3D Printing Info

Filament comparison

PA6/66 vs PC-ABS

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

PA66 (Nylon 66) guidePC/ABS blend guide

2 selected · all documented properties

Open these two in the interactive comparisonMore PA6/66 comparisonsMore PC-ABS comparisons
PA6/66 vs PC-ABS — documented properties and sources
PropertyPA66 (Nylon 66)PAPC/ABS blendPC
Market snapshot
Listing priceUSD/kg; dated snapshotsNot documented$45.99/kg median; $34.99–$84.00/kg across 5 dated product listings
Identity & Market
Base polymer / chemistryPolyamide 66, condensed from hexamethylenediamine and adipic acid; melts around 40 °C above PA6[1]Polycarbonate/ABS alloy — PC stiffness and heat resistance with ABS processability[2][3]
Densityg/cm³1.14 (extruded unfilled PA66 stock)[4]1.10 (Polymaker) and 1.24 (3DXTech FR grade), ISO 1183; Stratasys specific gravity 1.10 (ASTM D792)[2][3][5]
Typical priceUSD/kgNot documented1 kg spools cluster near 50[6][7]
Price range across brandsUSD/kgNot documented35–84 across brands; Reli3D 35, SUNLU 46, Polymaker 50, 3DXMAX 84[6][7][8][9]
Market availability1–5Special order, 1–2 makers worldwide — no unfilled PA66 filament appeared in any catalogue searched, and the 3DXTech nylon range offers PA6, PA12 and a 6/66 copolymer but no straight PA66[7][6]Available from several mainstream brands[6][7]
Spool sizes & diametersNot documented1.75 and 2.85 mm; 0.5 and 1 kg spools[6][7]
Typical applicationsNot documentedAutomotive interior and electronics housings that need PC heat resistance without PC's warping[2]
Printing Parameters
Nozzle temperature°CNot documented250–270 (Polymaker)[2]
Bed temperature°CNot documented90–105 (Polymaker)[2]
Enclosure / chamber requirement1–5Enclosure required (passive)[1]Enclosure required (passive) — Polymaker specifies a 90–100 °C chamber[2]
Recommended chamber temperature°CNot documented90–100 (Polymaker)[2]
Part cooling fanNot documentedOff (Polymaker)[2]
Bed surface & adhesion aidNot documentedPEI with a glue stick or a commercial adhesive[10]
Maximum volumetric flow (mm³/s; see test conditions)mm³/sNot documented20 at Polymaker's 250 mm/s cap on a 0.4 mm nozzle at 0.2 mm layer[2][11]
Warping tendency1–5Not documentedHigh — enclosure needed for reliable large parts[2][12]
Bed-adhesion difficulty1–5Not documentedNeeds a specific surface plus adhesive[10][13]
Stringing / oozing tendency1–5Not documentedModerate — retraction tuning needed; Polymaker flags stringing as a common PC problem[13]
Overall printing difficulty1–5Advanced — enclosure, hardware upgrades, tuning[1]Advanced — enclosure, hardware upgrades, tuning[2][12]
Hardware Wear & Reliability
Nozzle hardness required1–4Not documentedBrass fine indefinitely[12]
Abrasiveness1–5Not documentedNon-abrasive[2]
Nozzle clog risk1–5Very high — frequent jams without careful setup[14][15]Moderate — needs dry filament and a clean nozzle; 3DXTech lists no special nozzle concerns but a 120 °C pre-dry of 4 h or more[16]
Heat-creep / jam sensitivity1–5Not documentedSlightly sensitive[10]
Hotend requirementNot documentedAll-metal hot end required (Simplify3D)[10]
Moisture Behaviour
Moisture absorption (hygroscopicity)1–5Very high (>2 %)[15]Low (0.1–0.3 %) — the PC matrix takes up 0.15–0.25 % and 3DXTech specifies a 120 °C, 4 h or more pre-dry[17][18][16]
Equilibrium moisture content at ~50 % RH%8.5 at saturation on extruded PA66 stock (ASTM D570) — the highest uptake of any polymer in this dataset[4]Not documented
Drying temperature & timeNot documented75 °C for 6 h (Polymaker)[2]
Symptoms when wetNot documentedBubbling and popping at the nozzle, stringing and a rough surface[15]
