3D Printing Info

Filament comparison

PA6-GF vs PLA-PHA

Compare printing settings, strength, heat resistance, dated prices and sources.

Glass-fibre PA6 (PA6-GF) guidePLA/PHA blend guide

2 selected · all documented properties

Open these two in the interactive comparisonMore PA6-GF comparisonsMore PLA-PHA comparisons
PA6-GF vs PLA-PHA — documented properties and sources
PropertyGlass-fibre PA6 (PA6-GF)PAPLA/PHA blendPLA
Market snapshot
Listing priceUSD/kg; dated snapshots$59.98/kg median; $39.99–$130.00/kg across 6 dated product listings$76.40/kg median; $76.40–$76.40/kg across 1 dated product listings
Identity & Market
Base polymer / chemistryPA6 reinforced with chopped glass fibre — Polymaker's grade is 25 wt%[1][2]PLA blended with polyhydroxyalkanoate, a bacterially fermented bio-polyester[3]
Densityg/cm³1.14 (Bambu Lab) and 1.20 (Polymaker Fiberon), ISO 1183[2][1]1.2 (ISO 1183)[3]
Typical priceUSD/kg1 kg-equivalent spools span 40–130; the middle of the market is about 60[2][4][5]Not documented
Price range across brandsUSD/kg40–130 across brands; SUNLU 40, YXPOLYER 45, Polymaker Fiberon and Bambu Lab 60, 3DXTech FibreX 87, Obsidian Nylon 6+GF 130[4][2][6][5][7]Not documented
Market availability1–5Stocked by most mainstream brands[2][4][6][5][7]Niche, a handful of specialist brands[3][8]
Spool sizes & diameters1.75 and 2.85 mm; 0.5, 0.75 and 1 kg spools[4][6][2]1.75 and 2.85 mm; 750 g and 2200 g spools[3]
Typical applicationsStiff, heat-resistant structural parts where a matte finish and lower cost beat carbon fibre[2][1]General-purpose printing where PLA's brittleness is the limiting factor[3]
Printing Parameters
Nozzle temperature°C260–290 (Bambu Lab)[2]195–220 (colorFabb)[3]
Bed temperature°CNot documented50–60 (colorFabb)[3]
Enclosure / chamber requirement1–5Enclosure required (passive) — Bambu Lab specifies a 45–60 °C chamber[2]Open frame is fine[3]
Recommended chamber temperature°C45–60 (Bambu Lab)[2]Not documented
Part cooling fanNot documented0–100 %; colorFabb states the blend runs on both heated and unheated beds[3][9]
Bed surface & adhesion aidPEI sheet with a glue stick, or a dedicated adhesive such as Magigoo[10][11]Not documented
Maximum volumetric flow (mm³/s; see test conditions)mm³/s10 at Bambu Lab's 130 mm/s cap on a 0.4 mm nozzle at 0.2 mm layer[2][12]3.2–8 at colorFabb's 40–100 mm/s, on a 0.4 mm nozzle at 0.2 mm layer[9][12]
Bed-adhesion difficulty1–5Needs a specific surface plus adhesive[10]Not documented
Stringing / oozing tendency1–5Moderate — retraction tuning needed[11]Not documented
Overall printing difficulty1–5Expert / industrial hardware only[2][13]Beginner — prints on any machine out of the box[3]
Extruder requirement0.6 mm nozzle recommended by Bambu Lab; 0.4 and 0.8 also supported[2]Not documented
Hardware Wear & Reliability
Nozzle hardness required1–4Hardened steel required — Polymaker measures brass nozzle life at about 9 h on PA6-GF25 and recommends hardened steel or ruby[1]Brass fine indefinitely[3]
Abrasiveness1–5Highly abrasive — standard GF composite; Polymaker puts brass nozzle life at roughly 9 h on PA6-GF25[1]Non-abrasive[3]
Nozzle clog risk1–5Very high — frequent jams without careful setup[13]Very low — unfilled PLA blend; Prusa lists no drybox and no hardened nozzle for PLA[14]
Heat-creep / jam sensitivity1–5Moderate — good heatbreak cooling needed[10]Not documented
Hotend requirementMay require an all-metal hot end (Simplify3D)[10]Not documented
Moisture Behaviour
Moisture absorption (hygroscopicity)1–5Very 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]Moderate — the PLA matrix takes up 0.40–0.51 % saturated; colorFabb publishes no figure for the blend[15][16]
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 & time80 °C for 8–12 h (Bambu Lab)[2]Not documented
Symptoms when wetPopping and cracking during extrusion, then hard-to-diagnose defects[17]Not documented
Effect of moisture on strengthPolymaker 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][17]Polymaker rates PLA low-sensitivity and publishes no dry-versus-conditioned figures for this grade; absorbed water flashes to steam and shows as bubbling and poor layer adhesion[13]
Storage requirementSealed below 20 % RH with desiccant[13]Not documented
Hydrolysis at melt temperaturePolymaker 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[18][19]Not documented
Mechanical Properties
Tensile strength (XY)MPa75 ± 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][20]62–64 (ISO 527-1A, colorFabb; two grades quoted)[3]
Young's modulusMPa2850 ± 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][20]2960–3070 (ISO 527-1A, colorFabb)[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]4 and 11 (ISO 527-1A, colorFabb; two grades quoted)[3]
