3D Printing InfoFilament comparison
PA6-GF vs PEI 9085
Compare printing settings, strength, heat resistance, dated prices and sources.
2 selected · all documented properties
| Property | Glass-fibre PA6 (PA6-GF)PA | PEI (ULTEM 9085)HIGHTEMP |
|---|---|---|
| Market snapshot | ||
| Listing priceUSD/kg; dated snapshots | $59.98/kg median; $39.99–$130.00/kg across 6 dated product listings | $309.80/kg median; $220.00–$392.00/kg across 6 dated product listings |
| Identity & Market | ||
| Base polymer / chemistry | PA6 reinforced with chopped glass fibre — Polymaker's grade is 25 wt%[1][2] | Polyetherimide, ULTEM 9085 grade — the flame-retardant PEI used for aircraft interiors[3] |
| Densityg/cm³ | 1.14 (Bambu Lab) and 1.20 (Polymaker Fiberon), ISO 1183[2][1] | 1.34 (ISO 1183, 3DXTech) against 1.27 specific gravity on moulded plaques (ASTM D792, Stratasys) — the two suppliers disagree[3][4] |
| Typical priceUSD/kg | 1 kg-equivalent spools span 40–130; the middle of the market is about 60[2][5][6] | 1 kg-equivalent spools cluster near 298[7][8][9][10] |
| Price range across brandsUSD/kg | 40–130 across brands; SUNLU 40, YXPOLYER 45, Polymaker Fiberon and Bambu Lab 60, 3DXTech FibreX 87, Obsidian Nylon 6+GF 130[5][2][7][6][11] | 220-392 across brands and formats; 3DXTech ThermaX PEI 9085 220 at 2 kg, 3D4Makers 270 at 2 kg, Fiberlogy 298 at 500 g, Kimya 321 at 500 g, IEMAI 3D 385 at 1 kg, 3DXTech CarbonX PEI 9085+CF 392[7][8][9][10][12] |
| Market availability1–5 | Stocked by most mainstream brands[2][5][7][6][11] | Niche, a handful of specialist brands[7][8][9][10] |
| Spool sizes & diameters | 1.75 and 2.85 mm; 0.5, 0.75 and 1 kg spools[5][7][2] | 1.75 and 2.85 mm; 250 g to 2 kg spools, plus Stratasys canisters[7][10][4] |
| Typical applications | Stiff, heat-resistant structural parts where a matte finish and lower cost beat carbon fibre[2][1] | Aircraft interior parts and rail rolling stock, where the flame, smoke and toxicity rating is the requirement[3] |
| Printing Parameters | ||
| Nozzle temperature°C | 260–290 (Bambu Lab)[2] | Not documented |
| Bed temperature°C | Not documented | 130–140 (3DXTech)[3] |
| Enclosure / chamber requirement1–5 | Enclosure required (passive) — Bambu Lab specifies a 45–60 °C chamber[2] | Actively heated chamber required[13][14] |
| Recommended chamber temperature°C | 45–60 (Bambu Lab)[2] | Not documented |
| Bed surface & adhesion aid | PEI sheet with a glue stick, or a dedicated adhesive such as Magigoo[15][16] | Not documented |
| Maximum volumetric flow (mm³/s; see test conditions)mm³/s | 10 at Bambu Lab's 130 mm/s cap on a 0.4 mm nozzle at 0.2 mm layer[2][17] | Not documented |
| Warping tendency1–5 | Not documented | Severe — heated chamber needed[13] |
| Bed-adhesion difficulty1–5 | Needs a specific surface plus adhesive[15] | Not documented |
| Stringing / oozing tendency1–5 | Moderate — retraction tuning needed[16] | Not documented |
| Overall printing difficulty1–5 | Expert / industrial hardware only[2][18] | Expert / industrial hardware only[13][14] |
| Extruder requirement | 0.6 mm nozzle recommended by Bambu Lab; 0.4 and 0.8 also supported[2] | Not documented |
| Hardware Wear & Reliability | ||
| Nozzle hardness required1–4 | Hardened steel required — Polymaker measures brass nozzle life at about 9 h on PA6-GF25 and recommends hardened steel or ruby[1] | Brass fine indefinitely for unfilled grades, but brass softens near these nozzle temperatures — hardened or plated hot ends are the norm[13] |
| Abrasiveness1–5 | Highly abrasive — standard GF composite; Polymaker puts brass nozzle life at roughly 9 h on PA6-GF25[1] | Non-abrasive when unfilled[3] |
