3D Printing InfoFilament comparison
PA11 vs TPE SEBS
Compare printing settings, strength, heat resistance, dated prices and sources.
2 selected · all documented properties
| Property | PA11 (Nylon 11)PA | TPE (SEBS)FLEX |
|---|---|---|
| Market snapshot | ||
| Listing priceUSD/kg; dated snapshots | $194.98/kg median; $194.98–$194.98/kg across 1 dated product listings | $98.25/kg median; $76.50–$120.00/kg across 2 dated product listings |
| Identity & Market | ||
| Base polymer / chemistry | Polyamide 11, polymerised from castor-oil-derived aminoundecanoic acid — a bio-based nylon[1][2] | Styrene-ethylene-butadiene-styrene thermoplastic elastomer — a styrenic rubber, not a polyurethane[3] |
| Densityg/cm³ | 1.02 (ISO 1183)[1] | 1.044 printed part density (BASF Ultrafuse TPS 90A, ISO 1183-1) — the lightest elastomer here[3] |
| Typical priceUSD/kg | Not documented | 1 kg-equivalent spools cluster near 77[4] |
| Price range across brandsUSD/kg | Not documented | 77 for the Recreus 600 g spool; Proto-pasta only lists a 50 g coil, which prices at 120[4][5] |
| Market availability1–5 | Niche, a handful of specialist brands[2] | Niche, a handful of specialist brands[3][5][4] |
| Spool sizes & diameters | 1.75 mm; 1 kg spools[2] | 1.75 and 2.85 mm; 0.05 and 0.6 kg spools[3][4] |
| Typical applications | Tough, chemically resistant functional parts; Prusa targets it at impact-loaded and vibration-loaded components[2] | Soft-touch overmoulds and skin-contact parts where a non-polyurethane elastomer is wanted[3] |
| Diameter tolerance± mm | ±0.02 (Prusament)[1] | Not documented |
| Printing Parameters | ||
| Nozzle temperature°C | 275 ± 10 (Prusament)[1] | 260–280 (BASF Ultrafuse TPS 90A) — far hotter than any TPU here[3] |
| Bed temperature°C | 100 ± 10 (Prusament)[1] | 70–90 (BASF Ultrafuse TPS 90A)[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] | PEI sheet or painter's tape; Polymaker warns TPU can over-stick and advises a glue stick as a release agent[6][7] |
| Maximum volumetric flow (mm³/s; see test conditions)mm³/s | Not documented | 0.8–2.4 at the 10–30 mm/s BASF specifies on a 0.4 mm nozzle at 0.2 mm layer — the slowest material in this group[3] |
| Overall printing difficulty1–5 | Advanced — enclosure, hardware upgrades, tuning[1][8] | Advanced — enclosure, hardware upgrades, tuning[3] |
| Extruder requirement | Prusa printed its test specimens with a high-flow CHT nozzle[1] | Nozzle 0.4 mm or larger; BASF caps print speed at 10–30 mm/s[3] |
| Hardware Wear & Reliability | ||
| Nozzle hardness required1–4 | Brass fine indefinitely for unfilled grades[8] | Brass fine indefinitely[9] |
| Abrasiveness1–5 | Non-abrasive when unfilled[8] | Non-abrasive[9] |
| Nozzle clog risk1–5 | High — jams from moisture, heat creep or particles[10] | Moderate — needs dry filament and a clean nozzle; BASF caps print speed at 10–30 mm/s and Simplify3D warns that raised feed rates on flexibles most likely end in a jam[6][3] |
| Hotend requirement | Not documented | No special hot-end required, but a direct-drive extruder is (Simplify3D)[6] |
| 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] | Negligible (<0.1 % EMC) — BASF states drying is not necessary, unique among the elastomers here[3] |
| Equilibrium moisture content at ~50 % RH% | 0.26 after 24 h and 0.46 after 7 days (Prusa Polymers method)[1] | Not documented |
| Drying temperature & time | Not documented | None — BASF states Ultrafuse TPS 90A arrives in a printable condition and drying is not necessary[3] |
| Symptoms when wet | Popping and cracking during extrusion, then hard-to-diagnose defects[11] | Bubbling and popping at the nozzle, stringing and a rough surface[10] |
| 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 applicable — the SEBS chemistry has no amide or ester linkages to take up water, and BASF specifies no drying at all[3] |
| Storage requirement | Sealed below 20 % RH with desiccant[10] | Sealed with desiccant; often kept in a dryer during the print[10] |
| 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] | Very ductile — bends far before failing[3] |
| Hardness (scale-specific)Shore A / Shore D / Rockwell | 70 Shore D (Prusa Polymers method)[1] | 89 Shore A and 29 Shore D (BASF Ultrafuse TPS 90A, ISO 7619-1)[3] |
