3D Printing InfoFilament comparison
PA6 vs PLA-CF
Compare printing settings, strength, heat resistance, dated prices and sources.
2 selected · all documented properties
| Property | PA6 (Nylon 6)PA | Carbon-fibre PLA (PLA-CF)PLA |
|---|---|---|
| Market snapshot | ||
| Listing priceUSD/kg; dated snapshots | $104.00/kg median; $38.99–$136.00/kg across 3 dated product listings | $29.99/kg median; $19.00–$79.98/kg across 9 dated product listings |
| Identity & Market | ||
| Base polymer / chemistry | Polyamide 6, ring-opened from caprolactam — the most hygroscopic of the common nylons[1][2] | PLA filled with chopped carbon fibre — 5–10 wt% (Bambu Lab SDS), 8 wt% (Polymaker)[3][4] |
| Densityg/cm³ | 1.06 (ISO 1183, 3DXTech iOn PA6 alloy)[5] | 1.22 (Bambu Lab) to 1.29 (Polymaker, 3DXTech), ISO 1183[6][4][7] |
| Typical priceUSD/kg | 1 kg-equivalent spools span 39–136; the middle of the market is about 104, though budget unfilled PA6 has now arrived at 39[8][9] | 1 kg spools span 19–80; the middle of the market is about 31[10][11][7][12][13] |
| Price range across brandsUSD/kg | 39–136 across brands; YXPOLYER 39, 3DXTech iOn Nylon 6 Alloy 104, WearX Nylon 6 136. Unfilled PA6 filament stays rare — most PA6 reaches the market glass- or carbon-filled[8][9] | 19–80 across brands; IEMAI 19, LANDU 24, SUNLU 27, Polymaker 30, Bambu Lab 32, 3DXTech 47, Proto-pasta 80[11][10][7][14][12][15][13] |
| Market availability1–5 | Niche, a handful of specialist brands[8] | Stocked by most mainstream brands[10][11][7][14] |
| Spool sizes & diameters | 1.75 and 2.85 mm; 500 g and 750 g spools[8] | 1.75 and 2.85 mm; 0.5, 0.75, 1 and 3 kg spools[14][7][16] |
| Typical applications | Wear parts, bushings and gears where PA6's toughness and abrasion resistance matter more than dimensional stability[1] | Stiff jigs, drone and RC frames, tool holders — matte black finish, no gain in tensile strength[6][4] |
| Diameter tolerance± mm | Not documented | ±0.03 (Bambu Lab)[10] |
| Printing Parameters | ||
| Nozzle temperature°C | 220–260 (Polymaker); 225–265 (Simplify3D)[1][17] | 210–240 (Bambu Lab); 190–230 (Polymaker)[6][4] |
| Bed temperature°C | 70–100 (Polymaker); 70–90 (Simplify3D)[1][17] | 35–45 (Bambu Lab); 25–60 (Polymaker)[6][4] |
| Enclosure / chamber requirement1–5 | Enclosure required (passive)[18][1] | Open frame is fine[4] |
| Part cooling fan | Part cooling fan not required (Simplify3D)[17] | Fan on[6][4] |
| Bed surface & adhesion aid | PEI sheet with a glue stick, or a dedicated adhesive such as Magigoo[17][1] | Not documented |
| Maximum volumetric flow (mm³/s; see test conditions)mm³/s | Not documented | 16 at Bambu Lab's 200 mm/s cap and 24 at Polymaker's 300 mm/s, on a 0.4 mm nozzle at 0.2 mm layer; Bambu Lab's own filament guide says 250 mm/s where its TDS says 200[6][19][4][20] |
| Warping tendency1–5 | Not documented | None[6] |
| Bed-adhesion difficulty1–5 | Needs a specific surface plus adhesive[17][1] | Not documented |
| Stringing / oozing tendency1–5 | Moderate — retraction tuning needed[1] | Slight[4] |
| Overall printing difficulty1–5 | Advanced — enclosure, hardware upgrades, tuning; the filament must be kept dry throughout the print[1][21] | Easy — minor profile tuning; needs a hardened nozzle and 0.4 mm or larger[19][4] |
