3D Printing InfoFilament comparison
PA12-GF vs TPU 98A
Compare printing settings, strength, heat resistance, dated prices and sources.
2 selected · all documented properties
| Property | Glass-fibre PA12 (PA12-GF)PA | TPU 98A / hard TPUFLEX |
|---|---|---|
| Market snapshot | ||
| Listing priceUSD/kg; dated snapshots | $130.67/kg median; $46.00–$140.18/kg across 3 dated product listings | $94.99/kg median; $34.99–$149.99/kg across 3 dated product listings |
| Identity & Market | ||
| Base polymer / chemistry | PA12 reinforced with chopped glass fibre — 3DXTech's grade is nominally 30 wt%[1] | Hard thermoplastic polyurethane at 98 Shore A to about 60 Shore D — the rigid end of the TPU range[2][3] |
| Densityg/cm³ | 1.23 (ISO 1183)[1] | 1.23 (Fillamentum Flexfill 98A); 1.2 (Extrudr FLEX HARD, ISO 2781)[2][3] |
| Typical priceUSD/kg | 1 kg-equivalent spools span 46–140; the middle of the market is about 88[4][5][6] | 1 kg spools cluster near 150[7] |
| 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[4][5][6] | 95–150 across brands; Proto-pasta Clear Rigid TPU 95, Push Plastic TPU 100A 150[8][7] |
| Market availability1–5 | Available from several mainstream brands[4][5] | Available from several mainstream brands[7][8][3] |
| Spool sizes & diameters | 1.75 and 2.85 mm; 0.5, 0.75 and 2 kg spools[4][6] | 1.75 and 2.85 mm; 0.5, 0.75 and 1 kg spools[8][7] |
| Typical applications | Stiff, humidity-stable structural parts — the glass gives the modulus, the PA12 matrix limits the moisture drift[1][9] | Drive belts, wheels, snap-fits and bumpers that need to flex but hold shape under load[2] |
| Printing Parameters | ||
| Nozzle temperature°C | Not documented | 230–260 (Extrudr FLEX HARD)[3] |
| Bed temperature°C | Not documented | 50–90 (Extrudr FLEX HARD)[3] |
| Enclosure / chamber requirement1–5 | Enclosure required (passive)[10] | Open frame is fine[3] |
| Part cooling fan | Not documented | 0–30 % (Extrudr FLEX HARD)[3] |
| Bed surface & adhesion aid | PEI sheet with a glue stick, or a dedicated adhesive such as Magigoo[11][10] | PEI sheet or painter's tape; Polymaker warns TPU can over-stick and advises a glue stick as a release agent[12][13] |
| Maximum volumetric flow (mm³/s; see test conditions)mm³/s | Not documented | 4.6 (Extrudr FLEX HARD, stated max volumetric speed on a 0.4 mm nozzle)[3] |
| Warping tendency1–5 | Not documented | None[3] |
| Bed-adhesion difficulty1–5 | Needs a specific surface plus adhesive[11] | Not documented |
| Stringing / oozing tendency1–5 | Moderate — retraction tuning needed[10] | Not documented |
| Overall printing difficulty1–5 | Advanced — enclosure, hardware upgrades, tuning[10] | Easy — minor profile tuning; at this hardness the filament pushes like a rigid material[3] |
| Extruder requirement | Not documented | Bowden viable at this hardness — Extrudr rates FLEX HARD to 100 mm/s where its soft grades cap lower[3] |
| 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[14] | Brass fine indefinitely[3] |
| Abrasiveness1–5 | Highly abrasive — standard GF composite[14] | Non-abrasive[3] |
| Nozzle clog risk1–5 | High — jams from moisture, heat creep or particles[15] | Low[15] |
| Heat-creep / jam sensitivity1–5 | Moderate — good heatbreak cooling needed[11] | Moderate — good heatbreak cooling needed[13] |
| Hotend requirement | May require an all-metal hot end (Simplify3D)[11] | No special hot-end required, but a direct-drive extruder is (Simplify3D)[12] |
| 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[16][17] | Moderate — the TPU family absorbs readily; Extrudr specifies a 12 h dry at 60 °C for FLEX HARD[3][15] |
| Drying temperature & time | Not documented | 60 °C for 12 h (Extrudr FLEX HARD)[3] |
| Symptoms when wet | Not documented | Bubbling and popping at the nozzle, stringing and a rough surface[15] |
| 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[9][18] | Polymaker groups TPU with the highly hygroscopic materials; no dry-versus-conditioned figures are published[15] |
| Storage requirement | Sealed below 20 % RH with desiccant[15] | Sealed with desiccant; often kept in a dryer during the print[15] |
| 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[14][18] | Not documented |
| Mechanical Properties | ||
| Tensile strength (XY)MPa | 82 at break (printed XY, ISO 527)[1] | 53.7 at break (Fillamentum Flexfill 98A, DIN 53504)[2] |
| Young's modulusMPa | 7800 (printed XY, ISO 527)[1] | Not documented |
| Elongation at break% | 4.5 at break (printed XY, ISO 527) — nearly double the 2.4 % of Polymaker's PA6-GF25[1][17] | 318 at break (Fillamentum Flexfill 98A, DIN 53504); Extrudr FLEX HARD 490 (ISO 527-2)[2][3] |
| Flexural strengthMPa | 94 (printed XY, ISO 178)[1] | Not documented |
| Flexural modulusMPa | 7550 (printed XY, ISO 178)[1] | Not documented |
| Brittleness1–5 | Moderate[1] | Very ductile — bends far before failing[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] | 98 Shore A and 60 Shore D (Fillamentum, ISO 7619-1); Extrudr FLEX HARD 58 Shore D (ISO 868)[2][3] |
| 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][10] | Poor — no 98A creep test; a printed 95A TPU bar crept from 74.5 to 82.7 mm over 5 days at 1.25 kg[20] |
