3D Printing InfoFilament comparison
PA11 vs PVB
Compare printing settings, strength, heat resistance, dated prices and sources.
2 selected · all documented properties
| Property | PA11 (Nylon 11)PA | PVBSPECIALTY |
|---|---|---|
| Market snapshot | ||
| Listing priceUSD/kg; dated snapshots | $194.98/kg median; $194.98–$194.98/kg across 1 dated product listings | $66.65/kg median; $49.32–$79.98/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] | Polyvinyl butyral — a printable thermoplastic whose surface can be smoothed with isopropyl alcohol instead of a hot solvent[3] |
| Densityg/cm³ | 1.02 (ISO 1183)[1] | 1.10 (Polymaker PolySmooth, ISO 1183); Prusament PVB 1.10[3][4] |
| Typical priceUSD/kg | Not documented | 1 kg-equivalent spools cluster near 80[5][6] |
| Price range across brandsUSD/kg | Not documented | 49–102 across brands; Polymaker PolySmooth 49 at 750 g, Prusament PVB 80–102 at 500 g[5][6] |
| Market availability1–5 | Niche, a handful of specialist brands[2] | Available from several mainstream brands[5][6] |
| Spool sizes & diameters | 1.75 mm; 1 kg spools[2] | 1.75 and 2.85 mm; 0.5 and 0.75 kg spools[5][6] |
| Typical applications | Tough, chemically resistant functional parts; Prusa targets it at impact-loaded and vibration-loaded components[2] | Display models and light guides where a layer-free surface matters more than strength[3] |
| Diameter tolerance± mm | ±0.02 (Prusament)[1] | +/- 0.03 (Prusament PVB)[4] |
| Printing Parameters | ||
| Nozzle temperature°C | 275 ± 10 (Prusament)[1] | 215 +/- 10 (Prusament PVB)[4] |
| Bed temperature°C | 100 ± 10 (Prusament)[1] | 75 +/- 5 (Prusament PVB)[4] |
| Enclosure / chamber requirement1–5 | Enclosure required (passive) — Prusament specifies a 55 ± 5 °C chamber[1] | Open frame is fine[3] |
| Recommended chamber temperature°C | 55 ± 5 (Prusament)[1] | Not documented |
| Part cooling fan | Not documented | 100 % part cooling (Prusament PVB)[4] |
| Bed surface & adhesion aid | PA nylon sheet (Prusament)[1] | Smooth PEI sheet or satin sheet; Prusa states a brim is not generally necessary[4] |
| Overall printing difficulty1–5 | Advanced — enclosure, hardware upgrades, tuning[1][7] | Easy — minor profile tuning; it prints close to PLA[3] |
| Extruder requirement | Prusa printed its test specimens with a high-flow CHT nozzle[1] | Not documented |
| Hardware Wear & Reliability | ||
| Nozzle hardness required1–4 | Brass fine indefinitely for unfilled grades[7] | Brass fine indefinitely[3] |
| Abrasiveness1–5 | Non-abrasive when unfilled[7] | Non-abrasive[3] |
| Nozzle clog risk1–5 | High — jams from moisture, heat creep or particles[8] | Moderate — needs dry filament and a clean nozzle; Prusa calls PVB very prone to absorbing moisture and requires a 60 °C, 4 h dry before every print[9][8] |
| 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][8] | Very high (>2 %) — 2.36 % equilibrium water absorption (Polymaker PolySmooth), above every PLA and PETG grade here[3] |
| Equilibrium moisture content at ~50 % RH% | 0.26 after 24 h and 0.46 after 7 days (Prusa Polymers method)[1] | 2.36 equilibrium water absorption (Polymaker PolySmooth); 2.09 for PolyCast; Prusament PVB takes up 0.18 in 24 h and 0.35 in 7 days at 24 °C and 22 % RH[3][10][4] |
| Drying temperature & time | Not documented | Maximum 60 °C for 4-8 h depending on how wet the filament is (Prusament PVB)[4] |
| Symptoms when wet | Popping and cracking during extrusion, then hard-to-diagnose defects[11] | 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[11][12] | Polymaker publishes no dry-versus-conditioned figures; at 2.36 % equilibrium uptake the material has to be kept dry to print cleanly[3][8] |
| Storage requirement | Sealed below 20 % RH with desiccant[8] | Sealed with desiccant[8] |
| 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] | 51.8 ± 0.7 printed XY, ISO 527 (PolySmooth); 53.2 ± 1.1 for PolyCast; Prusament PVB gives 50 +/- 5 at yield printed horizontal (ISO 527-1) and 57 +/- 1 on the filament (ISO 527)[3][10][4] |
| Young's modulusMPa | 1200 printed, both orientations, ISO 527-1[1] | 2199 ± 43 printed XY and 2010 ± 69 printed Z, ISO 527 (PolySmooth); Prusament PVB gives 1700 +/- 100 in both print directions (ISO 527-1)[3][4] |
| Elongation at break% | 5.6 ± 0.1 at yield, printed, ISO 527-1[1] | 5.7 ± 0.5 printed XY, ISO 527 (PolyCast)[10] |
| Flexural strengthMPa | Not documented | 72 +/- 1 printed horizontal and 73 +/- 3 printed vertical, ISO 178 (Prusament PVB)[4] |
