3D Printing Info

Filament comparison

PA11 vs PLA Stone

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

PA11 (Nylon 11) guideStone-filled PLA guide

2 selected · all documented properties

Open these two in the interactive comparisonMore PA11 comparisonsMore PLA Stone comparisons
PA11 vs PLA Stone — documented properties and sources
PropertyPA11 (Nylon 11)PAStone-filled PLAPLA
Market snapshot
Listing priceUSD/kg; dated snapshots$194.98/kg median; $194.98–$194.98/kg across 1 dated product listings$22.99/kg median; $15.99–$49.16/kg across 6 dated product listings
Identity & Market
Base polymer / chemistryPolyamide 11, polymerised from castor-oil-derived aminoundecanoic acid — a bio-based nylon[1][2]PLA filled with stone or mineral powder — Formfutura StoneFil declares 40–50 wt% stone powder[3][4]
Densityg/cm³1.02 (ISO 1183)[1]1.22 (Bambu Lab PLA Marble) and 1.50–1.70 (Formfutura StoneFil), ISO 1183[4][3]
Typical priceUSD/kgNot documented1 kg spools cluster near 21[5][6]
Price range across brandsUSD/kgNot documented16–49 across brands; SUNLU 16, ELEGOO 19, Polymaker 21, Bambu Lab 25, Prusament 38, Filament PM MarbleJet 49 on 0.5 kg spools[7][6][5][8][9][10]
Market availability1–5Niche, a handful of specialist brands[2]Stocked by most mainstream brands[5][6][7]
Spool sizes & diameters1.75 mm; 1 kg spools[2]1.75 and 2.85 mm; 0.5 and 1 kg spools plus refills[6][3]
Typical applicationsTough, chemically resistant functional parts; Prusa targets it at impact-loaded and vibration-loaded components[2]Architectural models, sculpture and props with a matte mineral surface[4]
Diameter tolerance± mm±0.02 (Prusament)[1]Not documented
Printing Parameters
Nozzle temperature°C275 ± 10 (Prusament)[1]190–230 (Bambu Lab)[4]
Bed temperature°C100 ± 10 (Prusament)[1]35–45 (Bambu Lab)[4]
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[4]
Bed surface & adhesion aidPA nylon sheet (Prusament)[1]Not documented
Overall printing difficulty1–5Advanced — enclosure, hardware upgrades, tuning[1][11]Easy — minor profile tuning; 0.2 mm nozzles are not usable[12]
Extruder requirementPrusa printed its test specimens with a high-flow CHT nozzle[1]Nozzles below 0.4 mm are not compatible (Bambu Lab)[12]
Hardware Wear & Reliability
Nozzle hardness required1–4Brass fine indefinitely for unfilled grades[11]Brass acceptable; hardened steel for volume work — Bambu Lab's compatibility table says no hardened nozzle is needed while the note under the same table groups PLA Marble with particle-filled materials that should always use one[12]
Abrasiveness1–5Non-abrasive when unfilled[11]Moderately abrasive — stone fill[12][3]
Nozzle clog risk1–5High — jams from moisture, heat creep or particles[13]Moderate — needs dry filament and a clean nozzle[12]
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 — 0.44 % 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]0.44 saturated at 25 °C / 55 % RH (Bambu Lab)[4]
Symptoms when wetPopping and cracking during extrusion, then hard-to-diagnose defects[14]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[14][15]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]33 ± 4 printed XY, ISO 527 (Bambu Lab)[4]
Young's modulusMPa1200 printed, both orientations, ISO 527-1[1]2330 ± 240 printed XY, ISO 527 (Bambu Lab)[4]
Elongation at break%5.6 ± 0.1 at yield, printed, ISO 527-1[1]6.7 ± 0.5 printed XY, ISO 527 (Bambu Lab)[4]
Flexural strengthMPaNot documented75 ± 5 printed XY, ISO 178 (Bambu Lab)[4]
Flexural modulusMPa1100 printed horizontal and 1000 printed vertical, ISO 178[1]2920 ± 180 printed XY, ISO 178 (Bambu Lab)[4]
Charpy impact, notchedkJ/m²12.9 ± 2.1 printed horizontal and 11.7 ± 1.2 printed vertical, ISO 179-1 notched[1]9.5 ± 2.6 printed XY, ISO 179, notched (Bambu Lab)[4]
Other impact dataNot documentedCharpy unnotched 24.0 printed XY (Bambu Lab, ISO 179)[4]
Layer adhesion / Z tensileMPa32 ± 1 (Prusa Polymers interlayer adhesion test) — the highest interlayer figure Prusa publishes for any of its filaments[1]30 ± 4 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 stone-filled creep test; plain printed PLA sagged from 12 to 16.2–21.8 mm over 5 days at 1.25 kg[16][17][18]
Fatigue / repeated-flex resistance1–5Excellent — living hinges viable[11]Poor — no grade-specific S-N curve; plain printed PLA ran 38 000–49 000 cycles at 30 % of tensile strength and the mineral filler leaves a brittle compound[19][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]91 by tensile, 73 by flexural (printed, Bambu Lab)[4]
Thermal Properties
HDT at 0.45 MPa°C58.7 (ISO 75, 0.45 MPa)[1]56 (ISO 75, 0.45 MPa)[4]
HDT at 1.8 MPa°C49.9 (ISO 75, 1.8 MPa)[1]53 (ISO 75, 1.8 MPa)[4]
Glass transition (Tg)°CNot documented56 (DSC)[4]
Melting point / Vicat°CNot documented156 peak melt (DSC); Formfutura gives a 120–170 melting range for StoneFil[4][3]
Environment & Chemical
UV resistance1–5Not documentedDegrades within weeks outdoors[20]
Water / humidity resistance in service1–5Absorbs water, properties shift[14]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[21]Low hazard — minimal VOC and particle emission[21]
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[21]Not documented
Ultrafine-particle emission rateparticles/min≈2 × 10⁸ median — low for ultrafine particles despite the highest VOC mass of any filament tested[21]Not documented
Hazardous species emittedCaprolactam, at up to 180 µg/min from nylon filament — the largest single-VOC emission rate measured in the study[21]Not documented
Ventilation / filtration requirement1–5Ventilated room or enclosure recommended[21]None needed in a normal room[21]
Dust & fibre handling hazardNot documentedFormfutura's SDS sets an occupational limit of 1 mg/m³ for the stone powder and lists it as both a fibre and a particulate — do not dry-sand without extraction[3]
Post-Processing
Sanding & machiningNot documentedSands to a stone-like matte surface[3]
Support material pairingNot documentedSupport for PLA (Bambu Lab)[4]
Dimensional accuracy & detailNot documentedMatte mineral surface hides layer lines; 55° overhangs and 30 mm bridges as for plain PLA[4]
Solvents & Solubility
Soluble inDissolved at 23 °C by formic acid, phenol, m-cresol, 96 % sulphuric acid or hexafluoroisopropanol — all laboratory reagents.[22][23]Chloroform dissolves the PLA matrix (10 % w/v, 2–4 h at 23 °C) and leaves the filler as loose sludge; laboratory reagent.[24]
Softened or crazed byMineral acids, oxidants, halogens and zinc chloride solutions attack the amide bond; ordinary solvents do not (BASF, PA6/66).[22]Acetone, ethyl acetate and toluene plasticise the matrix but dissolve <1 % even at 65 °C; acetone submersion crazes parts.[24][25]
Solvent welding & smoothing agentNone — nylon's only solvents are formic acid, phenol and HFIP, all of which degrade the part they wet.[22]Chloroform vapour attacks only the resin fraction, so the filler is left standing proud; no workshop-safe agent exists.[26][25]