| Nozzle clog risk1–5 | Very high — frequent jams without careful setup[18] | Moderate — needs dry filament and a clean nozzle; 3DXTech lists no special nozzle concerns but a mandatory 120 °C pre-dry before every print[19] |
| Heat-creep / jam sensitivity1–5 | Moderate — good heatbreak cooling needed[15] | Not documented |
| Hotend requirement | May require an all-metal hot end (Simplify3D)[15] | Not documented |
| Moisture Behaviour | ||
| Moisture absorption (hygroscopicity)1–5 | Very high (>2 %) — 2.56 % saturated at 25 °C / 55 % RH (Bambu Lab) and 3.33 % equilibrium (Polymaker Fiberon), the highest in the dataset[2][1] | Not documented |
| Equilibrium moisture content at ~50 % RH% | 2.56 saturated at 25 °C / 55 % RH (Bambu Lab); 3.33 equilibrium (Polymaker Fiberon PA6-GF25)[2][1] | Not documented |
| Drying temperature & time | 80 °C for 8–12 h (Bambu Lab)[2] | Not documented |
| Symptoms when wet | Popping and cracking during extrusion, then hard-to-diagnose defects[20] | Not documented |
| Effect of moisture on strength | Polymaker publishes dry and wet printed blocks for PA6-GF25 itself: at 4.57 % moisture tensile falls 80.1 → 40.2 MPa and modulus 5357 → 1794 MPa, while notched Charpy rises 10.0 → 28.0 kJ/m²[1][20] | 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[19] |
| Storage requirement | Sealed below 20 % RH with desiccant[18] | 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[21][22] | Not documented |
| Mechanical Properties | ||
| Tensile strength (XY)MPa | 75 ± 6 (Bambu Lab) and 80.1 ± 1.8 (Polymaker Fiberon, dry/annealed) printed XY, ISO 527; Fiberon falls to 40.2 ± 2.1 conditioned to 4.57 % moisture. Stratasys FDM PA6/66-GF30-FR gives 60.2-61.1 at break and 61.7-62.3 at yield printed XZ (ASTM D638)[2][1][23] | 63-77 at break (printed XZ, ASTM D638, Stratasys F900/F3300/Fortus 450mc, three tips and two colours); 54 (printed XY, ISO 527, 3DXTech)[4][3] |
| Young's modulusMPa | 2850 ± 260 (Bambu Lab) and 5357 ± 211 (Polymaker Fiberon, dry) printed XY, ISO 527; Fiberon falls to 1794 ± 84 conditioned. Stratasys FDM PA6/66-GF30-FR gives 5600-5830 printed XZ against 3050-3140 in ZX (ASTM D638)[2][1][23] | 2040-2540 (printed XZ, ASTM D638, Stratasys); 2050 (printed XY, ISO 527, 3DXTech)[4][3] |
| Elongation at break% | 2.4 ± 0.2 dry (Polymaker Fiberon) to 3.9 ± 0.8 (Bambu Lab) printed XY, ISO 527; the Fiberon grade rises to 4.2 ± 0.7 conditioned[2][1] | 5.4-9.1 at break (printed XZ, ASTM D638, Stratasys); 1.9-4.3 in ZX; 3DXTech quotes 3 (ISO 527)[4][3] |
| Flexural strengthMPa | Not documented | 104-116 at break (printed XZ, ASTM D790 Procedure A, Stratasys); 72-98 in ZX; 3DXTech quotes 90 (ISO 178)[4][3] |
| Flexural modulusMPa | 3670 ± 140 printed XY, ISO 178 (Bambu Lab)[2] | 2400-2550 (printed XZ, ASTM D790, Stratasys F900 T16 and T16A) against 2120-2130 in ZX; 3DXTech quotes 2170 (ISO 178)[4][3] |
| Charpy impact, notchedkJ/m² | 10.0 ± 0.7 printed XY dry and 28.0 ± 1.0 conditioned, ISO 179 notched (Polymaker Fiberon); Bambu Lab 7.2 ± 2.3[1][2] | Not documented |
| Other impact data | Charpy unnotched 27.2 ± 2.2 printed XY (Bambu Lab, ISO 179). Stratasys FDM PA6/66-GF30-FR gives Izod notched 74.6-77.1 J/m printed XZ against 17.2-22.1 in ZX (ASTM D256)[2][23] | Izod notched 88.5-140 J/m XZ against 37-80 J/m ZX; unnotched 647-2260 J/m XZ against 169-633 J/m ZX (printed, ASTM D256/D4812, Stratasys, across three printers and three tips)[4] |
| Layer adhesion / Z tensileMPa | 27 ± 5 (Bambu Lab) and 60.7 ± 1.1 (Polymaker Fiberon, dry) printed Z, ISO 527 — the two makers differ by more than a factor of two; Fiberon falls to 26.3 ± 1.5 conditioned. Stratasys FDM PA6/66-GF30-FR gives 23.7-24.4 at break printed ZX (ASTM D638)[2][1][23] | 39-63 at break (printed ZX, ASTM D638, Stratasys); the low end is the F900 T16 baseline, the high end the F3300 N500 hot end[4] |
