3D Printing InfoFilament comparison
PA11 vs Breakaway
Compare printing settings, strength, heat resistance, dated prices and sources.
2 selected · all documented properties
| Property | PA11 (Nylon 11)PA | Break-away supportSUPPORT |
|---|---|---|
| Market snapshot | ||
| Listing priceUSD/kg; dated snapshots | $194.98/kg median; $194.98–$194.98/kg across 1 dated product listings | $42.49/kg median; $26.00–$79.98/kg across 4 dated product listings |
| Identity & Market | ||
| Base polymer / chemistry | Polyamide 11, polymerised from castor-oil-derived aminoundecanoic acid — a bio-based nylon[1][2] | Break-away support compounds matched to a specific model material — Polymaker sells separate grades for PLA and for PA12[3][4] |
| Densityg/cm³ | 1.02 (ISO 1183)[1] | 1.22 (PolySupport for PLA) and 1.29 (PolySupport for PA12), ISO 1183[3][4] |
| Typical priceUSD/kg | Not documented | 1 kg-equivalent spools span 26–80; the middle of the market is about 45[5][6][7] |
| Price range across brandsUSD/kg | Not documented | 26–80 across brands and grades; IEMAI 3D E-REMOVE 26, Polymaker PolySupport for PLA 40 at 750 g, YXPOLYER 45, PolySupport for PA12 80 at 500 g[5][6][7] |
| Market availability1–5 | Niche, a handful of specialist brands[2] | Available from several mainstream brands[5][8] |
| Spool sizes & diameters | 1.75 mm; 1 kg spools[2] | 1.75 and 2.85 mm; 0.5 and 0.75 kg spools[5] |
| Typical applications | Tough, chemically resistant functional parts; Prusa targets it at impact-loaded and vibration-loaded components[2] | Support that peels off by hand, avoiding the moisture handling and dissolution time that soluble supports demand[3] |
| Diameter tolerance± mm | ±0.02 (Prusament)[1] | Not documented |
| Printing Parameters | ||
| Nozzle temperature°C | 275 ± 10 (Prusament)[1] | 220–230 (PolySupport for PLA)[3] |
| Bed temperature°C | 100 ± 10 (Prusament)[1] | 25–60 (PolySupport for PLA)[3] |
| 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 |
| Bed surface & adhesion aid | PA nylon sheet (Prusament)[1] | Not documented |
| Maximum volumetric flow (mm³/s; see test conditions)mm³/s | Not documented | 4–12 at Polymaker's 50–150 mm/s on a 0.4 mm nozzle at 0.2 mm layer[3] |
| Overall printing difficulty1–5 | Advanced — enclosure, hardware upgrades, tuning[1][9] | Easy — minor profile tuning[3] |
| Extruder requirement | Prusa printed its test specimens with a high-flow CHT nozzle[1] | A second extruder or a tool changer[3] |
| Hardware Wear & Reliability | ||
| Nozzle hardness required1–4 | Brass fine indefinitely for unfilled grades[9] | Brass fine indefinitely[3] |
| Abrasiveness1–5 | Non-abrasive when unfilled[9] | Non-abrasive[3] |
| Nozzle clog risk1–5 | High — jams from moisture, heat creep or particles[10] | Moderate — needs dry filament and a clean nozzle; Polymaker specifies a 55 °C dry for the PLA grade and warns brass nozzle life falls to about 9 h on the PA12 grade[3][4] |
| 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][10] | Moderate — 0.64 % equilibrium water absorption (PolySupport for PLA)[3] |
| Equilibrium moisture content at ~50 % RH% | 0.26 after 24 h and 0.46 after 7 days (Prusa Polymers method)[1] | 0.64 equilibrium water absorption (Polymaker PolySupport for PLA)[3] |
| 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] | Not a structural material; no dry-versus-conditioned data is published[10] |
| Storage requirement | Sealed below 20 % RH with desiccant[10] | 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] | Not documented |
| 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] | Not documented |
| 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] | Not documented |
| Hardness (scale-specific)Shore A / Shore D / Rockwell | 70 Shore D (Prusa Polymers method)[1] | Not documented |
| Fatigue / repeated-flex resistance1–5 | Excellent — living hinges viable[9] | 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 |
| Thermal Properties | ||
| HDT at 0.45 MPa°C | 58.7 (ISO 75, 0.45 MPa)[1] | 43 (ISO 75, 0.45 MPa, PolySupport for PA12). Polymaker's sheet prints a higher figure at the higher load, which is physically inverted; treat both HDT numbers as approximate[4] |
| HDT at 1.8 MPa°C | 49.9 (ISO 75, 1.8 MPa)[1] | 53 (ISO 75, 1.8 MPa, PolySupport for PA12) — printed above the 0.45 MPa figure on Polymaker's own sheet, which cannot be right; treat both as approximate[4] |
| Melting point / Vicat°C | Not documented | Vicat 171 (PolySupport for PA12, ISO 306)[4] |
| 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 |
| Electrical & ESD properties | Not documented | Surface resistance above 10^13 ohm/sq (ASTM D257, THERMAX HTS2 and MTS1)[13][14] |
| Health & Safety | ||
| Fume toxicity1–5 | Moderate — measurable VOCs and UFPs, ventilation advised[15] | Low hazard — minimal VOC and particle emission; none of these materials was in the chamber study[15] |
| 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[15] | Not documented |
| Ultrafine-particle emission rateparticles/min | ≈2 × 10⁸ median — low for ultrafine particles despite the highest VOC mass of any filament tested[15] | 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[15] | Not documented |
| Ventilation / filtration requirement1–5 | Ventilated room or enclosure recommended[15] | Open a window / occasional ventilation[15] |
| Post-Processing | ||
| Support material pairing | Not documented | This is the support material. Polymaker publishes an adhesion matrix per model material, from very good to unusable, because break-away supports only work against the polymer they were matched to[3][4] |
| Solvents & Solubility | ||
| Soluble in | Dissolved at 23 °C by formic acid, phenol, m-cresol, 96 % sulphuric acid or hexafluoroisopropanol — all laboratory reagents.[16][17] | None — break-away support is removed mechanically; 3DXTech lists no water or solvent route for it.[18] |
| Softened or crazed by | Mineral acids, oxidants, halogens and zinc chloride solutions attack the amide bond; ordinary solvents do not (BASF, PA6/66).[16] | 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.[16] | None — there is no solvent to weld or smooth with.[18] |
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
- PolySupport Technical Data Sheet V5.4 Polymaker · 2024-11 · tds
- PolySupport for PA12 Technical Data Sheet V5.4 Polymaker · 2024-11 · tds
- Polymaker product catalogue Polymaker · 2026-08 · vendor
- YXPOLYER Breakaway Support Filament 1 kg Black — product page YXPOLYER · 2026-08 · vendor
- IEMAI 3D E-REMOVE breakaway support filament — store page IEMAI 3D · 2026-08 · vendor
- 3DXTech product catalogue 3DXTech · 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
- THERMAX HTS2 Break Away Support Technical Data Sheet v1.0 3DXTech · 2026-08 · tds
- THERMAX MTS1 Break Away Support Technical Data Sheet v1.0 3DXTech · 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
- THERMAX HTS1 — product page 3DXTech · 2026-08 · vendor