| Extruder requirement | Not documented | Nozzles below 0.4 mm are not compatible (Bambu Lab)[19] |
| Hardware Wear & Reliability | ||
| Nozzle hardness required1–4 | Brass fine indefinitely for unfilled grades[1] | Hardened steel required[19][4] |
| Abrasiveness1–5 | Non-abrasive when unfilled[1] | Highly abrasive — standard CF composite[19][22] |
| Nozzle clog risk1–5 | Very high — frequent jams without careful setup; wet nylon pops and cracks in the melt[23][21] | Moderate — needs dry filament and a clean nozzle[19] |
| Heat-creep / jam sensitivity1–5 | Moderate — good heatbreak cooling needed[17] | Not documented |
| Hotend requirement | May require an all-metal hot end (Simplify3D)[17] | Hardened steel nozzle; Bambu Lab lists PLA-CF among the filaments its hardened-steel nozzle exists for[22][19] |
| Other hardware wear | Not documented | Bambu Lab reports AMS wear; Polymaker advises against running PLA-CF through an AMS at all[19][4] |
| Moisture Behaviour | ||
| Moisture absorption (hygroscopicity)1–5 | Very high (>2 %) — Polymaker groups nylon with PVA as the most moisture-prone class, and its own PA6-based composites reach 2.35–3.33 % equilibrium[21][24] | Moderate — 0.42 % saturated at 25 °C / 55 % RH (Bambu Lab); 0.38 % equilibrium (Polymaker)[6][4] |
| Equilibrium moisture content at ~50 % RH% | Not documented | 0.42 saturated at 25 °C / 55 % RH (Bambu Lab); 0.38 equilibrium (Polymaker)[6][4] |
| Drying temperature & time | 100 °C for 8 h (Polymaker CoPA); storage below 20 % RH[18][25] | 55 °C for 6–8 h[6][4] |
| Symptoms when wet | Popping and cracking during extrusion, then defects that Polymaker describes as very hard to diagnose[23] | Not documented |
| Effect of moisture on strength | Measured dry against wet on printed specimens at 6.16 % moisture (Polymaker CoPA): tensile 78.0 → 34.3 MPa, Young's modulus 2703 → 724 MPa, flexural strength 109.8 → 22.6 MPa, while notched Charpy rises 6.9 → 27.7 kJ/m² and elongation 12.7 → 13.2 %[18][23] | 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[21] |
| Storage requirement | Sealed below 20 % RH with desiccant; Polymaker says nylon often needs to stay in a dryer while printing[25][21] | Not documented |
| 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[18][25] | Not documented |
| Mechanical Properties | ||
| Tensile strength (XY)MPa | 62 at break (printed XY, ISO 527, 3DXTech iOn PA6 alloy); Stratasys FDM Nylon 6 conditioned to 20 °C / 50 % RH gives 67.6 ultimate and 49.3 at yield printed XZ (ASTM D638)[5][26] | 31.2 (Polymaker) to 38 (Bambu Lab) printed XY, ISO 527; 48 at break for 3DXTech[6][4][7] |
| Young's modulusMPa | 2110 (printed XY, ISO 527, 3DXTech iOn PA6 alloy); Stratasys FDM Nylon 6 conditioned gives 2232 printed XZ and 1817 ZX (ASTM D638)[5][26] | 2790 (Bambu Lab) to 3281 (Polymaker) printed XY, ISO 527; 4950 for 3DXTech[6][4][7] |
| Elongation at break% | 9 at break (printed XY, ISO 527, 3DXTech iOn PA6 alloy); Stratasys FDM Nylon 6 conditioned gives 38 printed XZ against 3.2 in ZX (ASTM D638)[5][26] | 8.4 (Bambu Lab) and 13.2 (Polymaker) printed XY, ISO 527; 2 for 3DXTech[6][4][7] |
