3D Printing InfoFilament comparison
PA12 vs TPU 98A
Compare printing settings, strength, heat resistance, dated prices and sources.
2 selected · all documented properties
| Property | PA12 (Nylon 12)PA | TPU 98A / hard TPUFLEX |
|---|---|---|
| Market snapshot | ||
| Listing priceUSD/kg; dated snapshots | $64.33/kg median; $36.00–$170.67/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 | Polyamide 12 — the longest-chain common nylon, with the fewest amide groups per unit mass and so the least moisture uptake[1][2] | Hard thermoplastic polyurethane at 98 Shore A to about 60 Shore D — the rigid end of the TPU range[3][4] |
| Densityg/cm³ | 1.01 specific gravity (Stratasys FDM Nylon 12, ASTM D792)[5] | 1.23 (Fillamentum Flexfill 98A); 1.2 (Extrudr FLEX HARD, ISO 2781)[3][4] |
| Typical priceUSD/kg | 1 kg-equivalent spools span 36–171; the middle of the market is about 64[6][7] | 1 kg spools cluster near 150[8] |
| Price range across brandsUSD/kg | 36–171 across brands; IEMAI 3D 36, Fiberlogy 64 at 3DJake, 3DXTech AmideX Nylon 12 171[6][9][7] | 95–150 across brands; Proto-pasta Clear Rigid TPU 95, Push Plastic TPU 100A 150[10][8] |
| Market availability1–5 | Available from several mainstream brands[6][9] | Available from several mainstream brands[8][10][4] |
| Spool sizes & diameters | 1.75 and 2.85 mm; 750 g and 1 kg spools[9][6] | 1.75 and 2.85 mm; 0.5, 0.75 and 1 kg spools[10][8] |
| Typical applications | Dimensionally stable functional parts, ducting and living hinges where PA6 would move too much with humidity[1][11] | Drive belts, wheels, snap-fits and bumpers that need to flex but hold shape under load[3] |
| Printing Parameters | ||
| Nozzle temperature°C | 260–290 (Extrudr DURAPRO PA12)[4] | 230–260 (Extrudr FLEX HARD)[4] |
| Bed temperature°C | 110 (Extrudr DURAPRO PA12)[4] | 50–90 (Extrudr FLEX HARD)[4] |
| Enclosure / chamber requirement1–5 | Enclosure required (passive)[1] | Open frame is fine[4] |
| Part cooling fan | Part cooling fan not required (Simplify3D)[12] | 0–30 % (Extrudr FLEX HARD)[4] |
| Bed surface & adhesion aid | PEI sheet with a glue stick, or a dedicated adhesive such as Magigoo[12][1] | PEI sheet or painter's tape; Polymaker warns TPU can over-stick and advises a glue stick as a release agent[13][14] |
| Maximum volumetric flow (mm³/s; see test conditions)mm³/s | 12 at Extrudr's 150 mm/s cap on a 0.4 mm nozzle at 0.2 mm layer[4][15] | 4.6 (Extrudr FLEX HARD, stated max volumetric speed on a 0.4 mm nozzle)[4] |
| Warping tendency1–5 | Not documented | None[4] |
| Bed-adhesion difficulty1–5 | Needs a specific surface plus adhesive[12][1] | Not documented |
| Stringing / oozing tendency1–5 | Moderate — retraction tuning needed[1] | Not documented |
| Overall printing difficulty1–5 | Advanced — enclosure, hardware upgrades, tuning[1] | Easy — minor profile tuning; at this hardness the filament pushes like a rigid material[4] |
| Extruder requirement | Not documented | Bowden viable at this hardness — Extrudr rates FLEX HARD to 100 mm/s where its soft grades cap lower[4] |
| Hardware Wear & Reliability | ||
| Nozzle hardness required1–4 | Brass fine indefinitely for unfilled grades[1] | Brass fine indefinitely[4] |
| Abrasiveness1–5 | Non-abrasive when unfilled[1] | Non-abrasive[4] |
| Nozzle clog risk1–5 | High — jams from moisture, heat creep or particles[11][16] | Low[16] |
| Heat-creep / jam sensitivity1–5 | Moderate — good heatbreak cooling needed[12] | Moderate — good heatbreak cooling needed[14] |
| Hotend requirement | May require an all-metal hot end (Simplify3D)[12] | No special hot-end required, but a direct-drive extruder is (Simplify3D)[13] |
| Moisture Behaviour | ||
| Moisture absorption (hygroscopicity)1–5 | High (0.8–2 %) — Polymaker's PA12-CF10 reaches 1.5 % equilibrium against 3.33 % for its PA6-GF25, and Polymaker developed the PA12 grade specifically for lower moisture sensitivity[2][11] | Moderate — the TPU family absorbs readily; Extrudr specifies a 12 h dry at 60 °C for FLEX HARD[4][16] |
