorFabb warns of brass nozzle wear[11][5]
Moisture Behaviour
Moisture absorption (hygroscopicity)1–5High (0.8–2 %) — Prusa measures 0.46 % after 7 days at 22 % RH, but PA11 sits between PA12 and PA6 in the family[1][13]Moderate — 0.46 % saturated at 25 °C / 55 % RH[4]
Equilibrium moisture content at ~50 % RH%0.26 after 24 h and 0.46 after 7 days (Prusa Polymers method)[1]0.46 saturated at 25 °C / 55 % RH (Bambu Lab)[4]
Symptoms when wetPopping and cracking during extrusion, then hard-to-diagnose defects[15]Not documented
Effect of moisture on strengthPrusa publishes no dry-versus-conditioned columns; the CoPA reference shows the PA-family response — stiffness and strength fall sharply, impact and elongation rise[15][16]Polymaker rates PLA low-sensitivity and publishes no dry-versus-conditioned figures for this grade; absorbed water flashes to steam and shows as bubbling and poor layer adhesion[13]
Storage requirementSealed below 20 % RH with desiccant[13]Not documented
Mechanical Properties
Tensile strength (XY)MPa38.3 ± 0.8 printed horizontal and 39.5 ± 0.5 printed vertical at yield, ISO 527-1[1]32 ± 3 printed XY, ISO 527 (Bambu Lab); colorFabb quotes 61.5 by ISO 527 on its own specimens[4][5]
Young's modulusMPa1200 printed, both orientations, ISO 527-1[1]2030 ± 210 printed XY, ISO 527 (Bambu Lab); colorFabb 2960[4][5]
Elongation at break%5.6 ± 0.1 at yield, printed, ISO 527-1[1]8.6 ± 1.2 printed XY, ISO 527 (Bambu Lab); colorFabb 10.5 at break[4][5]
Flexural strengthMPaNot documented76 ± 4 printed XY, ISO 178 (Bambu Lab)[4]
Flexural modulusMPa1100 printed horizontal and 1000 printed vertical, ISO 178[1]2640 ± 130 printed XY, ISO 178 (Bambu Lab); colorFabb 3295[4][5]
Charpy impact, notchedkJ/m²12.9 ± 2.1 printed horizontal and 11.7 ± 1.2 printed vertical, ISO 179-1 notched[1]2.8 (colorFabb, ISO 179-1/1eA) and 8.8 ± 1.7 (Bambu Lab, ISO 179) printed XY, notched[4][5]
Other impact dataNot documentedCharpy unnotched 27.3 (Bambu Lab) and 30.8 (colorFabb), printed, ISO 179[4][5]
Layer adhesion / Z tensileMPa32 ± 1 (Prusa Polymers interlayer adhesion test) — the highest interlayer figure Prusa publishes for any of its filaments[1]26 ± 3 printed Z, ISO 527 (Bambu Lab)[4]
Brittleness1–5Tough — absorbs impact, yields before breaking[1]Brittle — snaps with little warning[4]
Hardness (scale-specific)Shore A / Shore D / Rockwell70 Shore D (Prusa Polymers method)[1]Not documented
Creep resistance / sustained load1–5Not documentedPoor — no glow-grade creep test; plain printed PLA sagged from 12 to 16.2–21.8 mm over 5 days at 1.25 kg[17][18][19]
Fatigue / repeated-flex resistance1–5Excellent — living hinges viable[12]Poor — no grade-specific S-N curve; plain printed PLA ran 38 000–49 000 cycles at 30 % of tensile strength and the glow filler leaves a brittle, highly abrasive compound[20][4]
Elasticity / flexibility1–5Semi-flexible[1]Rigid[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]81 by tensile, 72 by flexural (printed, Bambu Lab)[4]
Thermal Properties
HDT at 0.45 MPa°C58.7 (ISO 75, 0.45 MPa)[1]55 (ISO 75, 0.45 MPa)[4]
HDT at 1.8 MPa°C49.9 (ISO 75, 1.8 MPa)[1]52 (ISO 75, 1.8 MPa)[4]
Glass transition (Tg)°CNot documented55 (DSC)[4]
Melting point / Vicat°CNot documented155 peak melt (DSC); colorFabb quotes above 155 by ISO 3146-C[4][5]
Environment & Chemical
UV resistance1–5Not documentedDegrades within weeks outdoors[21]
Water / humidity resistance in service1–5Absorbs water, properties shift[15]Not documented
Biodegradability / compostabilityBio-based — the monomer comes from castor oil[2]Not documented
Health & Safety
Fume toxicity1–5Moderate — measurable VOCs and UFPs, ventilation advised[22]Low hazard — minimal VOC and particle emission[22]
VOC emission rateµg/minUp to 180 caprolactam, the dominant VOC from nylon; total VOC reached nearly 200 µg/min, the highest of the nine filaments tested[22]Not documented