| Flexural strengthMPa | 78 (printed XY, ISO 178, 3DXTech iOn PA6 alloy); Stratasys FDM Nylon 6 conditioned gives 97.2 printed XZ and 82 ZX (ASTM D790)[5][26] | 51.7 (Polymaker) to 89 (Bambu Lab) printed XY, ISO 178[6][4] |
| Flexural modulusMPa | 2200 (printed XY, ISO 178, 3DXTech iOn PA6 alloy); Stratasys FDM Nylon 6 conditioned gives 2196 printed XZ and 1879 ZX (ASTM D790)[5][26] | 3381 (Polymaker) to 3950 (Bambu Lab) printed XY, ISO 178; 6320 for 3DXTech[6][4][7] |
| Charpy impact, notchedkJ/m² | Not documented | 5.5 (Polymaker) and 7.6 (Bambu Lab) printed XY, ISO 179, notched[6][4] |
| Other impact data | Izod notched 106 J/m printed XZ against 43 J/m in ZX; unnotched 2873 against 192 J/m (Stratasys FDM Nylon 6, conditioned 20 °C / 50 % RH, ASTM D256 Method A) — a 15x anisotropy unnotched[26] | Charpy unnotched 23.2 printed XY (Bambu Lab, ISO 179)[6] |
| Layer adhesion / Z tensileMPa | 36.5 ultimate and 28.9 at yield printed ZX (Stratasys FDM Nylon 6, conditioned 20 °C / 50 % RH, ASTM D638)[26] | 15.1 (Polymaker) to 26 (Bambu Lab) printed Z, ISO 527[6][4] |
| Brittleness1–5 | Tough — absorbs impact, yields before breaking[1] | Brittle — snaps with little warning; elongation in Z falls to 0.9 % (Polymaker)[4][6] |
| Hardness (scale-specific)Shore A / Shore D / Rockwell | Shore D 86 and Rockwell 85 (108) — the source does not name the scales on extruded unfilled PA66 stock (ASTM D2240, D785); no figure is published for a PA6 filament[27] | 71.5 Shore D measured on printed bars for Sunlu CF PLA (My Tech Fun), against 75.3 for the same maker's unfilled PLA[28] |
| Creep resistance / sustained load1–5 | Moderate[1] | Poor — 12 mm bars sagged to 15.1, 19.8 and 21.3 mm over 5 days at 1.25 kg across three brands, against 16.2–21.8 mm for their unfilled PLA[29][30][28] |
| Fatigue / repeated-flex resistance1–5 | Excellent — living hinges viable[1] | Poor — no CF-grade S-N curve; plain printed PLA ran 38 000–49 000 cycles at 30 % of tensile strength and elongation in Z falls to 0.9 %[31][4] |
| Elasticity / flexibility1–5 | Semi-flexible[23] | Rigid[4] |
| Z strength as % of XY% | 54 (Stratasys FDM Nylon 6 conditioned, ZX against XZ ultimate tensile, ASTM D638); 59 on the yield figures[26] | 48 (Polymaker) to 68 (Bambu Lab), printed[6][4] |
| Wear resistance & friction | 3DXTech sells a dedicated wear-resistant PA6 grade; abrasion resistance is the usual reason to choose PA6 over PA12[8] | Not documented |
| Thermal Properties | ||
| HDT at 0.45 MPa°C | Not documented | 54 (Polymaker) to 55 (Bambu Lab), ISO 75 at 0.45 MPa[6][4] |
| HDT at 1.8 MPa°C | 93 (Stratasys FDM Nylon 6, conditioned, ASTM D648 at 264 psi)[26] | 50 (Polymaker) to 54 (Bambu Lab), ISO 75 at 1.8 MPa[6][4] |
| Glass transition (Tg)°C | 105 (DSC, 3DXTech iOn PA6 alloy)[5] | 62–63 (DSC)[6][4] |
| Melting point / Vicat°C | Not documented | 162–165 peak melt (DSC); Vicat 64 °C (Polymaker)[6][4] |
| Continuous service temperature°C | Not documented | 50–61 — loaded bars begin to move at this temperature across three brands (Sunlu 50, Bambu Lab and Polymaker 61)[29][30][28] |
| Thermal expansion (CTE)µm/m·K | 81.0 on extruded unfilled PA66 stock (ASTM D696; source states 4.5e-5 in/in/°F); no figure is published for a PA6 filament, and PA6 and PA66 expand almost identically[27] | Not documented |