Effect of moisture on strengthMeasured 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 %[19][14]No dry-versus-conditioned figures are published. Polymaker calls PC highly hygroscopic and requires a 70–80 °C dry for 6–8 h; run wet, the loss shows as surface defects and poor layer adhesion[13][15]
Storage requirementNot documentedAirtight containers with desiccant to prevent reabsorption[13]
Mechanical Properties
Tensile strength (XY)MPa82.7 at yield and 84.8 at break on extruded PA66 stock (ASTM D638; converted from 12,000 and 12,300 psi) — no printed figure exists because no unfilled PA66 filament was found[4]39.9 ± 1.0 printed XY, ISO 527 (Polymaker); 3DXTech quotes 60 at break for its FR PC/ABS[2][3]
Young's modulusMPa2413 on extruded PA66 stock (ASTM D638; converted from 350,000 psi)[4]1835 ± 65 printed XY, ISO 527 (Polymaker); 3DXTech quotes 2250[2][3]
Elongation at break%50 at break on extruded PA66 stock (ASTM D638)[4]4.2 ± 0.3 printed XY, ISO 527 (Polymaker); 3DXTech quotes 10 at break[2][3]
Flexural strengthMPa113.8 on extruded PA66 stock (ASTM D790; converted from 16,500 psi)[4]66.3 ± 0.9 printed XY, ISO 178 (Polymaker); 3DXTech quotes 85[2][3]
Flexural modulusMPa3034 on extruded PA66 stock (ASTM D790; converted from 440,000 psi)[4]2081 ± 106 printed XY, ISO 178 (Polymaker); 3DXTech quotes 2300[2][3]
Charpy impact, notchedkJ/m²Not documented25.8 ± 1.3 printed XY, ISO 179, notched (Polymaker) — above both unfilled PC and ABS[2]
Other impact dataIzod 53 J/m on extruded PA66 stock, converted from 1.0 ft-lb/in (ASTM D256)[4]Notched Charpy still 13 ± 2 kJ/m² at −30 °C printed XY (Polymaker, ISO 179-1/1eA), against 1.5 in Z. Stratasys prints Izod notched at 241 J/m XZ against 34.0 J/m ZX, and unnotched 655 against 101 J/m (ASTM D256, F900 T16).[2][5]
Layer adhesion / Z tensileMPaNot documented25.9-30.2 at break printed ZX (Stratasys, ASTM D638 on the F900 and Fortus 450mc); 22.9 +/- 1.2 printed Z, ISO 527 (Polymaker)[2][5]
Brittleness1–5Not documentedTough — absorbs impact, yields before breaking[2]
Hardness (scale-specific)Shore A / Shore D / RockwellShore D 86 and Rockwell 85 (108) — the source does not name the scales on extruded PA66 stock (ASTM D2240, D785)[4]Rockwell 70 (118) — the source does not name the scales and Shore D 79 on extruded unfilled PC stock (ASTM D785, D2240); no figure is published for a PC/ABS filament[20]
Creep resistance / sustained load1–5Not documentedGood. Room-temperature tensile creep of moulded PC/ABS was still running unbroken at 30 MPa when the experiment was stopped for time; specimens failed within the test window at 39-47 MPa (ASTM D638)[21]
Fatigue / repeated-flex resistance1–5Excellent — living hinges viable[1]Not documented
Elasticity / flexibility1–5Semi-flexible[14]Rigid[2]
Z strength as % of XY%Not documented75-86 (Stratasys ZX against XZ tensile at break, ASTM D638) against 57 (Polymaker, printed Z against XY tensile)[2][5]
Wear resistance & frictionWear factor 200e-10 in3*min/(ft*lb*h) on extruded PA66 stock (ASTM D3702); Ensinger lists very good slide and wear properties[4]Not documented
Thermal Properties
HDT at 0.45 MPa°C232 on extruded PA66 stock (ASTM D648 at 66 psi; converted from 450 °F)[4]112 (ISO 75 at 0.45 MPa, Polymaker); Stratasys prints 117.9 in XY and 126.1 in XZ (ASTM D648 Method B at 66 psi), against 125.0 moulded[2][5]
HDT at 1.8 MPa°C90 on extruded PA66 stock (ASTM D648 at 264 psi; converted from 194 °F) — the gap to the 0.45 MPa figure is the widest in the dataset[4]106 (ISO 75 at 1.8 MPa, Polymaker); Stratasys prints 107.5 in XY and 112.0 in XZ (ASTM D648 Method B at 264 psi), against 102.9 moulded[2][5]