Flexural modulusMPa3670 ± 140 printed XY, ISO 178 (Bambu Lab)[2]2500–3300 flexural modulus (ISO 178, colorFabb)[3]
Charpy impact, notchedkJ/m²10.0 ± 0.7 printed XY dry and 28.0 ± 1.0 conditioned, ISO 179 notched (Polymaker Fiberon); Bambu Lab 7.2 ± 2.3[1][2]2.8–3.7 (ISO 179, notched, colorFabb)[3]
Other impact dataCharpy 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][20]Not documented
Layer adhesion / Z tensileMPa27 ± 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][20]Not documented
Brittleness1–5Brittle — snaps with little warning; elongation at break 2.4 % in XY[1]Moderate — colorFabb positions the blend as tougher and less brittle than its generic PLA grades[3]
Hardness (scale-specific)Shore A / Shore D / RockwellRockwell M88 / R117 on extruded PA66-GF30 stock (ASTM D785)[21]Not documented
Creep resistance / sustained load1–5Good. 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[21][1]Poor — no PLA/PHA creep test; plain printed PLA sagged from 12 to 16.2–21.8 mm over 5 days at 1.25 kg[22][23][24]
Fatigue / repeated-flex resistance1–5Good. Ensinger lists high fatigue strength as a headline property of extruded PA66-GF30 stock[21]Below average — no S-N curve for the blend; colorFabb positions it as tougher and less brittle than its generic PLA, which ran 38 000–49 000 cycles at 30 % of tensile strength[25][3]
Elasticity / flexibility1–5Rigid[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][20]Not documented
Thermal Properties
HDT at 0.45 MPa°C182 (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][20]Not documented
HDT at 1.8 MPa°C157 (Polymaker Fiberon) and 158 (Bambu Lab), ISO 75 at 1.8 MPa[2][1]Not documented
Glass transition (Tg)°C67 (Bambu Lab) and 70.4 (Polymaker Fiberon), DSC; Stratasys measures 51.5 on FDM PA6/66-GF30-FR (ASTM D7426)[2][1][20]Not documented
Melting point / Vicat°C214.5 (Polymaker Fiberon) and 219 (Bambu Lab) melting, DSC; Vicat 210–212 (ISO 306)[2][1]Above 155 melting (ISO 3146-C)[3]
Thermal expansion (CTE)µm/m·K48.6 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)[21][20]Not documented
Flammability / UL 94Flammable; no UL 94 rating published for the grades surveyed[18]Not documented
Environment & Chemical
UV resistance1–5Months outdoors before embrittlement — unstabilised polyamide yellows under UV[11]Degrades within weeks outdoors[26]
Chemical resistanceWithstands oils, fuels and alkalis[11]Not documented
Water / humidity resistance in service1–5Absorbs water, properties shift[17]Not documented
Food contactNot food-contact certified as filament[11]Not documented
Biodegradability / compostabilityNot biodegradable[11]colorFabb states the PHA component is 100 % biodegradable[3]
RecyclabilityNot accepted in household plastic collection[11]Not documented
Electrical & ESD propertiesSurface resistivity above 10¹² ohm — insulating (Polymaker Fiberon, ANSI/ESD S11.11)[1]Not documented
Health & Safety
Fume toxicity1–5Moderate — measurable VOCs and UFPs, ventilation advised[27]Low hazard — minimal VOC and particle emission[27]
VOC emission rateµg/minUp 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 emittedCaprolactam, at up to 180 µg/min from nylon filament[27]Not documented
Ventilation / filtration requirement1–5Ventilated room or enclosure recommended[27]None needed in a normal room[27]
Dust & fibre handling hazardGlass fibre is bound in the matrix; avoid inhaling sanding dust[1]Not documented
Post-Processing
Sanding & machiningSands poorly — gums rather than powders[10]Not documented
Gluing & solvent weldingCyanoacrylate; no common solvent welds polyamide[10]Not documented
Vapour / chemical smoothingNo practical vapour smoothing[10]Not documented
Solvents & Solubility
Soluble inFormic acid, phenol, m-cresol and hexafluoroisopropanol dissolve the matrix at 23 °C, leaving the fibre; laboratory reagents.[28]Chloroform dissolves the PLA phase (10 % w/v, 2–4 h at 23 °C); THF and DMF need 65 °C. Laboratory reagents.[29]
Softened or crazed byZinc chloride solutions stress-crack the nylon matrix, alcoholic calcium chloride dissolves it, mineral acids attack it.[28]Acetone, ethyl acetate and toluene plasticise it but dissolve <1 % even at 65 °C; submersion in acetone crazes and destroys parts.[29][30]
Solvent welding & smoothing agentNone — nylon's only solvents (formic acid, phenol, HFIP) degrade the part, and the fibre blocks surface flow anyway.[28]Chloroform vapour smooths and welds PLA at the cost of tensile strength; acetone does not smooth it at all.[31][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