| Flammability / UL 94 | Flammable; no UL 94 rating published for the unfilled filament grades surveyed[5] | Not documented |
| Environment & Chemical | ||
| UV resistance1–5 | Months outdoors before embrittlement — unstabilised polyamide yellows and chalks under UV[1] | Degrades within weeks outdoors[32] |
| Chemical resistance | Withstands oils, fuels and alkalis — the usual reason to choose a polyamide[1] | Good against weak acids, oils and grease; poor against strong acids and alkalis[4] |
| Water / humidity resistance in service1–5 | Absorbs water, properties shift — a conditioned part is measurably softer and larger than the same part dry[23][18] | Not documented |
| Food contact | Polymaker notes medical-grade variants exist, but standard filament is not food-contact certified[1] | Not documented |
| Biodegradability / compostability | Not biodegradable[1] | Not documented |
| Recyclability | Mechanically recyclable but not accepted in household plastic collection[1] | Not documented |
| Health & Safety | ||
| Fume toxicity1–5 | Moderate — measurable VOCs and UFPs, ventilation advised[2] | Low hazard — minimal VOC and particle emission[2] |
| 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[2] | Not documented |
| Ultrafine-particle emission rateparticles/min | ≈2 × 10⁸ median — low for ultrafine particles despite the highest VOC mass of any filament tested[2] | 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[2] | Not documented |
| Ventilation / filtration requirement1–5 | Ventilated room or enclosure recommended[2] | None needed in a normal room[2] |
| Dust & fibre handling hazard | Not documented | Carbon fibre is bound in the matrix; sanding dust should not be inhaled[3] |
| Post-Processing | ||
| Sanding & machining | Sands poorly — the toughness makes it gum rather than powder[17] | Not documented |
| Gluing & solvent welding | Cyanoacrylate; no common solvent welds polyamide[17] | Not documented |
| Vapour / chemical smoothing | No practical vapour smoothing[17] | Not documented |
| Support material pairing | PVA dissolves cleanly against nylon; Polymaker sells a break-away PolySupport for PA12[17] | Support for PLA (Bambu Lab); PolySupport and PolyDissolve S1 (Polymaker)[6][4] |
| Dimensional accuracy & detail | Parts grow as they absorb moisture after printing; Polymaker declines to publish a standard dimensional allowance because it depends on geometry and infill[23] | Matte finish hides layer lines; stiffness is the gain — tensile strength stays at or below Bambu Lab PLA Basic's 35 MPa and Polymaker PolyLite PLA's 52.3 MPa[6][4][33][34] |
| Solvents & Solubility | ||
| Soluble in | Dissolved at 23 °C by formic acid above ~50 %, phenol, m-cresol, 96 % sulphuric acid or hexafluoroisopropanol — laboratory reagents.[35] | Chloroform dissolves the PLA matrix (10 % w/v, 2–4 h at 23 °C) and leaves the filler as loose sludge; laboratory reagent.[36] |
| Softened or crazed by | Zinc chloride solutions stress-crack it — 10 % marginal, 37 % not resistant; alcoholic calcium chloride dissolves it.[35] | Acetone, ethyl acetate and toluene plasticise the matrix but dissolve <1 % even at 65 °C; acetone submersion crazes parts.[36][37] |
