3D Printing InfoFilament comparison
PA6/66 vs PC-CF
Compare printing settings, strength, heat resistance, dated prices and sources.
2 selected · all documented properties
| Property | PA66 (Nylon 66)PA | Carbon-fibre PC (PC-CF)PC |
|---|---|---|
| Market snapshot | ||
| Listing priceUSD/kg; dated snapshots | Not documented | $62.58/kg median; $34.99–$117.33/kg across 6 dated product listings |
| Identity & Market | ||
| Base polymer / chemistry | Polyamide 66, condensed from hexamethylenediamine and adipic acid; melts around 40 °C above PA6[1] | Polycarbonate reinforced with chopped carbon fibre[2][3] |
| Densityg/cm³ | 1.14 (extruded unfilled PA66 stock)[4] | 1.22 (Prusament) and 1.36 (3DXTech), ISO 1183[2][3] |
| Typical priceUSD/kg | Not documented | 1 kg-equivalent spools span 35–117; the middle of the market is about 63[5][6][7][8][9] |
| Price range across brandsUSD/kg | Not documented | 35–117 across brands; Ambrosia 35, IEMAI 39, YXPOLYER 55, Spectrum PC CF 70, Prusament 94, 3DXTech 117[5][6][7][8][9] |
| Market availability1–5 | Special 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][10] | Available from several mainstream brands[5][7][11] |
| Spool sizes & diameters | Not documented | 1.75 and 2.85 mm; 0.75, 0.8 and 1 kg spools[5][7] |
| Typical applications | Not documented | Stiff high-temperature structural parts — jigs, drone frames and under-bonnet brackets[2][3] |
| Diameter tolerance± mm | Not documented | ±0.04 (Prusament PC Blend Carbon Fiber)[2] |
| Printing Parameters | ||
| Nozzle temperature°C | Not documented | 285 ± 10 (Prusament)[2] |
| Bed temperature°C | Not documented | 110 ± 10 (Prusament)[2] |
| Enclosure / chamber requirement1–5 | Enclosure required (passive)[1] | Enclosure required (passive)[2][12] |
| Part cooling fan | Not documented | Off — Prusa allows 0–20 % and warns cooling significantly reduces interlayer adhesion[2] |
| Bed surface & adhesion aid | Not documented | PEI with a glue stick or a commercial adhesive[13] |
| Warping tendency1–5 | Not documented | High — enclosure needed for reliable large parts; the fibre reduces warping against unfilled PC[2][12] |
| Bed-adhesion difficulty1–5 | Not documented | Needs a specific surface plus adhesive[13][14] |
| Stringing / oozing tendency1–5 | Not documented | Moderate — retraction tuning needed; Polymaker flags stringing as a common PC problem[14] |
| Overall printing difficulty1–5 | Advanced — enclosure, hardware upgrades, tuning[1] | Advanced — enclosure, hardware upgrades, tuning; hardened nozzle mandatory[12][2] |
| Hardware Wear & Reliability | ||
| Nozzle hardness required1–4 | Not documented | Hardened steel required[12] |
| Abrasiveness1–5 | Not documented | Highly abrasive — standard CF composite[12] |
| Nozzle clog risk1–5 | Very high — frequent jams without careful setup[15][16] | High — jams from moisture, heat creep or particles; PC already absorbs water from the air and 3DXTech adds a hardened 0.4 mm minimum nozzle, 0.25 mm layers and a 120 °C pre-dry[17][13][18] |
| Heat-creep / jam sensitivity1–5 | Not documented | Slightly sensitive[13] |
| Hotend requirement | Not documented | All-metal hot end required (Simplify3D)[13] |
| Moisture Behaviour | ||
| Moisture absorption (hygroscopicity)1–5 | Very high (>2 %)[16] | Low (0.1–0.3 %) — the PC matrix takes up 0.15–0.25 % and 3DXTech specifies a 120 °C, 4 h pre-dry[19][20][17] |
| 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] | 0.11 after 7 days at 24 °C / 22 % RH (Prusa Polymers)[2] |
| Symptoms when wet | Not documented | Bubbling and popping at the nozzle, stringing and a rough surface[16] |
| 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 %[21][15] | 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[14][16] |
| Storage requirement | Not documented | Airtight containers with desiccant to prevent reabsorption[14] |
| Mechanical Properties | ||
| Tensile strength (XY)MPa | 82.7 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] | 64 ± 3 printed horizontal and 70 ± 3 printed vertical at yield, ISO 527-1 (Prusament); 3DXTech quotes 73 at break[2][3] |
