3D Printing Info

Filament comparison

PA11 vs PLA-PHA

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

PA11 (Nylon 11) guidePLA/PHA blend guide

2 selected · all documented properties

Open these two in the interactive comparisonMore PA11 comparisonsMore PLA-PHA comparisons
PA11 vs PLA-PHA — documented properties and sources
PropertyPA11 (Nylon 11)PAPLA/PHA blendPLA
Market snapshot
Listing priceUSD/kg; dated snapshots$194.98/kg median; $194.98–$194.98/kg across 1 dated product listings$76.40/kg median; $76.40–$76.40/kg across 1 dated product listings
Identity & Market
Base polymer / chemistryPolyamide 11, polymerised from castor-oil-derived aminoundecanoic acid — a bio-based nylon[1][2]PLA blended with polyhydroxyalkanoate, a bacterially fermented bio-polyester[3]
Densityg/cm³1.02 (ISO 1183)[1]1.2 (ISO 1183)[3]
Market availability1–5Niche, a handful of specialist brands[2]Niche, a handful of specialist brands[3][4]
Spool sizes & diameters1.75 mm; 1 kg spools[2]1.75 and 2.85 mm; 750 g and 2200 g spools[3]
Typical applicationsTough, chemically resistant functional parts; Prusa targets it at impact-loaded and vibration-loaded components[2]General-purpose printing where PLA's brittleness is the limiting factor[3]
Diameter tolerance± mm±0.02 (Prusament)[1]Not documented
Printing Parameters
Nozzle temperature°C275 ± 10 (Prusament)[1]195–220 (colorFabb)[3]
Bed temperature°C100 ± 10 (Prusament)[1]50–60 (colorFabb)[3]
Enclosure / chamber requirement1–5Enclosure required (passive) — Prusament specifies a 55 ± 5 °C chamber[1]Open frame is fine[3]
Recommended chamber temperature°C55 ± 5 (Prusament)[1]Not documented
Part cooling fanNot documented0–100 %; colorFabb states the blend runs on both heated and unheated beds[3][5]
Bed surface & adhesion aidPA nylon sheet (Prusament)[1]Not documented
Maximum volumetric flow (mm³/s; see test conditions)mm³/sNot documented3.2–8 at colorFabb's 40–100 mm/s, on a 0.4 mm nozzle at 0.2 mm layer[5][6]
Overall printing difficulty1–5Advanced — enclosure, hardware upgrades, tuning[1][7]Beginner — prints on any machine out of the box[3]
Extruder requirementPrusa printed its test specimens with a high-flow CHT nozzle[1]Not documented
Hardware Wear & Reliability
Nozzle hardness required1–4Brass fine indefinitely for unfilled grades[7]Brass fine indefinitely[3]
Abrasiveness1–5Non-abrasive when unfilled[7]Non-abrasive[3]
Nozzle clog risk1–5High — jams from moisture, heat creep or particles[8]Very low — unfilled PLA blend; Prusa lists no drybox and no hardened nozzle for PLA[9]
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][8]Moderate — the PLA matrix takes up 0.40–0.51 % saturated; colorFabb publishes no figure for the blend[10][11]
Equilibrium moisture content at ~50 % RH%0.26 after 24 h and 0.46 after 7 days (Prusa Polymers method)[1]Not documented
Symptoms when wetPopping and cracking during extrusion, then hard-to-diagnose defects[12]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[12][13]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[8]
Storage requirementSealed below 20 % RH with desiccant[8]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]62–64 (ISO 527-1A, colorFabb; two grades quoted)[3]
Young's modulusMPa1200 printed, both orientations, ISO 527-1[1]2960–3070 (ISO 527-1A, colorFabb)[3]
Elongation at break%5.6 ± 0.1 at yield, printed, ISO 527-1[1]4 and 11 (ISO 527-1A, colorFabb; two grades quoted)[3]
Flexural modulusMPa1100 printed horizontal and 1000 printed vertical, ISO 178[1]2500–3300 flexural modulus (ISO 178, colorFabb)[3]
Charpy impact, notchedkJ/m²12.9 ± 2.1 printed horizontal and 11.7 ± 1.2 printed vertical, ISO 179-1 notched[1]2.8–3.7 (ISO 179, notched, colorFabb)[3]
Layer adhesion / Z tensileMPa32 ± 1 (Prusa Polymers interlayer adhesion test) — the highest interlayer figure Prusa publishes for any of its filaments[1]Not documented
Brittleness1–5Tough — absorbs impact, yields before breaking[1]Moderate — colorFabb positions the blend as tougher and less brittle than its generic PLA grades[3]
Hardness (scale-specific)Shore A / Shore D / Rockwell70 Shore D (Prusa Polymers method)[1]Not documented
Creep resistance / sustained load1–5Not documentedPoor — no PLA/PHA creep test; plain printed PLA sagged from 12 to 16.2–21.8 mm over 5 days at 1.25 kg[14][15][16]
Fatigue / repeated-flex resistance1–5Excellent — living hinges viable[7]Below average — no S-N curve for the blend; colorFabb positions it as tougher and less brittle than its generic PLA, which ran 38 000–49 000 cycles at 30 % of tensile strength[17][3]
Elasticity / flexibility1–5Semi-flexible[1]Rigid[3]
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°C58.7 (ISO 75, 0.45 MPa)[1]Not documented
HDT at 1.8 MPa°C49.9 (ISO 75, 1.8 MPa)[1]Not documented
Melting point / Vicat°CNot documentedAbove 155 melting (ISO 3146-C)[3]
Environment & Chemical
UV resistance1–5Not documentedDegrades within weeks outdoors[18]
Water / humidity resistance in service1–5Absorbs water, properties shift[12]Not documented
Biodegradability / compostabilityBio-based — the monomer comes from castor oil[2]colorFabb states the PHA component is 100 % biodegradable[3]
Health & Safety
Fume toxicity1–5Moderate — measurable VOCs and UFPs, ventilation advised[19]Low hazard — minimal VOC and particle emission[19]
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[19]Not documented
Ultrafine-particle emission rateparticles/min≈2 × 10⁸ median — low for ultrafine particles despite the highest VOC mass of any filament tested[19]Not documented
Hazardous species emittedCaprolactam, at up to 180 µg/min from nylon filament — the largest single-VOC emission rate measured in the study[19]Not documented
Ventilation / filtration requirement1–5Ventilated room or enclosure recommended[19]None needed in a normal room[19]
Solvents & Solubility
Soluble inDissolved at 23 °C by formic acid, phenol, m-cresol, 96 % sulphuric acid or hexafluoroisopropanol — all laboratory reagents.[20][21]Chloroform dissolves the PLA phase (10 % w/v, 2–4 h at 23 °C); THF and DMF need 65 °C. Laboratory reagents.[22]
Softened or crazed byMineral acids, oxidants, halogens and zinc chloride solutions attack the amide bond; ordinary solvents do not (BASF, PA6/66).[20]Acetone, ethyl acetate and toluene plasticise it but dissolve <1 % even at 65 °C; submersion in acetone crazes and destroys parts.[22][23]
Solvent welding & smoothing agentNone — nylon's only solvents are formic acid, phenol and HFIP, all of which degrade the part they wet.[20]Chloroform vapour smooths and welds PLA at the cost of tensile strength; acetone does not smooth it at all.[24][23]