Glass transition (Tg)°CNot documented109 (Polymaker) and 137 (3DXTech FR grade), DSC; Stratasys measures 105.3 (ASTM D7426 inflection point)[2][3][5]
Melting point / Vicat°C255 melting on extruded PA66 stock (ASTM D2133; converted from 491 °F)[4]Amorphous — no melting point; Vicat 135 (Polymaker, ISO 306)[2]
Continuous service temperature°C85 long term and 149 short term on extruded PA66 stock (converted from 185 °F and 300 °F)[4]113 — Prusa publishes this as the temperature resistance of Prusament PC Blend[18]
Annealing responseNot documented90 °C for 2 h (Polymaker)[2]
Thermal expansion (CTE)µm/m·K81.0 (extruded PA66 stock, ASTM D696; source states 4.5e-5 in/in/°F)[4]59.9 over -50 to 35 °C and 73.0 over -50 to 95 °C (printed XY, ASTM E831)[5]
Flammability / UL 94UL 94 V-2 on extruded PA66 stock[4]Not documented
Environment & Chemical
UV resistance1–5Not documentedDegrades within weeks outdoors[13]
Chemical resistanceNot documentedWithstands oils, solvents and fuels; Polymaker rates it good against weak acids[13]
Food contactNot documentedBisphenol-A polycarbonate is not offered as food-contact filament[13]
Biodegradability / compostabilityNot documentedNot biodegradable[13]
RecyclabilityNot documentedMechanically recyclable but not accepted in household plastic collection[13]
Electrical & ESD propertiesVolume resistance 1e15 ohm-cm and dielectric constant 4 on extruded PA66 stock (ASTM D257, D150)[4]Not documented
Health & Safety
Fume toxicity1–5Moderate — measurable VOCs and UFPs, ventilation advised[22]Moderate — measurable VOCs and UFPs, ventilation advised[22]
VOC emission rateµg/minUp to 180 caprolactam, the dominant VOC from nylon; total VOC reached nearly 200 µg/min, the highest of the nine filaments tested[22]Not documented
Ultrafine-particle emission rateparticles/min≈2 × 10⁸ median — low for ultrafine particles despite the highest VOC mass of any filament tested[22]≈4 × 10¹⁰ median — the highest ultrafine-particle rate of the nine filaments in the chamber study, above every ABS tested[22]
Hazardous species emittedCaprolactam, at up to 180 µg/min from nylon filament — the largest single-VOC emission rate measured in the study[22]Not documented
Ventilation / filtration requirement1–5Ventilated room or enclosure recommended[22]Ventilated room or enclosure recommended[22][12]
Post-Processing
Sanding & machiningNot documentedSands and machines well; the toughness means it cuts rather than chips[10]
Gluing & solvent weldingNot documentedCyanoacrylate; dichloromethane solvent-welds PC but is a laboratory reagent[10]
Vapour / chemical smoothingNot documentedAcetone attacks the ABS phase, so surface smoothing is partial rather than full[2]
Support material pairingNot documentedPrints its own supports; 3DXTech sells a dedicated PC break-away support[10]
Solvents & Solubility
Soluble inDissolved at 23 °C by formic acid above ~80 %, phenol, m-cresol, 96 % sulphuric acid or hexafluoroisopropanol — laboratory reagents.[23]Dichloromethane and chloroform dissolve the PC phase; acetone, MEK and THF dissolve the ABS phase.[24][25]
Softened or crazed byZinc chloride solutions stress-crack it — 10 % marginal, 37 % not resistant; alcoholic calcium chloride dissolves it.[23]Petrol, esters, ether and 1 % alkali stress-crack the PC phase; aromatics and esters soften the ABS phase.[24][25]
Solvent welding & smoothing agentNone — nylon's only solvents are formic acid, phenol and HFIP, all of which degrade the part they wet.[23]Acetone attacks only the ABS phase, so smoothing is partial; a dichloromethane cement welds the whole section.[2][26]