Ultrafine-particle emission rateparticles/min≈2 × 10⁸ median — low for ultrafine particles despite the highest VOC mass of any filament tested[22]Not documented
Hazardous species emittedCaprolactam, at up to 180 µg/min from nylon filament — the largest single-VOC emission rate measured in the study[22]Not documented
Ventilation / filtration requirement1–5Ventilated room or enclosure recommended[22]None needed in a normal room[22]
Post-Processing
Support material pairingNot documentedSupport for PLA (Bambu Lab)[4]
Dimensional accuracy & detailNot documentedGlow brightness rises with wall thickness; 0.2 mm nozzles are not usable[11]
Solvents & Solubility
Soluble inDissolved at 23 °C by formic acid, phenol, m-cresol, 96 % sulphuric acid or hexafluoroisopropanol — all laboratory reagents.[23][24]Chloroform dissolves the PLA matrix (10 % w/v, 2–4 h at 23 °C) and leaves the filler as loose sludge; laboratory reagent.[25]
Softened or crazed byMineral acids, oxidants, halogens and zinc chloride solutions attack the amide bond; ordinary solvents do not (BASF, PA6/66).[23]Acetone, ethyl acetate and toluene plasticise the matrix but dissolve <1 % even at 65 °C; acetone submersion crazes parts.[25][26]
Solvent welding & smoothing agentNone — nylon's only solvents are formic acid, phenol and HFIP, all of which degrade the part they wet.[23]Chloroform vapour attacks only the resin fraction, so the filler is left standing proud; no workshop-safe agent exists.[27][26]

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. Prusament PA11 Technical Datasheet v1.0 Prusa Polymers · 2026-07 · tds
  2. Prusament PA11 — material page Prusa Polymers · 2026-08 · doc
  3. Safety Data Sheet SDS20251127A12 — Bambu PLA Glow Bambu Lab · 2025-11 · msds
  4. Bambu Filament Technical Data Sheet — PLA Glow Bambu Lab · 2026-08 · tds
  5. glowFill technical data sheet colorFabb · 2026-08 · tds
  6. PLA Glow — product page Bambu Lab US Store · 2026-08 · vendor
  7. Panchroma Luminous PLA — product page Polymaker Shop · 2026-08 · vendor
  8. ELEGOO product catalogue ELEGOO · 2026-08 · vendor
  9. Filament PM PLA GlowJet technical data sheet Filament PM (Plasty Mladec) · 2026-08 · tds
  10. Polymaker product catalogue Polymaker · 2026-08 · vendor
  11. PLA Usage Guide Bambu Lab Wiki · 2026-08 · doc
  12. PA (Nylon) — material basics Polymaker Wiki · 2026-08 · doc
  13. Wet Filament — signs, causes and drying Polymaker Wiki · 2026-08 · doc
  14. Nozzles — material and compatibility Bambu Lab Wiki · 2026-08 · doc
  15. Moisture Conditioning — effect on printed nylon properties Polymaker Wiki · 2026-08 · doc
  16. PolyMide CoPA Technical Data Sheet V5.4 (dry and wet status blocks) Polymaker · 2024-11 · tds
  17. BambuLab PLA Basic vs PLA Tough vs PLA-CF — results spreadsheet My Tech Fun (Igor Gaspar) · 2026-08 · test
  18. Polymaker PLA Pro vs PLA-CF — results spreadsheet My Tech Fun (Igor Gaspar) · 2026-08 · test
  19. Carbon Fiber PLA vs META-PLA vs PLA+ vs PLA by Sunlu — results spreadsheet My Tech Fun (Igor Gaspar) · 2026-08 · test
  20. Mechanical Properties of Additively Manufactured Polymeric Materials — PLA and PETG — For Biomechanical Applications Polymers 16(13):1868 · 2024-06 · paper
  21. PLA — material guide Prusa Knowledge Base · 2026-08 · doc
  22. 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
  23. Ultramid Nylon Chemical Resistance guide (unmodified PA6 B27E and PA66 A27E) BASF · 2026-08 · tds
  24. Chemical resistance — resistance of Ensinger plastics to chemicals (DIN 50 014, 23/50) Ensinger · 2026-08 · tds
  25. Solubility Study of Ingeo Biopolymer Grades in Common Organic Solvents (NWPD003) NatureWorks · 2019-10 · tds
  26. Improve your 3D prints with chemical smoothing Prusa Research · 2026-08 · doc
  27. 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