| Brittleness1–5 | Brittle — snaps with little warning; elongation at break 2.4 % in XY[1] | Brittle — snaps with little warning[3] |
| Hardness (scale-specific)Shore A / Shore D / Rockwell | Rockwell M88 / R117 on extruded PA66-GF30 stock (ASTM D785)[24] | Rockwell M110 / R126 on extruded PEI stock (ASTM D785)[25] |
| Creep resistance / sustained load1–5 | Good. Ensinger lists high creep resistance as a headline property of extruded PA66-GF30 stock; the rating is held below Excellent because equilibrium moisture uptake of 3.33 % softens the matrix in service[24][1] | Excellent — holds load for years. Printed ZX coupons keep 87 % of room-temperature tensile strength at 104 °C and 70 % at 132 °C (ASTM D638); extruded PEI stock is rated 170 °C long-term service[4][25] |
| Fatigue / repeated-flex resistance1–5 | Good. Ensinger lists high fatigue strength as a headline property of extruded PA66-GF30 stock[24] | Not documented |
| Elasticity / flexibility1–5 | Rigid[2] | Rigid[3] |
| Z strength as % of XY% | 36 (Bambu Lab) to 76 (Polymaker Fiberon), printed; Stratasys FDM PA6/66-GF30-FR gives 39-41 (ZX against XZ tensile at break, ASTM D638)[2][1][23] | 56-86 (Stratasys ZX against XZ tensile at break, ASTM D638, across F900/F3300/Fortus 450mc and T16/T20/T40A tips); 58 on the F900 T16 baseline[4] |
| Thermal Properties | ||
| HDT at 0.45 MPa°C | 182 (Bambu Lab) and 191 (Polymaker Fiberon), ISO 75 at 0.45 MPa. Stratasys FDM PA6/66-GF30-FR gives 161 printed XY and 185 XZ (ASTM D648 at 66 psi)[2][1][23] | 158 (printed XY, ISO 75 at 0.45 MPa, 3DXTech) to 178 (printed XY 178.2 and ZX 178.4, ASTM D648 Method B at 66 psi, Stratasys); moulded 176.9[3][4] |
| HDT at 1.8 MPa°C | 157 (Polymaker Fiberon) and 158 (Bambu Lab), ISO 75 at 1.8 MPa[2][1] | 170-173 (printed XY 170.2 and ZX 172.6, ASTM D648 Method B at 264 psi); moulded 172.9[4] |
| Glass transition (Tg)°C | 67 (Bambu Lab) and 70.4 (Polymaker Fiberon), DSC; Stratasys measures 51.5 on FDM PA6/66-GF30-FR (ASTM D7426)[2][1][23] | 177 (moulded plaque, ASTM D7426 inflection point, Stratasys); 186 (DSC, 3DXTech)[4][3][26] |
| Melting point / Vicat°C | 214.5 (Polymaker Fiberon) and 219 (Bambu Lab) melting, DSC; Vicat 210–212 (ISO 306)[2][1] | Not documented |
| Continuous service temperature°C | Not documented | 170 long-term service on extruded PEI stock, converted from 338 °F; 200 short term[25] |
| Thermal expansion (CTE)µm/m·K | 48.6 on extruded PA66-GF30 stock (ASTM D696; source states 2.7e-5 in/in/°F). Stratasys measures much higher on printed FDM PA6/66-GF30-FR — 95.4 over -20 to 5 °C and 214 over 25 to 80 °C in XY (ASTM E831)[24][23] | 44.9 (printed XY, -50 to 80 °C, ASTM E831), falling to 31.4 over 80-160 °C; ZX gives 44.5 over -50 to 60 °C. Black pigment raises it to 51.9[4] |
| Flammability / UL 94 | Flammable; no UL 94 rating published for the grades surveyed[21] | UL 94 V-0 at 1.5 mm on the base resin. Printed parts are tested to 14 CFR 25.853, BSS 7238 and 7239 and AITM 2.0007B and 3.0005 covering 60 s and 12 s vertical burn, 15 s horizontal burn, smoke density, toxic gas emission and OSU heat release[3][4] |
| Environment & Chemical | ||
| UV resistance1–5 | Months outdoors before embrittlement — unstabilised polyamide yellows under UV[16] | Good — years with some colour shift. 1000 h of QUV cycling to ASTM G154 left printed ZX coupons at 55.5 MPa yield against 56.0 unexposed, with elongation and modulus unchanged[4] |
| Chemical resistance | Withstands oils, fuels and alkalis[16] | Not documented |
| Water / humidity resistance in service1–5 | Absorbs water, properties shift[20] | Not documented |
| Food contact | Not food-contact certified as filament[16] | Not documented |
