3D Printing InfoFilament comparison
PA11 vs PP-GF
Compare printing settings, strength, heat resistance, dated prices and sources.
2 selected · all documented properties
| Property | PA11 (Nylon 11)PA | Glass-fibre PP (PP-GF)POLYOLEFIN |
|---|---|---|
| Market snapshot | ||
| Listing priceUSD/kg; dated snapshots | $194.98/kg median; $194.98–$194.98/kg across 1 dated product listings | $49.09/kg median; $46.27–$86.01/kg across 3 dated product listings |
| Identity & Market | ||
| Base polymer / chemistry | Polyamide 11, polymerised from castor-oil-derived aminoundecanoic acid — a bio-based nylon[1][2] | Polypropylene reinforced with chopped glass fibre[3][4] |
| Densityg/cm³ | 1.02 (ISO 1183)[1] | 1.12 (Prusament PP Glass Fiber, ISO 1183) — the glass lifts it above water[3] |
| Typical priceUSD/kg | Not documented | 1 kg-equivalent spools cluster near 49[5][6][7] |
| Price range across brandsUSD/kg | Not documented | 46-86 across brands; BCN3D PP GF30 46 at 700 g, BASF Ultrafuse PP GF30 49 at 2.2 kg, Prusament PP Glass Fiber 86 at 850 g[5][6][7] |
| Market availability1–5 | Niche, a handful of specialist brands[2] | Available from several mainstream brands[5][6][7] |
| Spool sizes & diameters | 1.75 mm; 1 kg spools[2] | 1.75 and 2.85 mm; 700 g, 850 g and 2.2 kg spools[5][6][7] |
| Typical applications | Tough, chemically resistant functional parts; Prusa targets it at impact-loaded and vibration-loaded components[2] | Stiff, chemically resistant parts where PP-CF's cost or conductivity is unwanted[4] |
| Diameter tolerance± mm | ±0.02 (Prusament)[1] | ±0.04 (Prusament)[3] |
| Printing Parameters | ||
| Nozzle temperature°C | 275 ± 10 (Prusament)[1] | 245 ± 10 (Prusament) — 25 °C below the carbon-fibre grade[3][8] |
| Bed temperature°C | 100 ± 10 (Prusament)[1] | 95 ± 10 (Prusament)[3] |
| Enclosure / chamber requirement1–5 | Enclosure required (passive) — Prusament specifies a 55 ± 5 °C chamber[1] | Enclosure recommended — Simplify3D lists an enclosure as a hardware requirement and Polymaker advises one below 70 °C ambient to stop warping and cracking[9][10] |
| Recommended chamber temperature°C | 55 ± 5 (Prusament)[1] | Not documented |
| Part cooling fan | Not documented | Off — Prusa runs 0 % except 100 % on bridges[3] |
| Bed surface & adhesion aid | PA nylon sheet (Prusament)[1] | Not documented |
| Maximum volumetric flow (mm³/s; see test conditions)mm³/s | Not documented | 4 at Prusa's 50 mm/s cap on a 0.4 mm nozzle at 0.2 mm layer[3][11] |
| Warping tendency1–5 | Not documented | High — enclosure needed for reliable large parts; Prusa recommends a brim[3] |
| Bed-adhesion difficulty1–5 | Not documented | Very difficult — special plates or slurry required[3] |
| Overall printing difficulty1–5 | Advanced — enclosure, hardware upgrades, tuning[1][12] | Advanced — enclosure, hardware upgrades, tuning; hardened nozzle mandatory[3] |
| Extruder requirement | Prusa printed its test specimens with a high-flow CHT nozzle[1] | Prusa states a hardened nozzle is necessary and recommends a brim[3] |
| Hardware Wear & Reliability | ||
| Nozzle hardness required1–4 | Brass fine indefinitely for unfilled grades[12] | Hardened steel required[3] |
| Abrasiveness1–5 | Non-abrasive when unfilled[12] | Highly abrasive — standard GF composite[3] |
| Nozzle clog risk1–5 | High — jams from moisture, heat creep or particles[13] | Moderate — needs dry filament and a clean nozzle; Prusa lists higher risk of nozzle clogging for glass-filled composites[14] |
| 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][13] | Low (0.1–0.3 %) — 0.11 % at both 24 h and 7 days, higher than the carbon-fibre grade's 0.04 % but still very low[3][8] |
| Equilibrium moisture content at ~50 % RH% | 0.26 after 24 h and 0.46 after 7 days (Prusa Polymers method)[1] | 0.11 after 24 h and 0.11 after 7 days at 24 °C / 22 % RH (Prusa Polymers)[3] |
| Symptoms when wet | Popping and cracking during extrusion, then hard-to-diagnose defects[15] | 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[15][16] | Not applicable in practice at 0.11 % equilibrium uptake[3] |
| Storage requirement | Sealed below 20 % RH with desiccant[13] | No special storage needed[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] | 46.6 ± 1.3 filament tensile yield (Prusament, ISO 527) — more than double the carbon-fibre grade's 21[3][8] |
| Young's modulusMPa | 1200 printed, both orientations, ISO 527-1[1] | Not documented |
| Elongation at break% | 5.6 ± 0.1 at yield, printed, ISO 527-1[1] | Not documented |
