3D Printing InfoFilament comparison
PA12-GF vs PSU
Compare printing settings, strength, heat resistance, dated prices and sources.
2 selected · all documented properties
| Property | Glass-fibre PA12 (PA12-GF)PA | PSUHIGHTEMP |
|---|---|---|
| Market snapshot | ||
| Listing priceUSD/kg; dated snapshots | $130.67/kg median; $46.00–$140.18/kg across 3 dated product listings | $168.00/kg median; $168.00–$168.00/kg across 1 dated product listings |
| Identity & Market | ||
| Base polymer / chemistry | PA12 reinforced with chopped glass fibre — 3DXTech's grade is nominally 30 wt%[1] | Polysulfone — the lowest-temperature and cheapest of the sulfone family[2] |
| Densityg/cm³ | 1.23 (ISO 1183)[1] | 1.24 (ISO 1183)[2] |
| Typical priceUSD/kg | 1 kg-equivalent spools span 46–140; the middle of the market is about 88[3][4][5] | 1 kg-equivalent spools cluster near 250[3] |
| Price range across brandsUSD/kg | 46–140 across brands; IEMAI 3D 46, 3DXTech 131 at 750 g and 130 at 2 kg, PrimaCreator NylonPower Glass Fiber 140 at 500 g[3][4][5] | 168-250 across formats; 250 g spool $42 (168/kg), 500 g $125 (250/kg) — 3DXTech is the only filament supplier found[3] |
| Market availability1–5 | Available from several mainstream brands[3][4] | Special order, 1–2 makers worldwide[3] |
| Spool sizes & diameters | 1.75 and 2.85 mm; 0.5, 0.75 and 2 kg spools[3][5] | 1.75 mm; 250 g and 500 g spools[3] |
| Typical applications | Stiff, humidity-stable structural parts — the glass gives the modulus, the PA12 matrix limits the moisture drift[1][6] | Transparent high-temperature housings, medical trays and hot-water fittings[2] |
| Printing Parameters | ||
| Bed temperature°C | Not documented | 120–140 (3DXTech)[2] |
| Enclosure / chamber requirement1–5 | Enclosure required (passive)[7] | Actively heated chamber required[8][9] |
| Bed surface & adhesion aid | PEI sheet with a glue stick, or a dedicated adhesive such as Magigoo[10][7] | Not documented |
| Bed-adhesion difficulty1–5 | Needs a specific surface plus adhesive[10] | Not documented |
| Stringing / oozing tendency1–5 | Moderate — retraction tuning needed[7] | Not documented |
| Overall printing difficulty1–5 | Advanced — enclosure, hardware upgrades, tuning[7] | Expert / industrial hardware only[8][9] |
| Hardware Wear & Reliability | ||
| Nozzle hardness required1–4 | Hardened steel required — no nozzle-life figure is published for a PA12-GF30 grade; Polymaker measures about 9 h of brass nozzle life on its comparable fibre-filled nylons[11] | Brass fine indefinitely for unfilled grades, but brass softens near these nozzle temperatures — hardened or plated hot ends are the norm[8] |
| Abrasiveness1–5 | Highly abrasive — standard GF composite[11] | Non-abrasive when unfilled[2] |
| Nozzle clog risk1–5 | High — jams from moisture, heat creep or particles[12] | Moderate — needs dry filament and a clean nozzle; 3DXTech lists no special nozzle concerns but a mandatory 120 °C pre-dry before every print[13] |
| Heat-creep / jam sensitivity1–5 | Moderate — good heatbreak cooling needed[10] | Not documented |
| Hotend requirement | May require an all-metal hot end (Simplify3D)[10] | Not documented |
| Moisture Behaviour | ||
| Moisture absorption (hygroscopicity)1–5 | High (0.8–2 %) — the PA12 matrix takes up far less than PA6, on the evidence of Polymaker's 1.5 % for PA12-CF10 against 3.33 % for PA6-GF25[14][15] | Not documented |
| Equilibrium moisture content at ~50 % RH% | Not documented | 0.30 in 24 h on extruded stock (ASTM D570)[16] |
| Effect of moisture on strength | Polymaker's PA12 grades change little between wet and dry, unlike PA6; the CoPA dry-to-wet blocks show the PA6-type response[6][17] | No dry-versus-conditioned figures are published; 3DXTech mandates a 120 °C, 4 h pre-dry before every print because trapped water flashes to steam at these nozzle temperatures[13] |