| Biodegradability / compostability | Not biodegradable[16] | Not documented |
| Recyclability | Not accepted in household plastic collection[16] | Not documented |
| Electrical & ESD properties | Surface resistivity above 10¹² ohm — insulating (Polymaker Fiberon, ANSI/ESD S11.11)[1] | Not documented |
| Health & Safety | ||
| Fume toxicity1–5 | Moderate — measurable VOCs and UFPs, ventilation advised[27] | 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[27] |
| VOC emission rateµg/min | Up to 180 caprolactam, the dominant VOC from nylon and the largest single-VOC rate in the study[27] | Not documented |
| Ultrafine-particle emission rateparticles/min | ≈2 × 10⁸ median for nylon — low for particles despite the highest VOC mass measured[27] | Not documented |
| Hazardous species emitted | Caprolactam, at up to 180 µg/min from nylon filament[27] | Not documented |
| Ventilation / filtration requirement1–5 | Ventilated room or enclosure recommended[27] | Ventilated room or enclosure recommended[27] |
| 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[15] | Not documented |
| Gluing & solvent welding | Cyanoacrylate; no common solvent welds polyamide[15] | Not documented |
| Vapour / chemical smoothing | No practical vapour smoothing[15] | Not documented |
| Solvents & Solubility | ||
| Soluble in | Formic acid, phenol, m-cresol and hexafluoroisopropanol dissolve the matrix at 23 °C, leaving the fibre; laboratory reagents.[28] | Chlorinated hydrocarbons — dichloromethane and chloroform — are solvents for polyetherimide. Laboratory reagents.[29][30] |
| Softened or crazed by | Zinc chloride solutions stress-crack the nylon matrix, alcoholic calcium chloride dissolves it, mineral acids attack it.[28] | Acetone, MEK, benzene, toluene and butyl acetate craze or stress-crack it; alcohols, fuels and dilute acids do not.[30][29] |
| Solvent welding & smoothing agent | None — nylon's only solvents (formic acid, phenol, HFIP) degrade the part, and the fibre blocks surface flow anyway.[28] | Dichloromethane is the only welding route, and it is a controlled carcinogen rather than a workshop material.[29][30] |
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
- Fiberon PA6-GF25 Technical Data Sheet V1.1 Polymaker · 2024-12 · tds
- Bambu Filament Technical Data Sheet — PA6-GF Bambu Lab · 2026-08 · tds
- ThermaX PEI 9085 Technical Data Sheet v4 3DXTech · 2026-08 · tds
- ULTEM 9085 Resin — FDM Material Data Sheet Stratasys · 2026-04 · tds
- Polymaker product catalogue Polymaker · 2026-08 · vendor
- SUNLU Nylon-6 Glass Fiber (PA6-GF) 3D Printer Filament 1 kg — product page SUNLU · 2026-08 · vendor
- 3DXTech product catalogue 3DXTech · 2026-08 · vendor
- Kimya PEI-9085 Natural 2.85 mm 500 g igo3d · 2026-08 · vendor
- Fiberlogy PEI 9085 Natural, 1.75 mm / 500 g 3DJAKE · 2026-08 · vendor
- 3D4Makers product catalogue 3D4Makers · 2026-08 · vendor
- YXPOLYER PA6-GF Black 1 kg — product page YXPOLYER · 2026-08 · vendor
- IEMAI 3D PEI 9085 3D Printing Filament — store page IEMAI 3D · 2026-08 · vendor
- 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
- PA (Nylon) — 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
- THERMAX PEI 9085 — product page (print recommendations) 3DXTech · 2026-08 · doc
- Moisture Conditioning — effect on printed nylon properties Polymaker Wiki · 2026-08 · doc
- Fiberon PA6-CF20 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
- FDM PA6/66-GF30-FR — Material Data Sheet Stratasys · 2026-07 · tds
- TECAMID 66 GF30 black (PA66-GF30) — stock shape properties Ensinger · 2026-08 · tds
- TECAPEI natural (PEI) — stock shape properties Ensinger · 2026-08 · tds
- ThermaX PEI 1010 Technical Data Sheet v4 3DXTech · 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