| Drying temperature & time | 60–80 °C for 8–12 h (Extrudr DURAPRO PA12); 100 °C for 8 h (Polymaker CoPA)[4][17] | 60 °C for 12 h (Extrudr FLEX HARD)[4] |
| 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[16] |
| Effect of moisture on strength | Polymaker states its PA12 grade changes little between wet and dry, unlike its PA6-based materials; the CoPA dry-to-wet reference shows what the PA6-type response looks like[11][17] | Polymaker groups TPU with the highly hygroscopic materials; no dry-versus-conditioned figures are published[16] |
| Storage requirement | Sealed below 20 % RH with desiccant[16] | Sealed with desiccant; often kept in a dryer during the print[16] |
| Hydrolysis at melt temperature | Polymaker requires a 100 °C dry for 8 h and storage below 20 % RH; no molecular-weight loss figure is published, and the published wet data is conditioning rather than melt hydrolysis[17][18] | Not documented |
| Mechanical Properties | ||
| Tensile strength (XY)MPa | 49.3 at yield and 33.4 at break printed XZ (Stratasys FDM Nylon 12, ASTM D638)[5] | 53.7 at break (Fillamentum Flexfill 98A, DIN 53504)[3] |
| Young's modulusMPa | 1510 printed XZ and 1250 ZX (Stratasys FDM Nylon 12, ASTM D638)[5] | Not documented |
| Elongation at break% | 30 at break printed XZ against 6.5 in ZX (Stratasys FDM Nylon 12, ASTM D638)[5] | 318 at break (Fillamentum Flexfill 98A, DIN 53504); Extrudr FLEX HARD 490 (ISO 527-2)[3][4] |
| Charpy impact, notchedkJ/m² | 11 at +23 °C and 6.0 at -30 °C (Extrudr DuraPro PA12, ISO 179/1eA); unnotched does not break[4] | Not documented |
| Other impact data | Izod notched 138 J/m printed XZ against 71.0 J/m in ZX (Stratasys FDM Nylon 12, ASTM D256)[5] | Not documented |
| Layer adhesion / Z tensileMPa | 41.8 at yield and 41.2 at break printed ZX (Stratasys FDM Nylon 12, ASTM D638) — higher than the XZ break figure, because XZ specimens draw and neck first[5] | 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 | Not documented | 98 Shore A and 60 Shore D (Fillamentum, ISO 7619-1); Extrudr FLEX HARD 58 Shore D (ISO 868)[3][4] |
| Creep resistance / sustained load1–5 | Moderate — the long-chain polyamides hold load better than PLA but below PC[1] | 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[19] |
| Fatigue / repeated-flex resistance1–5 | Excellent — living hinges viable. Stratasys sells FDM Nylon 12 specifically for repetitive-flex parts such as snap-fit clips and press-fit inserts on the strength of its fatigue properties[1][5] | Excellent — living hinges viable[14] |
| Elasticity / flexibility1–5 | Semi-flexible[11] | Semi-flexible[3][4] |
| Z strength as % of XY% | 85 (Stratasys FDM Nylon 12, ZX against XZ tensile yield, ASTM D638) — one of the least anisotropic unfilled filaments measured[5] | Not documented |
| 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[3][4] |
| Thermal Properties | ||
| HDT at 0.45 MPa°C | 94.7 printed XY and 91.9 in XZ/ZX (Stratasys FDM Nylon 12, ASTM D648 at 66 psi)[5] | Not documented |
| HDT at 1.8 MPa°C | 84.3 printed XY and 75.3 in XZ/ZX (Stratasys FDM Nylon 12, ASTM D648 at 264 psi)[5] | Not documented |
| Glass transition (Tg)°C | 34.0 (Stratasys FDM Nylon 12, ASTM D7426 inflection point)[5] | Not documented |
| Melting point / Vicat°C | Vicat A 142 (Extrudr DURAPRO PA12, ISO 306)[4] | 190–210 melting (Extrudr FLEX HARD, ISO 3146-C); Vicat A 140 (ISO 306)[4] |
| Continuous service temperature°C | Bounded by a Vicat softening point of 142 °C (Extrudr DURAPRO PA12); no loaded-bar service figure is published[4] | Not documented |
| Thermal expansion (CTE)µm/m·K | 84-103 printed (Stratasys FDM Nylon 12, ASTM E831: 84.4 in XY and 85.6 in XZ/ZX over -50 to 10 °C, 89.1 over 10-45 °C, 98.2 over 45-70 °C); Extrudr quotes 100 for DURAPRO PA12 (ISO 11359-2)[4][5] | Not documented |
| Flammability / UL 94 | Flammable; no UL 94 rating published for the unfilled grades surveyed[4] | Not documented |
| Environment & Chemical | ||
| UV resistance1–5 | Months outdoors before embrittlement[1] | Good — years with some colour shift; Polymaker lists UV exposure among the conditions TPU withstands[14] |
