3D Printing InfoFilament comparison
PA11 vs POM
Compare printing settings, strength, heat resistance, dated prices and sources.
2 selected · all documented properties
| Property | PA11 (Nylon 11)PA | POM (acetal)ENGINEERING |
|---|---|---|
| Market snapshot | ||
| Listing priceUSD/kg; dated snapshots | $194.98/kg median; $194.98–$194.98/kg across 1 dated product listings | Not documented |
| Identity & Market | ||
| Base polymer / chemistry | Polyamide 11, polymerised from castor-oil-derived aminoundecanoic acid — a bio-based nylon[1][2] | Polyoxymethylene, normally the copolymer POM-C. Apium's filament grade is POM-C with antistatic additives; no unfilled POM filament was found on sale[3][4] |
| Densityg/cm³ | 1.02 (ISO 1183)[1] | 1.41 (extruded POM-C stock)[3] |
| Market availability1–5 | Niche, a handful of specialist brands[2] | Special order, 1-2 makers worldwide — Apium sells a POM-C ESD filament through its own shop and states its printers are the only ones able to process POM-C; no POM filament appears in the 3DJAKE or igo3d product sitemaps, at MatterHackers or at Printed Solid[4][5][6][7] |
| Spool sizes & diameters | 1.75 mm; 1 kg spools[2] | Not documented |
| Typical applications | Tough, chemically resistant functional parts; Prusa targets it at impact-loaded and vibration-loaded components[2] | Gears, bushings, bearings, conveyor and food-machinery parts; Apium markets its POM-C ESD grade for semiconductor insulators, aerospace fasteners and sliding parts[3][4] |
| Diameter tolerance± mm | ±0.02 (Prusament)[1] | Not documented |
| Printing Parameters | ||
| Nozzle temperature°C | 275 ± 10 (Prusament)[1] | Not documented |
| Bed temperature°C | 100 ± 10 (Prusament)[1] | Not documented |
| Enclosure / chamber requirement1–5 | Enclosure required (passive) — Prusament specifies a 55 ± 5 °C chamber[1] | Not documented |
| Recommended chamber temperature°C | 55 ± 5 (Prusament)[1] | Not documented |
| Bed surface & adhesion aid | PA nylon sheet (Prusament)[1] | Not documented |
| Overall printing difficulty1–5 | Advanced — enclosure, hardware upgrades, tuning[1][8] | Not documented |
| Extruder requirement | Prusa printed its test specimens with a high-flow CHT nozzle[1] | Apium states that the adaptive heating system on its industrial machines is what makes POM-C printable, and that no other 3D printer can process it[4] |
| Hardware Wear & Reliability | ||
| Nozzle hardness required1–4 | Brass fine indefinitely for unfilled grades[8] | Not documented |
| Abrasiveness1–5 | Non-abrasive when unfilled[8] | Not documented |
| Nozzle clog risk1–5 | High — jams from moisture, heat creep or particles[9] | Not documented |
| 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][9] | Low (0.1-0.3 %) — extruded POM-C stock takes up 0.18 % in 24 h and 0.80 % at saturation (ASTM D570)[3] |
| 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 wet | Popping and cracking during extrusion, then hard-to-diagnose defects[10] | 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[10][11] | Not documented |
| Storage requirement | Sealed below 20 % RH with desiccant[9] | Not documented |
| 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] | 66.9 at break and 64.1 at yield (extruded POM-C stock, ASTM D638; converted from 9700 and 9300 psi)[3] |
| Young's modulusMPa | 1200 printed, both orientations, ISO 527-1[1] | 2275 (extruded POM-C stock, ASTM D638; converted from 330,000 psi)[3] |
| Elongation at break% | 5.6 ± 0.1 at yield, printed, ISO 527-1[1] | 40 at break and 9 at yield (extruded POM-C stock, ASTM D638)[3] |
| Flexural strengthMPa | Not documented | 89.6 (extruded POM-C stock, ASTM D790; converted from 13,000 psi)[3] |
| Flexural modulusMPa | 1100 printed horizontal and 1000 printed vertical, ISO 178[1] | 2758 (extruded POM-C stock, ASTM D790; converted from 400,000 psi)[3] |
| 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 53 J/m on extruded POM-C stock, converted from 1.0 ft-lb/in[3] |
| 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; extruded stock elongates 40 % before failing. No printed figure is published[3] |
