3D Printing InfoFilament comparison
PA11 vs TPU-CF
Compare printing settings, strength, heat resistance, dated prices and sources.
2 selected · all documented properties
| Property | PA11 (Nylon 11)PA | Carbon-fibre TPUFLEX |
|---|---|---|
| Market snapshot | ||
| Listing priceUSD/kg; dated snapshots | $194.98/kg median; $194.98–$194.98/kg across 1 dated product listings | $107.05/kg median; $107.05–$107.05/kg across 1 dated product listings |
| Identity & Market | ||
| Base polymer / chemistry | Polyamide 11, polymerised from castor-oil-derived aminoundecanoic acid — a bio-based nylon[1][2] | Carbon-fibre reinforced thermoplastic polyurethane at the hard end of the range[3] |
| Densityg/cm³ | 1.02 (ISO 1183)[1] | 1.22 (Extrudr FLEX HARD CF, ISO 2781)[3] |
| Typical priceUSD/kg | Not documented | 107 for the only retail listing found (Extrudr 0.5 kg coil, incl. VAT)[4] |
| Price range across brandsUSD/kg | Not documented | One listing only: EUR 49.56 incl. VAT per 0.5 kg coil, direct from Extrudr; no reseller or second brand found[4] |
| Market availability1–5 | Niche, a handful of specialist brands[2] | Niche, a handful of specialist brands — Extrudr's FLEX HARD CF is the only carbon-filled flexible with a published datasheet found here[3] |
| Spool sizes & diameters | 1.75 mm; 1 kg spools[2] | 1.75 mm; 0.5 and 2 kg coils[4] |
| Typical applications | Tough, chemically resistant functional parts; Prusa targets it at impact-loaded and vibration-loaded components[2] | Stiffened flexible parts — damping mounts and semi-rigid brackets[3] |
| Diameter tolerance± mm | ±0.02 (Prusament)[1] | Not documented |
| Printing Parameters | ||
| Nozzle temperature°C | 275 ± 10 (Prusament)[1] | 230–260 (Extrudr FLEX HARD CF)[3] |
| Bed temperature°C | 100 ± 10 (Prusament)[1] | 50–90 (Extrudr FLEX HARD CF)[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[5][6] |
| Maximum volumetric flow (mm³/s; see test conditions)mm³/s | Not documented | 1.6–8 at the 20–100 mm/s Extrudr specifies on a 0.4 mm nozzle at 0.2 mm layer[3] |
| Overall printing difficulty1–5 | Advanced — enclosure, hardware upgrades, tuning[1][7] | Advanced — enclosure, hardware upgrades, tuning; hardened nozzle needed[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] | Hardened steel required — Extrudr marks FLEX HARD CF as needing a hardened nozzle where its unfilled FLEX grades do not[3] |
| Abrasiveness1–5 | Non-abrasive when unfilled[7] | Highly abrasive — standard CF composite[3] |
| Nozzle clog risk1–5 | High — jams from moisture, heat creep or particles[8] | High — jams from moisture, heat creep or particles; a flexible base plus chopped carbon fibre, which Prusa lists as a higher nozzle-clogging risk, and Extrudr requires a hardened nozzle[9][3][5] |
| Hotend requirement | Not documented | No special hot-end required, but a direct-drive extruder is (Simplify3D)[5] |
| 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] | Moderate[8] |
| 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 | 60 °C for 6 h (Extrudr FLEX HARD CF)[3] |
| Symptoms when wet | Popping and cracking during extrusion, then hard-to-diagnose defects[10] | Bubbling and popping at the nozzle, stringing and a rough surface[8] |
| 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] | Polymaker groups TPU with the highly hygroscopic materials; no dry-versus-conditioned figures are published[8] |
| Storage requirement | Sealed below 20 % RH with desiccant[8] | Sealed with desiccant; often kept in a dryer during the print[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] | Not documented |
| Young's modulusMPa | 1200 printed, both orientations, ISO 527-1[1] | 35 (Extrudr FLEX HARD CF, ISO 527-2/5A/500)[3] |
| Elongation at break% | 5.6 ± 0.1 at yield, printed, ISO 527-1[1] | 380 ultimate elongation (Extrudr FLEX HARD CF, ISO 527-2/5A/500), against 490 for the unfilled FLEX HARD[3] |