| Young's modulusMPa | 2413 on extruded PA66 stock (ASTM D638; converted from 350,000 psi)[4] | 2600 printed horizontal and 3200 printed vertical, ISO 527-1 (Prusament); 3DXTech quotes 6980[2][3] |
| Elongation at break% | 50 at break on extruded PA66 stock (ASTM D638)[4] | 4.6 at yield printed horizontal (Prusament); 3DXTech quotes 2.1 at break[2][3] |
| Flexural strengthMPa | 113.8 on extruded PA66 stock (ASTM D790; converted from 16,500 psi)[4] | 94 ± 3 printed horizontal and 130 ± 2 printed vertical, ISO 178 (Prusament); 3DXTech quotes 85[2][3] |
| Flexural modulusMPa | 3034 on extruded PA66 stock (ASTM D790; converted from 440,000 psi)[4] | 3500 printed horizontal and 4200 printed vertical, ISO 178 (Prusament); 3DXTech quotes 6540[2][3] |
| Charpy impact, notchedkJ/m² | Not documented | 12 ± 1 printed horizontal and 17 ± 2 printed vertical, ISO 179-1 notched (Prusament)[2] |
| Other impact data | Izod 53 J/m on extruded PA66 stock, converted from 1.0 ft-lb/in (ASTM D256)[4] | Charpy unnotched 32 ± 5 printed horizontal and 35 ± 4 printed vertical (Prusament, ISO 179-1)[2] |
| Layer adhesion / Z tensileMPa | Not documented | 23 ± 2 (Prusa Polymers interlayer adhesion test) — above the 21 ± 2 of unfilled Prusament PC Blend[2][20] |
| Brittleness1–5 | Not documented | Moderate[2][3] |
| Hardness (scale-specific)Shore A / Shore D / Rockwell | Shore D 86 and Rockwell 85 (108) — the source does not name the scales on extruded PA66 stock (ASTM D2240, D785)[4] | 83 Shore D (Prusa Polymers method), against 79 for unfilled Prusament PC Blend[2][20] |
| Creep resistance / sustained load1–5 | Not documented | Excellent — holds load for years. Room-temperature tensile creep of moulded unfilled PC ran unbroken at 41 MPa until the test was stopped; short carbon fibre raises the flexural modulus from about 2.1 to 3.5-6.5 GPa, which reduces creep strain further[22][2] |
| Fatigue / repeated-flex resistance1–5 | Excellent — living hinges viable[1] | Good. No fatigue test data was found for a carbon-fibre PC filament; the unfilled polymer is rated Good on the same scale[22] |
| Elasticity / flexibility1–5 | Semi-flexible[15] | Rigid[2] |
| Wear resistance & friction | Wear 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°C | 232 on extruded PA66 stock (ASTM D648 at 66 psi; converted from 450 °F)[4] | 114 (ISO 75, 0.45 MPa, Prusament)[2] |
| HDT at 1.8 MPa°C | 90 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, 1.8 MPa, Prusament), against 93 for unfilled Prusament PC Blend[2][20] |
| Glass transition (Tg)°C | Not documented | 127 (3DXTech, DSC)[3] |
| Melting point / Vicat°C | 255 melting on extruded PA66 stock (ASTM D2133; converted from 491 °F)[4] | Not documented |
| Continuous service temperature°C | 85 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[20] |
| Thermal expansion (CTE)µm/m·K | 81.0 (extruded PA66 stock, ASTM D696; source states 4.5e-5 in/in/°F)[4] | Not documented |
| Flammability / UL 94 | UL 94 V-2 on extruded PA66 stock[4] | Not documented |
| Environment & Chemical | ||
| UV resistance1–5 | Not documented | Degrades within weeks outdoors unless stabilised[14] |
| Chemical resistance | Not documented | Withstands oils, solvents and fuels; Polymaker rates it good against weak acids[14] |
| Food contact | Not documented | Bisphenol-A polycarbonate is not offered as food-contact filament[14] |
| Biodegradability / compostability | Not documented | Not biodegradable[14] |
| Recyclability | Not documented | Mechanically recyclable but not accepted in household plastic collection[14] |
| Electrical & ESD properties | Volume resistance 1e15 ohm-cm and dielectric constant 4 on extruded PA66 stock (ASTM D257, D150)[4] | Surface resistance above 10⁹ ohm/sq — not static-dissipative (3DXTech, ASTM D257)[3] |
| Health & Safety | ||
| Fume toxicity1–5 | Moderate — measurable VOCs and UFPs, ventilation advised[23] | Moderate — measurable VOCs and UFPs, ventilation advised[23] |
| 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[23] | Not documented |