| Hardness (scale-specific)Shore A / Shore D / Rockwell | 70 Shore D (Prusa Polymers method)[1] | Rockwell 86 (and R120) — the source names only the R scale on extruded POM-C stock (ASTM D785)[3] |
| Fatigue / repeated-flex resistance1–5 | Excellent — living hinges viable[8] | Not documented |
| Elasticity / flexibility1–5 | Semi-flexible[1] | Not documented |
| 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 |
| Wear resistance & friction | Not documented | Wear factor 65e-10 in3*min/(ft*lb*h) and a dynamic coefficient of friction of 0.21 at 40 psi and 50 fpm (ASTM D3702, extruded stock) — the properties that make acetal the default gear and bushing plastic; Apium lists good sliding properties as the reason for its grade[3][4] |
| Thermal Properties | ||
| HDT at 0.45 MPa°C | 58.7 (ISO 75, 0.45 MPa)[1] | 158 (extruded POM-C stock, ASTM D648 at 66 psi; converted from 316 °F)[3] |
| HDT at 1.8 MPa°C | 49.9 (ISO 75, 1.8 MPa)[1] | 110 (extruded POM-C stock, ASTM D648 at 264 psi; converted from 230 °F)[3] |
| Melting point / Vicat°C | Not documented | 165 melting (extruded POM-C stock; converted from 329 °F)[3] |
| Continuous service temperature°C | Not documented | 91 long term and 141 intermittent (extruded POM-C stock; converted from 195 °F and 285 °F)[3] |
| Thermal expansion (CTE)µm/m·K | Not documented | 84.6 (extruded POM-C stock, ASTM D696; source states 4.7e-5 in/in/°F)[3] |
| Flammability / UL 94 | Not documented | UL 94 HB on extruded POM-C stock[3] |
| Environment & Chemical | ||
| Chemical resistance | Not documented | Good chemical resistance, particularly to bases; Apium lists resistance to bases as a headline property[3][4] |
| Water / humidity resistance in service1–5 | Absorbs water, properties shift[10] | Good — minor absorption; 0.80 % water at saturation (ASTM D570, extruded stock)[3] |
| Biodegradability / compostability | Bio-based — the monomer comes from castor oil[2] | Not documented |
| Electrical & ESD properties | Not documented | Volume resistance 1e14 ohm-cm, dielectric strength 500 V/mil and dielectric constant 3.7 at 60 Hz on extruded stock (ASTM D257, D149, D150); Apium's filament grade adds antistatic agents[3][4] |
| Health & Safety | ||
| Fume toxicity1–5 | Moderate — measurable VOCs and UFPs, ventilation advised[12] | 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[12] | Not documented |
| Ultrafine-particle emission rateparticles/min | ≈2 × 10⁸ median — low for ultrafine particles despite the highest VOC mass of any filament tested[12] | 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[12] | Not documented |
| Ventilation / filtration requirement1–5 | Ventilated room or enclosure recommended[12] | Not documented |
| Post-Processing | ||
| Sanding & machining | Not documented | Easy to machine — Ensinger lists machinability as a headline property of POM-C stock[3] |
| Solvents & Solubility | ||
| Soluble in | Dissolved at 23 °C by formic acid, phenol, m-cresol, 96 % sulphuric acid or hexafluoroisopropanol — all laboratory reagents.[13][14] | Hexafluoroisopropanol dissolves it at room temperature; NMP and DMF only when hot. Laboratory reagents.[15] |
| Softened or crazed by | Mineral acids, oxidants, halogens and zinc chloride solutions attack the amide bond; ordinary solvents do not (BASF, PA6/66).[13] | Acids, oxidants, halogens and hot concentrated zinc chloride attack it; alcohols, ketones and esters do not.[15][14] |
| Solvent welding & smoothing agent | None — nylon's only solvents are formic acid, phenol and HFIP, all of which degrade the part they wet.[13] | None — no solvent softens POM below its melting point, which is why it is bolted or heat-welded rather than glued.[15] |
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
- TECAFORM AH natural (POM-C) — stock shape properties Ensinger · 2026-08 · tds
- POM-C ESD 3D printing — material page Apium 3D Technologies · 2026-08 · doc
- 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
- Resistance of Ultramid, Ultraform and Ultradur to chemicals (TI-KTU/AS-28 e) BASF · 2000-10 · tds