| Storage requirement | Sealed below 20 % RH with desiccant[12] | Not documented |
| Hydrolysis at melt temperature | Polymaker specifies an 80–100 °C dry and storage below 20 % RH; no molecular-weight loss figure is published, and the wet data it does publish is conditioning rather than melt hydrolysis[11][17] | Not documented |
| Mechanical Properties | ||
| Tensile strength (XY)MPa | 82 at break (printed XY, ISO 527)[1] | 52 (printed XY, ISO 527, 3DXTech); 81 at break on extruded stock (ASTM D638)[2][16] |
| Young's modulusMPa | 7800 (printed XY, ISO 527)[1] | 2100 (printed XY, ISO 527)[2] |
| Elongation at break% | 4.5 at break (printed XY, ISO 527) — nearly double the 2.4 % of Polymaker's PA6-GF25[1][15] | 8 (printed XY, ISO 527) against 50 on extruded stock — nearly three times PPSU's printed 3 %[2][18][16] |
| Flexural strengthMPa | 94 (printed XY, ISO 178)[1] | 87 (printed XY, ISO 178)[2] |
| Flexural modulusMPa | 7550 (printed XY, ISO 178)[1] | 2050 (printed XY, ISO 178)[2] |
| Other impact data | Not documented | Izod notched 69 J/m on extruded PSU stock, converted from 1.3 ft-lb/in (ASTM D256)[16] |
| Brittleness1–5 | Moderate[1] | Moderate[2] |
| Hardness (scale-specific)Shore A / Shore D / Rockwell | Rockwell M88 / R117 on extruded PA66-GF30 stock (ASTM D785); no figure is published for a glass-fibre PA12 filament[19] | Rockwell M120 on extruded PSU stock (ASTM D785)[16] |
| Creep resistance / sustained load1–5 | Good. Ensinger lists high creep resistance for extruded PA66-GF30 stock, and the PA12 matrix absorbs far less water than PA6, so a PA12-GF part holds load better in a humid environment[19][7] | Good. Ensinger lists high creep resistance as a headline property of extruded PSU stock, which is rated to 173 °C heat deflection at 1.8 MPa[16] |
| Fatigue / repeated-flex resistance1–5 | Good. Ensinger lists high fatigue strength as a headline property of extruded PA66-GF30 stock[19] | Not documented |
| Elasticity / flexibility1–5 | Rigid[1] | Rigid[2] |
| Thermal Properties | ||
| HDT at 0.45 MPa°C | Not documented | 172 (printed XY, ISO 75 at 0.45 MPa, 3DXTech); 181 on extruded stock, converted from 358 °F at 66 psi[2][16] |
| HDT at 1.8 MPa°C | Not documented | 174 on extruded PSU stock, converted from 345 °F at 264 psi (ASTM D648)[16] |
| Glass transition (Tg)°C | Not documented | 187 (DSC, 3DXTech) and 185 on extruded stock (ASTM D3418), against 230 for PPSU[2][18][16] |
| Continuous service temperature°C | Not documented | 141 long-term service on extruded PSU stock, converted from 285 °F[16] |
| Thermal expansion (CTE)µm/m·K | 48.6 on extruded PA66-GF30 stock (ASTM D696; source states 2.7e-5 in/in/°F) — no figure is published for a glass-fibre PA12 filament[19] | 55.8 (extruded PSU stock, ASTM D696; source states 3.1e-5 in/in/°F)[16] |
| Flammability / UL 94 | Flammable; no UL 94 rating published for the grades surveyed[11] | UL 94 V-0 on extruded PSU stock[16] |
| Environment & Chemical | ||
| UV resistance1–5 | Months outdoors before embrittlement — unstabilised polyamide yellows under UV[7] | Not documented |
| Chemical resistance | Withstands oils, fuels and alkalis[7] | Not documented |
| Water / humidity resistance in service1–5 | Good — minor absorption relative to PA6-based composites[6] | Not documented |
| Food contact | Not food-contact certified as filament[7] | Not documented |
| Biodegradability / compostability | Not biodegradable[7] | Not documented |
| Recyclability | Not accepted in household plastic collection[7] | Not documented |
| Electrical & ESD properties | Surface resistance above 10¹³ ohm/sq — insulating (ASTM D257)[1] | Surface resistance above 10¹³ ohm/sq — an insulator (IEC 60093)[2] |
| Health & Safety | ||