| Flexural modulusMPa | 1100 printed horizontal and 1000 printed vertical, ISO 178[1] | Not documented |
| Charpy impact, notchedkJ/m² | 12.9 ± 2.1 printed horizontal and 11.7 ± 1.2 printed vertical, ISO 179-1 notched[1] | 7.9 ± 0.4 printed horizontal and 9.9 ± 0.8 printed vertical XZ (ISO 179-1, notched)[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] | Moderate[3] |
| Hardness (scale-specific)Shore A / Shore D / Rockwell | 70 Shore D (Prusa Polymers method)[1] | Rockwell R102 (and M95) on extruded unfilled PP stock (ASTM D785); no figure is published for a glass-fibre PP filament[17] |
| Fatigue / repeated-flex resistance1–5 | Excellent — living hinges viable[12] | Not documented |
| Elasticity / flexibility1–5 | Semi-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°C | 58.7 (ISO 75, 0.45 MPa)[1] | 138.3 (ISO 75, 0.45 MPa)[3] |
| HDT at 1.8 MPa°C | 49.9 (ISO 75, 1.8 MPa)[1] | 112.6 (ISO 75, 1.8 MPa)[3] |
| Environment & Chemical | ||
| Chemical resistance | Not documented | Excellent against acids, alkalis and most solvents[10] |
| Water / humidity resistance in service1–5 | Absorbs water, properties shift[15] | Excellent — essentially unaffected[3] |
| Biodegradability / compostability | Bio-based — the monomer comes from castor oil[2] | Not documented |
| Health & Safety | ||
| Fume toxicity1–5 | Moderate — measurable VOCs and UFPs, ventilation advised[18] | Low hazard — minimal VOC and particle emission. Inferred: no polyolefin was among the nine filaments in the Azimi chamber study, so this is a family-level judgement rather than a measurement[18] |
| 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[18] | Not documented |
| Ultrafine-particle emission rateparticles/min | ≈2 × 10⁸ median — low for ultrafine particles despite the highest VOC mass of any filament tested[18] | 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[18] | Not documented |
| Ventilation / filtration requirement1–5 | Ventilated room or enclosure recommended[18] | Open a window / occasional ventilation. Inferred — no polyolefin was measured in the chamber study[18] |
| Dust & fibre handling hazard | Not documented | Glass fibre is bound in the matrix; avoid inhaling sanding dust[3] |
| Solvents & Solubility | ||
| Soluble in | Dissolved at 23 °C by formic acid, phenol, m-cresol, 96 % sulphuric acid or hexafluoroisopropanol — all laboratory reagents.[19][20] | None at room temperature; chloroform dissolves the matrix at 60 °C and xylene at about 118 °C, leaving the fibre.[21][22] |
| Softened or crazed by | Mineral acids, oxidants, halogens and zinc chloride solutions attack the amide bond; ordinary solvents do not (BASF, PA6/66).[19] | Xylene, decalin, CCl4 and chlorobenzene are heavily absorbed at 20 °C; oleum, chlorosulphonic acid and bromine destroy it.[21] |
| Solvent welding & smoothing agent | None — nylon's only solvents are formic acid, phenol and HFIP, all of which degrade the part they wet.[19] | None — nothing softens PP at room temperature, so joints have to be welded thermally rather than chemically.[21] |
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
- Prusament PP Glass Fiber Technical Datasheet v1.0 Prusa Polymers · 2024-11 · tds
- Prusament PP Glass Fiber — material page Prusa Polymers · 2026-08 · doc
- BASF Ultrafuse PP GF30 Black 2.85 mm 2.200 g igo3d · 2026-08 · vendor
- BCN3D PP GF30 Black 2.85 mm 700 g igo3d · 2026-08 · vendor
- Prusa Prusament PP Glass Fiber Natural (NFC), 1.75 mm / 850 g 3DJAKE · 2026-08 · vendor
- Prusament PP Carbon Fiber Technical Datasheet v1.0 Prusa Polymers · 2024-11 · tds
- Polypropylene — Ultimate 3D Printing Materials Guide Simplify3D · 2026-08 · doc
- PP — material basics Polymaker Wiki · 2026-08 · doc
- Max volumetric speed Prusa Knowledge Base · 2026-08 · doc
- PA (Nylon) — material basics Polymaker Wiki · 2026-08 · doc
- Wet Filament — signs, causes and drying Polymaker Wiki · 2026-08 · doc
- Composite materials filled with carbon, kevlar or glass Prusa Knowledge Base · 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
- TECAFINE PP natural — stock shape properties Ensinger · 2026-08 · 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
- Pro-fax and Moplen polypropylene — Chemical Resistance Guide (20, 60 and 100 °C) LyondellBasell · 2026-08 · tds
- US 5,278,282 Polymer recycling by selective dissolution — xylene dissolution temperatures Nauman & Lynch, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute · 1994-01 · paper