| 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] | 70 Shore D (Extrudr FLEX HARD CF, ISO 868), against 58 Shore D for the unfilled FLEX HARD[3] |
| Creep resistance / sustained load1–5 | Not documented | Below average — no CF-grade creep test; the grade is 70 Shore D where a 95A TPU bar crept from 74.5 to 82.7 mm over 5 days at 1.25 kg[3][12] |
| Fatigue / repeated-flex resistance1–5 | Excellent — living hinges viable[7] | Good — 380 % ultimate elongation and a damping application set (Extrudr cites longboard wheels), below the unfilled grades[3] |
| Elasticity / flexibility1–5 | Semi-flexible[1] | Semi-flexible[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 26 mm³ (Extrudr FLEX HARD CF, ISO 4649-A) — the same as the unfilled FLEX HARD[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 |
| Glass transition (Tg)°C | Not documented | -24 (Extrudr FLEX HARD CF)[3] |
| Melting point / Vicat°C | Not documented | Vicat A 140 (Extrudr FLEX HARD CF, ISO 306)[3] |
| Environment & Chemical | ||
| UV resistance1–5 | Not documented | Good — years with some colour shift; Polymaker lists UV exposure among the conditions TPU withstands[6] |
| Chemical resistance | Not documented | Withstands industrial solvents and UV exposure (Polymaker)[6] |
| Water / humidity resistance in service1–5 | Absorbs water, properties shift[10] | Not documented |
| Food contact | Not documented | Not food safe without specific certification (Polymaker)[6] |
| Biodegradability / compostability | Bio-based — the monomer comes from castor oil[2] | Not biodegradable[6] |
| Recyclability | Not documented | Not accepted in household plastic collection[6] |
| Health & Safety | ||
| Fume toxicity1–5 | Moderate — measurable VOCs and UFPs, ventilation advised[13] | Low hazard — minimal VOC and particle emission; TPU was not among the nine filaments 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] |
| Dust & fibre handling hazard | Not documented | Carbon fibre is bound in the matrix; sanding dust should not be inhaled[3] |
| Post-Processing | ||
| Sanding & machining | Not documented | Difficult to sand or smooth; Polymaker limits post-processing to trimming or tumbling[6] |
| Gluing & solvent welding | Not documented | Cyanoacrylate bonds TPU; no common solvent welds it[6] |
| Vapour / chemical smoothing | Not documented | No practical vapour smoothing[6] |
| Support material pairing | Not documented | Polymaker warns TPU supports are often very difficult to remove[6] |
| Dimensional accuracy & detail | Not documented | Tear strength 165 kN/m (Extrudr FLEX HARD CF, ISO 34-1B)[3] |
| Solvents & Solubility | ||
| Soluble in | Dissolved at 23 °C by formic acid, phenol, m-cresol, 96 % sulphuric acid or hexafluoroisopropanol — all laboratory reagents.[14][15] | DMF, DMSO, NMP and THF dissolve the TPU matrix and leave the fibre; ketones are partial solvents. Laboratory reagents.[16] |
| Softened or crazed by | Mineral acids, oxidants, halogens and zinc chloride solutions attack the amide bond; ordinary solvents do not (BASF, PA6/66).[14] | Toluene and benzene swell it up to +50 % by weight at 23 °C; esters swell it severely; ethanol and IPA soften it.[16] |
| Solvent welding & smoothing agent | None — nylon's only solvents are formic acid, phenol and HFIP, all of which degrade the part they wet.[14] | None practical — the true solvents (DMF, THF, NMP) are laboratory reagents and leave the joint swollen and weak.[16] |
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
- Extrudr Product Catalogue (DURAPRO PA12 data block) Extrudr · 2025-03 · tds
- Extrudr TPU FLEX Hard CF — product page (1.75 mm, 0.5 and 2 kg coils, price) Extrudr (FD3D GmbH) · 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
- 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
- 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
- Elastollan — Chemical properties: swelling and chemical resistance BASF · 2026-08 · tds