| Flexural modulusMPa | 1100 printed horizontal and 1000 printed vertical, ISO 178[1] | 2233 ± 106 printed XY, ISO 178 (PolyCast); Prusament PVB gives 2200 +/- 100 horizontal and 2300 +/- 100 vertical (ISO 178)[10][4] |
| Charpy impact, notchedkJ/m² | 12.9 ± 2.1 printed horizontal and 11.7 ± 1.2 printed vertical, ISO 179-1 notched[1] | 7 +/- 1 printed horizontal and 10 +/- 1 printed vertical, ISO 179-1 notched (Prusament PVB)[4] |
| Other impact data | Not documented | Charpy unnotched 55 +/- 7 printed horizontal and 59 +/- 12 printed vertical (Prusament PVB, ISO 179-1)[4] |
| Layer adhesion / Z tensileMPa | 32 ± 1 (Prusa Polymers interlayer adhesion test) — the highest interlayer figure Prusa publishes for any of its filaments[1] | 26.3 ± 2.1 printed Z, ISO 527 (PolyCast); Prusament PVB gives 49 +/- 5 at yield printed vertical (ISO 527-1) and 9 +/- 1 on Prusa's interlayer adhesion test[10][4] |
| 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] | Shore D 77 (Prusa Polymers method)[4] |
| Fatigue / repeated-flex resistance1–5 | Excellent — living hinges viable[7] | 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] | 98 (Prusament PVB, printed vertical against horizontal tensile yield, ISO 527-1: 49 +/- 5 against 50 +/- 5) — the most isotropic printed material in this dataset[4] |
| Thermal Properties | ||
| HDT at 0.45 MPa°C | 58.7 (ISO 75, 0.45 MPa)[1] | 68 (PolySmooth) and 67 (PolyCast), ISO 75 at 0.45 MPa; Prusament PVB 63 (ISO 75 at 0.45 MPa)[3][10][4] |
| HDT at 1.8 MPa°C | 49.9 (ISO 75, 1.8 MPa)[1] | 66 (PolySmooth) and 53 (PolyCast), ISO 75 at 1.8 MPa; Prusament PVB 58 (ISO 75 at 1.8 MPa)[3][10][4] |
| Glass transition (Tg)°C | Not documented | 70 (DSC) for both PolySmooth and PolyCast[3][10] |
| Melting point / Vicat°C | Not documented | Amorphous — no melting point; Vicat 70 (PolySmooth) and 67 (PolyCast), ISO 306[3][10] |
| Environment & Chemical | ||
| Water / humidity resistance in service1–5 | Absorbs water, properties shift[11] | Not documented |
| 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[13] | Low hazard — minimal VOC and particle emission; none of these materials was in the chamber study[13] |
| 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[13] | Not documented |
| Ultrafine-particle emission rateparticles/min | ≈2 × 10⁸ median — low for ultrafine particles despite the highest VOC mass of any filament tested[13] | 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[13] | Not documented |
| Ventilation / filtration requirement1–5 | Ventilated room or enclosure recommended[13] | Open a window / occasional ventilation[13] |
| Post-Processing | ||
| Vapour / chemical smoothing | Not documented | Isopropyl alcohol vapour smoothing is the point of the material — Polymaker markets PolySmooth for hands-free post-processing to a layer-free surface[3] |
| Support material pairing | Not documented | PolyDissolve S1 is rated for PVB (Polymaker)[14] |
| Dimensional accuracy & detail | Not documented | PolyCast is the investment-casting variant of the same chemistry — it burns out cleanly rather than being smoothed[10] |
| Solvents & Solubility | ||
| Soluble in | Dissolved at 23 °C by formic acid, phenol, m-cresol, 96 % sulphuric acid or hexafluoroisopropanol — all laboratory reagents.[15][16] | Isopropyl alcohol dissolves it; Prusa describes PVB as soluble only in IPA, and it is not water-soluble.[9] |
| Softened or crazed by | Mineral acids, oxidants, halogens and zinc chloride solutions attack the amide bond; ordinary solvents do not (BASF, PA6/66).[15] | Not documented |
| Solvent welding & smoothing agent | None — nylon's only solvents are formic acid, phenol and HFIP, all of which degrade the part they wet.[15] | Isopropyl alcohol: brushed or sprayed on for speed, or several hours in IPA vapour for a glass-like surface.[17][9] |
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
- PolySmooth Technical Data Sheet V5.4 Polymaker · 2024-11 · tds
- Prusament PVB Technical Datasheet v1.1 Prusa Polymers · 2022-02 · tds
- Polymaker product catalogue Polymaker · 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
- Prusament PVB — material page Prusa Polymers · 2026-08 · tds
- PolyCast Technical Data Sheet V5.4 Polymaker · 2024-11 · tds
- 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
- PolyDissolve S1 Technical Data Sheet V5.4 Polymaker · 2024-11 · tds
- 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
- Improve your 3D prints with chemical smoothing Prusa Research · 2026-08 · doc