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. StoneFil safety data sheet Formfutura · 2026-08 · msds
  4. Bambu Filament Technical Data Sheet — PLA Marble Bambu Lab · 2026-08 · tds
  5. PLA Marble — product page Bambu Lab US Store · 2026-08 · vendor
  6. Polymaker product catalogue Polymaker · 2026-08 · vendor
  7. ELEGOO product catalogue ELEGOO · 2026-08 · vendor
  8. Printed Solid product catalogue Printed Solid · 2026-08 · vendor
  9. SUNLU High Speed PLA Marble 3D Printer Filament 1 kg SUNLU · 2026-08 · vendor
  10. Filament PM PLA MarbleJet technical data sheet Filament PM (Plasty Mladec) · 2026-08 · tds
  11. PA (Nylon) — material basics Polymaker Wiki · 2026-08 · doc
  12. PLA Usage Guide Bambu Lab Wiki · 2026-08 · doc
  13. Wet Filament — signs, causes and drying Polymaker Wiki · 2026-08 · doc
  14. Moisture Conditioning — effect on printed nylon properties Polymaker Wiki · 2026-08 · doc
  15. PolyMide CoPA Technical Data Sheet V5.4 (dry and wet status blocks) Polymaker · 2024-11 · tds
  16. BambuLab PLA Basic vs PLA Tough vs PLA-CF — results spreadsheet My Tech Fun (Igor Gaspar) · 2026-08 · test
  17. Polymaker PLA Pro vs PLA-CF — results spreadsheet My Tech Fun (Igor Gaspar) · 2026-08 · test
  18. Carbon Fiber PLA vs META-PLA vs PLA+ vs PLA by Sunlu — results spreadsheet My Tech Fun (Igor Gaspar) · 2026-08 · test
  19. Mechanical Properties of Additively Manufactured Polymeric Materials — PLA and PETG — For Biomechanical Applications Polymers 16(13):1868 · 2024-06 · paper
  20. PLA — material guide Prusa Knowledge Base · 2026-08 · doc
  21. 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
  22. Ultramid Nylon Chemical Resistance guide (unmodified PA6 B27E and PA66 A27E) BASF · 2026-08 · tds
  23. Chemical resistance — resistance of Ensinger plastics to chemicals (DIN 50 014, 23/50) Ensinger · 2026-08 · tds
  24. Solubility Study of Ingeo Biopolymer Grades in Common Organic Solvents (NWPD003) NatureWorks · 2019-10 · tds
  25. Improve your 3D prints with chemical smoothing Prusa Research · 2026-08 · doc
  26. 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