| Fatigue / repeated-flex resistance1–5 | Good. Ensinger lists high fatigue strength as a headline property of extruded PA66-GF30 stock[19] | Excellent — living hinges viable[13] |
| Elasticity / flexibility1–5 | Rigid[1] | Semi-flexible[2][3] |
| Wear resistance & friction | Not documented | Abrasion 23 mm³ (Fillamentum, ISO 4649 method A) and 26 mm³ (Extrudr FLEX HARD, ISO 4649-A) — the best abrasion figures in the group[2][3] |
| Thermal Properties | ||
| Melting point / Vicat°C | Not documented | 190–210 melting (Extrudr FLEX HARD, ISO 3146-C); Vicat A 140 (ISO 306)[3] |
| 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] | Not documented |
| Flammability / UL 94 | Flammable; no UL 94 rating published for the grades surveyed[14] | Not documented |
| Environment & Chemical | ||
| UV resistance1–5 | Months outdoors before embrittlement — unstabilised polyamide yellows under UV[10] | Good — years with some colour shift; Polymaker lists UV exposure among the conditions TPU withstands[13] |
| Chemical resistance | Withstands oils, fuels and alkalis[10] | Withstands industrial solvents and UV exposure (Polymaker)[13] |
| Water / humidity resistance in service1–5 | Good — minor absorption relative to PA6-based composites[9] | Not documented |
| Food contact | Not food-contact certified as filament[10] | Not food safe without specific certification (Polymaker)[13] |
| Biodegradability / compostability | Not biodegradable[10] | Not biodegradable[13] |
| Recyclability | Not accepted in household plastic collection[10] | Not accepted in household plastic collection[13] |
| Electrical & ESD properties | Surface resistance above 10¹³ ohm/sq — insulating (ASTM D257)[1] | Not documented |
| Health & Safety | ||
| Fume toxicity1–5 | Moderate — measurable VOCs and UFPs, ventilation advised[21] | Low hazard — minimal VOC and particle emission; TPU was not among the nine filaments in the chamber study[21] |
| VOC emission rateµg/min | Up to 180 caprolactam, the dominant VOC from nylon and the largest single-VOC rate in the study[21] | Not documented |
| Ultrafine-particle emission rateparticles/min | ≈2 × 10⁸ median for nylon — low for particles despite the highest VOC mass measured[21] | Not documented |
| Hazardous species emitted | Caprolactam, at up to 180 µg/min from nylon filament[21] | Not documented |
| Ventilation / filtration requirement1–5 | Ventilated room or enclosure recommended[21] | Open a window / occasional ventilation[21] |
| 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[11] | Difficult to sand or smooth; Polymaker limits post-processing to trimming or tumbling[13] |
| Gluing & solvent welding | Cyanoacrylate; no common solvent welds polyamide[11] | Cyanoacrylate bonds TPU; no common solvent welds it[13] |
| Vapour / chemical smoothing | No practical vapour smoothing[11] | No practical vapour smoothing[13] |
| Support material pairing | Not documented | Polymaker warns TPU supports are often very difficult to remove[13] |
| Dimensional accuracy & detail | Not documented | Tear strength 170 kN/m (Fillamentum, ISO 34-1) and 175 kN/m (Extrudr FLEX HARD, ISO 34-1B)[2][3] |
| Solvents & Solubility | ||
| Soluble in | Formic acid, phenol, m-cresol and hexafluoroisopropanol dissolve the matrix at 23 °C, leaving the fibre; laboratory reagents.[22] | DMF, DMSO, NMP and THF dissolve TPU; acetone, MEK and cyclohexanone are partial solvents. All laboratory reagents.[23] |
| Softened or crazed by | Zinc chloride solutions stress-crack the nylon matrix, alcoholic calcium chloride dissolves it, mineral acids attack it.[22] | Toluene and benzene swell it up to +50 % by weight at 23 °C; esters swell it severely; ethanol and IPA soften it.[23] |
| Solvent welding & smoothing agent | None — nylon's only solvents (formic acid, phenol, HFIP) degrade the part, and the fibre blocks surface flow anyway.[22] | None practical — the true solvents (DMF, THF, NMP) are laboratory reagents and leave the joint swollen and weak.[23] |
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
- Flexfill TPU 98A Technical Data Sheet Fillamentum · 2019-08 · tds
- Extrudr Product Catalogue (DURAPRO PA12 data block) Extrudr · 2025-03 · 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
- Push Plastic product catalogue Push Plastic · 2026-08 · vendor
- Proto-pasta product catalogue Proto-pasta · 2026-08 · vendor
- Moisture Conditioning — effect on printed nylon properties Polymaker Wiki · 2026-08 · doc
- PA (Nylon) — material basics Polymaker Wiki · 2026-08 · doc
- Nylon — Ultimate 3D Printing Materials Guide Simplify3D · 2026-08 · doc
- Flexible (TPE/TPU) — Ultimate 3D Printing Materials Guide Simplify3D · 2026-08 · doc
- TPU — material basics Polymaker Wiki · 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
- Fiberon PA12-CF10 Technical Data Sheet V1.1 Polymaker · 2025-02 · tds
- Fiberon PA6-GF25 Technical Data Sheet V1.1 Polymaker · 2024-12 · tds
- PolyMide CoPA Technical Data Sheet V5.4 (dry and wet status blocks) Polymaker · 2024-11 · tds
- TECAMID 66 GF30 black (PA66-GF30) — stock shape properties Ensinger · 2026-08 · 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
- Elastollan — Chemical properties: swelling and chemical resistance BASF · 2026-08 · tds