| Fume toxicity1–5 | Moderate — measurable VOCs and UFPs, ventilation advised[20] | Moderate — measurable VOCs and UFPs, ventilation advised. None of these polymers was in the chamber study, and all are processed far above the temperatures it covered[20] |
| VOC emission rateµg/min | Up to 180 caprolactam, the dominant VOC from nylon and the largest single-VOC rate in the study[20] | Not documented |
| Ultrafine-particle emission rateparticles/min | ≈2 × 10⁸ median for nylon — low for particles despite the highest VOC mass measured[20] | Not documented |
| Hazardous species emitted | Caprolactam, at up to 180 µg/min from nylon filament[20] | Not documented |
| Ventilation / filtration requirement1–5 | Ventilated room or enclosure recommended[20] | Ventilated room or enclosure recommended[20] |
| Dust & fibre handling hazard | Glass fibre is bound in the matrix; avoid inhaling sanding dust[1] | Not documented |
| Post-Processing | ||
| Sanding & machining | Sands poorly — gums rather than powders[10] | Not documented |
| Gluing & solvent welding | Cyanoacrylate; no common solvent welds polyamide[10] | Not documented |
| Vapour / chemical smoothing | No practical vapour smoothing[10] | Not documented |
| Solvents & Solubility | ||
| Soluble in | Formic acid, phenol, m-cresol and hexafluoroisopropanol dissolve the matrix at 23 °C, leaving the fibre; laboratory reagents.[21] | Chlorinated hydrocarbons — dichloromethane, chloroform — dissolve polysulfone; ketones and esters attack it as well.[22][23] |
| Softened or crazed by | Zinc chloride solutions stress-crack the nylon matrix, alcoholic calcium chloride dissolves it, mineral acids attack it.[21] | Acetone, MEK, ethyl acetate, benzene and toluene craze or stress-crack it; methanol and isopropanol only marginally.[23][22] |
| Solvent welding & smoothing agent | None — nylon's only solvents (formic acid, phenol, HFIP) degrade the part, and the fibre blocks surface flow anyway.[21] | Dichloromethane cement welds PSU and NMP softens residual resin. Both are laboratory reagents.[22] |
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
- FibreX PA12-GF30 Technical Data Sheet v1.0 3DXTech · 2026-08 · tds
- ThermaX PSU Technical Data Sheet v3 3DXTech · 2026-08 · tds
- 3DXTech product catalogue 3DXTech · 2026-08 · vendor
- IEMAI 3D GF-PA12 3D Printing Filament — store page IEMAI 3D · 2026-08 · vendor
- PrimaCreator SELECT NylonPower Glass Fiber product page PrimaCreator · 2026-08 · vendor
- Moisture Conditioning — effect on printed nylon properties Polymaker Wiki · 2026-08 · doc
- PA (Nylon) — material basics Polymaker Wiki · 2026-08 · doc
- Prusament PEI 1010 Technical Datasheet v1.0 Prusa Polymers · 2024-09 · tds
- Prusament PEI 1010 — material page Prusa Polymers · 2026-08 · doc
- Nylon — Ultimate 3D Printing Materials Guide Simplify3D · 2026-08 · doc
- Fiberon PA6-CF20 Technical Data Sheet V1.1 Polymaker · 2024-12 · tds
- Wet Filament — signs, causes and drying Polymaker Wiki · 2026-08 · doc
- THERMAX PSU — product page (print recommendations) 3DXTech · 2026-08 · doc
- Fiberon PA12-CF10 Technical Data Sheet V1.1 Polymaker · 2025-02 · tds
- Fiberon PA6-GF25 Technical Data Sheet V1.1 Polymaker · 2024-12 · tds
- TECASON S natural (PSU) — stock shape properties Ensinger · 2026-08 · tds
- PolyMide CoPA Technical Data Sheet V5.4 (dry and wet status blocks) Polymaker · 2024-11 · tds
- ThermaX PPSU Technical Data Sheet v3 3DXTech · 2026-08 · tds
- TECAMID 66 GF30 black (PA66-GF30) — 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
- Radel PPSU, Veradel PESU, Acudel modified PPSU Design Guide — environmental stress cracking tables Solvay Specialty Polymers · 2026-08 · tds
- Chemical resistance — resistance of Ensinger plastics to chemicals (DIN 50 014, 23/50) Ensinger · 2026-08 · tds