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. PA (Nylon) — material basics Polymaker Wiki · 2026-08 · doc
  2. Polymaker PC-ABS Technical Data Sheet V5.4 Polymaker · 2024-11 · tds
  3. Firewire Flame Retardant PC/ABS Technical Data Sheet Rev 3.0 3DXTech · 2026-08 · tds
  4. TECAMID 66 natural (PA66) — stock shape properties Ensinger · 2026-08 · tds
  5. PC-ABS — FDM Material Data Sheet Stratasys · 2023-08 · tds
  6. Polymaker product catalogue Polymaker · 2026-08 · vendor
  7. 3DXTech product catalogue 3DXTech · 2026-08 · vendor
  8. Reli3D PC-ABS Filament, Black, 1000 g spool Reli3D (Amazon US) · 2026-08 · vendor
  9. SUNLU PC-ABS 3D Printer Filament 1 kg SUNLU · 2026-08 · vendor
  10. Polycarbonate — Ultimate 3D Printing Materials Guide Simplify3D · 2026-08 · doc
  11. Max volumetric speed Prusa Knowledge Base · 2026-08 · doc
  12. ABS / ASA / PC Usage Guide Bambu Lab Wiki · 2026-08 · doc
  13. PC — material basics Polymaker Wiki · 2026-08 · doc
  14. Moisture Conditioning — effect on printed nylon properties Polymaker Wiki · 2026-08 · doc
  15. Wet Filament — signs, causes and drying Polymaker Wiki · 2026-08 · doc
  16. 3DXTech 3DXMAX ABS product page 3DXTech · 2026-08 · vendor
  17. Bambu Filament Technical Data Sheet V2.0 — PC Bambu Lab · 2026-08 · tds
  18. Prusament PC Blend Technical Datasheet v1.1 Prusa Polymers · 2022-02 · tds
  19. PolyMide CoPA Technical Data Sheet V5.4 (dry and wet status blocks) Polymaker · 2024-11 · tds
  20. TECANAT natural (PC) — stock shape properties Ensinger · 2026-08 · tds
  21. Experimental data for creep and dynamic mechanical properties of polycarbonate and polycarbonate/ABS Data in Brief 42:108264 · 2022-06 · paper
  22. 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
  23. Ultramid Nylon Chemical Resistance guide (unmodified PA6 B27E and PA66 A27E) BASF · 2026-08 · tds
  24. Makrolon — The chemical resistance (Makrolon 2800, 6 days at 23 °C and 50 °C) Covestro · 2016-12 · tds
  25. Chemical resistance — resistance of Ensinger plastics to chemicals (DIN 50 014, 23/50) Ensinger · 2026-08 · tds
  26. Weld-On 3 Acrylic Plastic Cement — technical data sheet (shipped as dichloromethane) IPS Corporation · 2002-07 · tds