| Ultrafine-particle emission rateparticles/min | ≈2 × 10⁸ median — low for ultrafine particles despite the highest VOC mass of any filament tested[23] | ≈4 × 10¹⁰ median — the highest ultrafine-particle rate of the nine filaments in the chamber study, above every ABS tested[23] |
| Hazardous species emitted | Caprolactam, at up to 180 µg/min from nylon filament — the largest single-VOC emission rate measured in the study[23] | Not documented |
| Ventilation / filtration requirement1–5 | Ventilated room or enclosure recommended[23] | Ventilated room or enclosure recommended[23][12] |
| Dust & fibre handling hazard | Not documented | Carbon fibre is bound in the matrix; sanding dust should not be inhaled[3] |
| Post-Processing | ||
| Sanding & machining | Not documented | Sands and machines well; the toughness means it cuts rather than chips[13] |
| Gluing & solvent welding | Not documented | Cyanoacrylate; dichloromethane solvent-welds PC but is a laboratory reagent[13] |
| Vapour / chemical smoothing | Not documented | No practical vapour smoothing[13] |
| Support material pairing | Not documented | Prints its own supports; 3DXTech sells a dedicated PC break-away support[13] |
| Solvents & Solubility | ||
| Soluble in | Dissolved at 23 °C by formic acid above ~80 %, phenol, m-cresol, 96 % sulphuric acid or hexafluoroisopropanol — laboratory reagents.[24] | Dichloromethane and chloroform dissolve the matrix and leave the fibre; DMF and dioxane do the same (Covestro).[25] |
| Softened or crazed by | Zinc chloride solutions stress-crack it — 10 % marginal, 37 % not resistant; alcoholic calcium chloride dissolves it.[24] | Methanol, butyl acetate, ether, 1 % NaOH and phthalate plasticisers stress-crack it; acetone, MEK and xylene swell it.[25] |
| Solvent welding & smoothing agent | None — nylon's only solvents are formic acid, phenol and HFIP, all of which degrade the part they wet.[24] | Dichloromethane cement welds the resin, but the fibre keeps the joint from flowing closed. Controlled carcinogen.[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
- PA (Nylon) — material basics Polymaker Wiki · 2026-08 · doc
- Prusament PC Blend Carbon Fiber Technical Datasheet v2.0 Prusa Polymers · 2023-04 · tds
- CarbonX Carbon Fiber ezPC Polycarbonate Technical Data Sheet 3DXTech · 2026-08 · tds
- TECAMID 66 natural (PA66) — stock shape properties Ensinger · 2026-08 · tds
- Printed Solid product catalogue Printed Solid · 2026-08 · vendor
- Spectrum PC CF Carbon Black, 1.75 mm / 250 g 3DJAKE · 2026-08 · vendor
- 3DXTech product catalogue 3DXTech · 2026-08 · vendor
- IEMAI CF-PC 3D Printing Filament product page IEMAI 3D · 2026-08 · vendor
- YXPOLYER PC CF product page YXPOLYER · 2026-08 · vendor
- Polymaker product catalogue Polymaker · 2026-08 · vendor
- Filastruder product catalogue Filastruder · 2026-08 · vendor
- ABS / ASA / PC Usage Guide Bambu Lab Wiki · 2026-08 · doc
- Polycarbonate — Ultimate 3D Printing Materials Guide Simplify3D · 2026-08 · doc
- PC — material basics Polymaker Wiki · 2026-08 · doc
- Moisture Conditioning — effect on printed nylon properties Polymaker Wiki · 2026-08 · doc
- Wet Filament — signs, causes and drying Polymaker Wiki · 2026-08 · doc
- CARBONX ezPC+CF — product page (print recommendations) 3DXTech · 2026-08 · doc
- Composite materials filled with carbon, kevlar or glass Prusa Knowledge Base · 2026-08 · doc
- Bambu Filament Technical Data Sheet V2.0 — PC Bambu Lab · 2026-08 · tds
- Prusament PC Blend Technical Datasheet v1.1 Prusa Polymers · 2022-02 · tds
- PolyMide CoPA Technical Data Sheet V5.4 (dry and wet status blocks) Polymaker · 2024-11 · tds
- Experimental data for creep and dynamic mechanical properties of polycarbonate and polycarbonate/ABS Data in Brief 42:108264 · 2022-06 · paper
- 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
- Makrolon — The chemical resistance (Makrolon 2800, 6 days at 23 °C and 50 °C) Covestro · 2016-12 · tds
- Weld-On 3 Acrylic Plastic Cement — technical data sheet (shipped as dichloromethane) IPS Corporation · 2002-07 · tds