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. PLA/PHA technical data sheet colorFabb · 2026-08 · tds
  4. woodFill technical data sheet colorFabb · 2026-08 · tds
  5. glowFill technical data sheet colorFabb · 2026-08 · tds
  6. Max volumetric speed Prusa Knowledge Base · 2026-08 · doc
  7. PA (Nylon) — material basics Polymaker Wiki · 2026-08 · doc
  8. Wet Filament — signs, causes and drying Polymaker Wiki · 2026-08 · doc
  9. Filament Material Guide Prusa Knowledge Base · 2026-08 · doc
  10. Bambu Filament Technical Data Sheet V3.0 — PLA Basic Bambu Lab · 2026-08 · tds
  11. PolyLite PLA Technical Data Sheet V5.4 Polymaker · 2024-11 · tds
  12. Moisture Conditioning — effect on printed nylon properties Polymaker Wiki · 2026-08 · doc
  13. PolyMide CoPA Technical Data Sheet V5.4 (dry and wet status blocks) Polymaker · 2024-11 · tds
  14. BambuLab PLA Basic vs PLA Tough vs PLA-CF — results spreadsheet My Tech Fun (Igor Gaspar) · 2026-08 · test
  15. Polymaker PLA Pro vs PLA-CF — results spreadsheet My Tech Fun (Igor Gaspar) · 2026-08 · test
  16. Carbon Fiber PLA vs META-PLA vs PLA+ vs PLA by Sunlu — results spreadsheet My Tech Fun (Igor Gaspar) · 2026-08 · test
  17. Mechanical Properties of Additively Manufactured Polymeric Materials — PLA and PETG — For Biomechanical Applications Polymers 16(13):1868 · 2024-06 · paper
  18. PLA — material guide Prusa Knowledge Base · 2026-08 · doc
  19. 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
  20. Ultramid Nylon Chemical Resistance guide (unmodified PA6 B27E and PA66 A27E) BASF · 2026-08 · tds
  21. Chemical resistance — resistance of Ensinger plastics to chemicals (DIN 50 014, 23/50) Ensinger · 2026-08 · tds
  22. Solubility Study of Ingeo Biopolymer Grades in Common Organic Solvents (NWPD003) NatureWorks · 2019-10 · tds
  23. Improve your 3D prints with chemical smoothing Prusa Research · 2026-08 · doc
  24. 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