| Creep resistance / sustained load1–5 | Not documented | Poor — no SEBS creep test; a printed 95A TPU bar crept from 74.5 to 82.7 mm over 5 days at 1.25 kg[13] |
| Fatigue / repeated-flex resistance1–5 | Excellent — living hinges viable[8] | Excellent — living hinges viable[7] |
| Elasticity / flexibility1–5 | Semi-flexible[1] | Rubbery / highly elastic[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 |
| Wear resistance & friction | Not documented | Abrasion 111 mm³ (ISO 4649) — the poorest abrasion resistance in this group, well behind TPU[3] |
| Thermal Properties | ||
| HDT at 0.45 MPa°C | 58.7 (ISO 75, 0.45 MPa)[1] | Not documented |
| HDT at 1.8 MPa°C | 49.9 (ISO 75, 1.8 MPa)[1] | Not documented |
| Melting point / Vicat°C | Not documented | 242–249 melting (BASF Ultrafuse TPS 90A, ISO 11357-3)[3] |
| Environment & Chemical | ||
| UV resistance1–5 | Not documented | Good — years with some colour shift; Polymaker lists UV exposure among the conditions TPU withstands[7] |
| Chemical resistance | Not documented | Withstands industrial solvents and UV exposure (Polymaker)[7] |
| Water / humidity resistance in service1–5 | Absorbs water, properties shift[11] | Excellent — essentially unaffected[3] |
| Food contact | Not documented | Not food safe without specific certification (Polymaker)[7] |
| Biodegradability / compostability | Bio-based — the monomer comes from castor oil[2] | Not biodegradable[7] |
| Recyclability | Not documented | Not accepted in household plastic collection[7] |
| Health & Safety | ||
| Fume toxicity1–5 | Moderate — measurable VOCs and UFPs, ventilation advised[14] | Low hazard — minimal VOC and particle emission; TPU was not among the nine filaments in the chamber study[14] |
| 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[14] | Not documented |
| Ultrafine-particle emission rateparticles/min | ≈2 × 10⁸ median — low for ultrafine particles despite the highest VOC mass of any filament tested[14] | 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[14] | Not documented |
| Ventilation / filtration requirement1–5 | Ventilated room or enclosure recommended[14] | Open a window / occasional ventilation[14] |
| Post-Processing | ||
| Sanding & machining | Not documented | Difficult to sand or smooth; Polymaker limits post-processing to trimming or tumbling[7] |
| Gluing & solvent welding | Not documented | Cyanoacrylate bonds TPU; no common solvent welds it[7] |
| Vapour / chemical smoothing | Not documented | No practical vapour smoothing[7] |
| Support material pairing | Not documented | Polymaker warns TPU supports are often very difficult to remove[7] |
| Solvents & Solubility | ||
| Soluble in | Dissolved at 23 °C by formic acid, phenol, m-cresol, 96 % sulphuric acid or hexafluoroisopropanol — all laboratory reagents.[15][16] | Toluene dissolves SEBS at room temperature — Kraton quotes solution viscosity at 25 % mass in toluene, 25 °C.[17] |
| Softened or crazed by | Mineral acids, oxidants, halogens and zinc chloride solutions attack the amide bond; ordinary solvents do not (BASF, PA6/66).[15] | Soaking in hydrocarbon solvents and oils deteriorates it; short exposures are tolerated. Resists water, acids and bases.[17] |
| Solvent welding & smoothing agent | None — nylon's only solvents are formic acid, phenol and HFIP, all of which degrade the part they wet.[15] | Toluene will weld it, though the joint stays soft; no workshop-safe agent, and vapour smoothing is not practical.[17] |
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
- Ultrafuse TPS 90A Technical Data Sheet (Version 1.1, SEBS) BASF Forward AM · 2020-12 · tds
- Recreus product catalogue Recreus · 2026-08 · vendor
- Proto-pasta product catalogue Proto-pasta · 2026-08 · vendor
- Flexible (TPE/TPU) — Ultimate 3D Printing Materials Guide Simplify3D · 2026-08 · doc
- TPU — material basics Polymaker Wiki · 2026-08 · doc
- PA (Nylon) — material basics Polymaker Wiki · 2026-08 · doc
- Extrudr Product Catalogue (DURAPRO PA12 data block) Extrudr · 2025-03 · tds
- 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
- BambuLab TPU 95A HF vs Qidi TPU 95A HF — results spreadsheet My Tech Fun (Igor Gaspar) · 2024-02 · test
- 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
- KRATON polymers Grade Range — chemical resistance and toluene solution data Kraton Corporation · 2025-07 · tds