| Solvent welding & smoothing agent | None — nylon's only solvents are formic acid, phenol and HFIP, all of which degrade the part they wet.[35] | Chloroform vapour attacks only the resin fraction, so the filler is left standing proud; no workshop-safe agent exists.[38][37] |
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
- 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
- Safety Data Sheet SDS20251127A50 — Bambu PLA-CF Bambu Lab · 2025-11 · msds
- PolyLite PLA-CF Technical Data Sheet V5.4 Polymaker · 2024-11 · tds
- iOn PA6-based Nylon Alloy Technical Data Sheet v2.0 3DXTech · 2026-08 · tds
- Bambu Filament Technical Data Sheet V4.0 — PLA-CF Bambu Lab · 2026-08 · tds
- CarbonX PLA+CF Technical Data Sheet v3 3DXTech · 2026-08 · tds
- 3DXTech product catalogue 3DXTech · 2026-08 · vendor
- YXPOLYER PA6 Black 1 kg — product page YXPOLYER · 2026-08 · vendor
- PLA-CF — product page Bambu Lab US Store · 2026-08 · vendor
- PolyLite PLA-CF — product page Polymaker Shop · 2026-08 · vendor
- IEMAI CF-PLA 3D Printing Filament product page IEMAI 3D · 2026-08 · vendor
- SUNLU PLA-CF Carbon Fiber 3D Printer Filament 1 kg SUNLU · 2026-08 · vendor
- Proto-pasta product catalogue Proto-pasta · 2026-08 · vendor
- LANDU Carbon Fiber PLA Filament 1.75 mm Black 1 kg LANDU (Amazon US) · 2026-08 · vendor
- Polymaker product catalogue Polymaker · 2026-08 · vendor
- Nylon — Ultimate 3D Printing Materials Guide Simplify3D · 2026-08 · doc
- PolyMide CoPA Technical Data Sheet V5.4 (dry and wet status blocks) Polymaker · 2024-11 · tds
- PLA Usage Guide Bambu Lab Wiki · 2026-08 · doc
- Max volumetric speed Prusa Knowledge Base · 2026-08 · doc
- Wet Filament — signs, causes and drying Polymaker Wiki · 2026-08 · doc
- Nozzles — material and compatibility Bambu Lab Wiki · 2026-08 · doc
- Moisture Conditioning — effect on printed nylon properties Polymaker Wiki · 2026-08 · doc
- Fiberon PA612-CF15 Technical Data Sheet V1.1 Polymaker · 2024-12 · tds
- PolyMide CoPA — Technical Data Sheet page Polymaker Wiki · 2026-08 · tds
- FDM Nylon 6 — data sheet (conditioned 20 °C / 50 % RH) Stratasys · 2017-11 · tds
- TECAMID 66 natural (PA66) — stock shape properties Ensinger · 2026-08 · tds
- Carbon Fiber PLA vs META-PLA vs PLA+ vs PLA by Sunlu — results spreadsheet My Tech Fun (Igor Gaspar) · 2026-08 · test
- BambuLab PLA Basic vs PLA Tough vs PLA-CF — results spreadsheet My Tech Fun (Igor Gaspar) · 2026-08 · test
- Polymaker PLA Pro vs PLA-CF — results spreadsheet My Tech Fun (Igor Gaspar) · 2026-08 · test
- Mechanical Properties of Additively Manufactured Polymeric Materials — PLA and PETG — For Biomechanical Applications Polymers 16(13):1868 · 2024-06 · paper
- PLA — material guide Prusa Knowledge Base · 2026-08 · doc
- PolyLite PLA Technical Data Sheet V5.4 Polymaker · 2024-11 · tds
- Bambu Filament Technical Data Sheet V3.0 — PLA Basic Bambu Lab · 2026-08 · tds
- Ultramid Nylon Chemical Resistance guide (unmodified PA6 B27E and PA66 A27E) BASF · 2026-08 · tds
- Solubility Study of Ingeo Biopolymer Grades in Common Organic Solvents (NWPD003) NatureWorks · 2019-10 · tds
- Improve your 3D prints with chemical smoothing Prusa Research · 2026-08 · doc
- 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