  1. Fiberon PA6-GF25 Technical Data Sheet V1.1 Polymaker · 2024-12 · tds
  2. Bambu Filament Technical Data Sheet — PA6-GF Bambu Lab · 2026-08 · tds
  3. PLA/PHA technical data sheet colorFabb · 2026-08 · tds
  4. Polymaker product catalogue Polymaker · 2026-08 · vendor
  5. SUNLU Nylon-6 Glass Fiber (PA6-GF) 3D Printer Filament 1 kg — product page SUNLU · 2026-08 · vendor
  6. 3DXTech product catalogue 3DXTech · 2026-08 · vendor
  7. YXPOLYER PA6-GF Black 1 kg — product page YXPOLYER · 2026-08 · vendor
  8. woodFill technical data sheet colorFabb · 2026-08 · tds
  9. glowFill technical data sheet colorFabb · 2026-08 · tds
  10. Nylon — Ultimate 3D Printing Materials Guide Simplify3D · 2026-08 · doc
  11. PA (Nylon) — material basics Polymaker Wiki · 2026-08 · doc
  12. Max volumetric speed Prusa Knowledge Base · 2026-08 · doc
  13. Wet Filament — signs, causes and drying Polymaker Wiki · 2026-08 · doc
  14. Filament Material Guide Prusa Knowledge Base · 2026-08 · doc
  15. Bambu Filament Technical Data Sheet V3.0 — PLA Basic Bambu Lab · 2026-08 · tds
  16. PolyLite PLA Technical Data Sheet V5.4 Polymaker · 2024-11 · tds
  17. Moisture Conditioning — effect on printed nylon properties Polymaker Wiki · 2026-08 · doc
  18. Fiberon PA6-CF20 Technical Data Sheet V1.1 Polymaker · 2024-12 · tds
  19. PolyMide CoPA Technical Data Sheet V5.4 (dry and wet status blocks) Polymaker · 2024-11 · tds
  20. FDM PA6/66-GF30-FR — Material Data Sheet Stratasys · 2026-07 · tds
  21. TECAMID 66 GF30 black (PA66-GF30) — stock shape properties Ensinger · 2026-08 · tds
  22. BambuLab PLA Basic vs PLA Tough vs PLA-CF — results spreadsheet My Tech Fun (Igor Gaspar) · 2026-08 · test
  23. Polymaker PLA Pro vs PLA-CF — results spreadsheet My Tech Fun (Igor Gaspar) · 2026-08 · test
  24. Carbon Fiber PLA vs META-PLA vs PLA+ vs PLA by Sunlu — results spreadsheet My Tech Fun (Igor Gaspar) · 2026-08 · test
  25. Mechanical Properties of Additively Manufactured Polymeric Materials — PLA and PETG — For Biomechanical Applications Polymers 16(13):1868 · 2024-06 · paper
  26. PLA — material guide Prusa Knowledge Base · 2026-08 · doc
  27. 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
  28. Ultramid Nylon Chemical Resistance guide (unmodified PA6 B27E and PA66 A27E) BASF · 2026-08 · tds
  29. Solubility Study of Ingeo Biopolymer Grades in Common Organic Solvents (NWPD003) NatureWorks · 2019-10 · tds
  30. Improve your 3D prints with chemical smoothing Prusa Research · 2026-08 · doc
  31. Effect of vapour smoothing in trichloromethane on 3D printed PLA — surface, mechanical and chemical structure Pitale, Keche & Chopra, Engineering Research Express 6(4) 045579 · 2024-12 · paper