| Chemical resistance | Withstands oils, fuels and alkalis[1] | Withstands industrial solvents and UV exposure (Polymaker)[14] |
| Water / humidity resistance in service1–5 | Good — minor absorption; the least moisture-sensitive of the common nylons[11] | Not documented |
| Food contact | Not food-contact certified as filament[1] | Not food safe without specific certification (Polymaker)[14] |
| Biodegradability / compostability | Not biodegradable[1] | Not biodegradable[14] |
| Recyclability | Mechanically recyclable but not accepted in household plastic collection[1] | Not accepted in household plastic collection[14] |
| Health & Safety | ||
| Fume toxicity1–5 | Moderate — measurable VOCs and UFPs, ventilation advised[20] | Low hazard — minimal VOC and particle emission; TPU was not among the nine filaments in the chamber study[20] |
| 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[20] | Not documented |
| Ultrafine-particle emission rateparticles/min | ≈2 × 10⁸ median — low for ultrafine particles despite the highest VOC mass of any filament tested[20] | 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[20] | Not documented |
| Ventilation / filtration requirement1–5 | Ventilated room or enclosure recommended[20] | Open a window / occasional ventilation[20] |
| Post-Processing | ||
| Sanding & machining | Sands poorly — gums rather than powders[12] | Difficult to sand or smooth; Polymaker limits post-processing to trimming or tumbling[14] |
| Gluing & solvent welding | Cyanoacrylate; no common solvent welds polyamide[12] | Cyanoacrylate bonds TPU; no common solvent welds it[14] |
| Vapour / chemical smoothing | No practical vapour smoothing[12] | No practical vapour smoothing[14] |
| Support material pairing | Polymaker sells a break-away PolySupport matched to PA12[12] | Polymaker warns TPU supports are often very difficult to remove[14] |
| Dimensional accuracy & detail | Holds dimensions better than PA6 after conditioning — Polymaker singles its PA12 grade out on exactly this point[11] | Tear strength 170 kN/m (Fillamentum, ISO 34-1) and 175 kN/m (Extrudr FLEX HARD, ISO 34-1B)[3][4] |
| Solvents & Solubility | ||
| Soluble in | Dissolved at 23 °C by formic acid, phenol, m-cresol, 96 % sulphuric acid or hexafluoroisopropanol — all laboratory reagents.[21][22] | DMF, DMSO, NMP and THF dissolve TPU; acetone, MEK and cyclohexanone are partial solvents. All laboratory reagents.[23] |
| Softened or crazed by | Not resistant to 10 % formic acid, phenol, chloroform or dichloromethane (Ensinger); zinc chloride stress-cracks nylon.[22][21] | 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 are formic acid, phenol and HFIP, all of which degrade the part they wet.[21] | 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
- PA (Nylon) — material basics Polymaker Wiki · 2026-08 · doc
- Fiberon PA612-CF15 Technical Data Sheet V1.1 Polymaker · 2024-12 · tds
- Flexfill TPU 98A Technical Data Sheet Fillamentum · 2019-08 · tds
- Extrudr Product Catalogue (DURAPRO PA12 data block) Extrudr · 2025-03 · tds
- FDM Nylon 12 — Material Data Sheet Stratasys · 2021-09 · tds
- Nylon PA12 — product listing 3DJake International · 2026-08 · vendor
- IEMAI 3D PA12 3D Printing Filament — store page IEMAI 3D · 2026-08 · vendor
- Push Plastic product catalogue Push Plastic · 2026-08 · vendor
- 3DXTech product catalogue 3DXTech · 2026-08 · vendor
- Proto-pasta product catalogue Proto-pasta · 2026-08 · vendor
- Moisture Conditioning — effect on printed nylon properties 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
- Max volumetric speed Prusa Knowledge Base · 2026-08 · doc
- Wet Filament — signs, causes and drying Polymaker Wiki · 2026-08 · doc
- PolyMide CoPA Technical Data Sheet V5.4 (dry and wet status blocks) Polymaker · 2024-11 · tds
- PolyMide CoPA — Technical Data Sheet page Polymaker Wiki · 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
- 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