3D Printing InfoFilament comparison
PA6/66 vs PEBA
Compare printing settings, strength, heat resistance, dated prices and sources.
2 selected · all documented properties
| Property | PA66 (Nylon 66)PA | PEBA (polyether block amide)FLEX |
|---|---|---|
| Market snapshot | ||
| Listing priceUSD/kg; dated snapshots | Not documented | $60.99/kg median; $60.99–$60.99/kg across 1 dated product listings |
| Identity & Market | ||
| Base polymer / chemistry | Polyamide 66, condensed from hexamethylenediamine and adipic acid; melts around 40 °C above PA6[1] | Polyether block amide: rigid polyamide and flexible polyether blocks.[2] |
| Densityg/cm³ | 1.14 (extruded unfilled PA66 stock)[3] | 1.01 g/cm³ (GB/T 1033; eSUN manufacturer data)[2] |
| 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[4][5] | Not documented |
| Spool sizes & diameters | Not documented | 1.75 mm diameter, 1 kg spool.[6] |
| Typical applications | Not documented | Manufacturer applications include footwear, sports equipment and cushioning.[2] |
| Printing Parameters | ||
| Nozzle temperature°C | Not documented | 230–260 °C; 240 °C recommended.[2] |
| Bed temperature°C | Not documented | 60–90 °C[2] |
| Enclosure / chamber requirement1–5 | Enclosure required (passive)[1] | Not documented |
| Part cooling fan | Not documented | 10–50% fan recommended; mechanical-test specimens used 50–100%.[2] |
| Bed surface & adhesion aid | Not documented | PEI build plate[2] |
| Maximum volumetric flow (mm³/s; see test conditions)mm³/s | Not documented | 9 mm³/s maximum in eSUN spiral-vase test; mechanical specimens used 2 mm³/s. Linear recommendation 25–110 mm/s is a separate quantity.[2] |
| Overall printing difficulty1–5 | Advanced — enclosure, hardware upgrades, tuning[1] | Not documented |
| Hardware Wear & Reliability | ||
| Nozzle clog risk1–5 | Very high — frequent jams without careful setup[7][8] | Not documented |
| Moisture Behaviour | ||
| Moisture absorption (hygroscopicity)1–5 | Very high (>2 %)[8] | Not documented |
| 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[3] | Not documented |
| Drying temperature & time | Not documented | 70–75 °C for 6–8 h; re-dry after receiving or extended exposure.[2] |
| 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 %[9][7] | Not documented |
| 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[3] | >16.5 MPa printed XY, GB/T 1040; manufacturer lower bound, not an exact measurement.[2] |
| Young's modulusMPa | 2413 on extruded PA66 stock (ASTM D638; converted from 350,000 psi)[3] | Not documented |
| Elongation at break% | 50 at break on extruded PA66 stock (ASTM D638)[3] | >520% printed XY, GB/T 1040; manufacturer lower bound.[2] |
| Flexural strengthMPa | 113.8 on extruded PA66 stock (ASTM D790; converted from 16,500 psi)[3] | Not documented |
| Flexural modulusMPa | 3034 on extruded PA66 stock (ASTM D790; converted from 440,000 psi)[3] | Not documented |
| Other impact data | Izod 53 J/m on extruded PA66 stock, converted from 1.0 ft-lb/in (ASTM D256)[3] | Not documented |
| Layer adhesion / Z tensileMPa | Not documented | 7.5 MPa printed Z, GB/T 1040 (manufacturer test)[2] |
| 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)[3] | 90 Shore A nominal grade designation; do not compare numerically with Shore D or Rockwell.[6] |
| Fatigue / repeated-flex resistance1–5 | Excellent — living hinges viable[1] | Not documented |
| Elasticity / flexibility1–5 | Semi-flexible[7] | Not documented |
| 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[3] | Not documented |
| Thermal Properties | ||
| HDT at 0.45 MPa°C | 232 on extruded PA66 stock (ASTM D648 at 66 psi; converted from 450 °F)[3] | Not documented |
| 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[3] | Not documented |
| Melting point / Vicat°C | 255 melting on extruded PA66 stock (ASTM D2133; converted from 491 °F)[3] | 110 °C Vicat softening (GB/T 1633, 120 °C/h, 10 N); not HDT or a continuous-use rating.[2] |
| Continuous service temperature°C | 85 long term and 149 short term on extruded PA66 stock (converted from 185 °F and 300 °F)[3] | Not documented |
| Thermal expansion (CTE)µm/m·K | 81.0 (extruded PA66 stock, ASTM D696; source states 4.5e-5 in/in/°F)[3] | Not documented |
| Flammability / UL 94 | UL 94 V-2 on extruded PA66 stock[3] | Not documented |
| Environment & Chemical | ||
| Electrical & ESD properties | Volume resistance 1e15 ohm-cm and dielectric constant 4 on extruded PA66 stock (ASTM D257, D150)[3] | Not documented |
| Health & Safety | ||
| Fume toxicity1–5 | Moderate — measurable VOCs and UFPs, ventilation advised[10] | Not documented |
| 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[10] | Not documented |
| Ultrafine-particle emission rateparticles/min | ≈2 × 10⁸ median — low for ultrafine particles despite the highest VOC mass of any filament tested[10] | 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[10] | Not documented |
| Ventilation / filtration requirement1–5 | Ventilated room or enclosure recommended[10] | Not documented |
| Solvents & Solubility | ||
| Soluble in | Dissolved at 23 °C by formic acid above ~80 %, phenol, m-cresol, 96 % sulphuric acid or hexafluoroisopropanol — laboratory reagents.[11] | Not documented |
| Softened or crazed by | Zinc chloride solutions stress-crack it — 10 % marginal, 37 % not resistant; alcoholic calcium chloride dissolves it.[11] | Not documented |
| Solvent welding & smoothing agent | None — nylon's only solvents are formic acid, phenol and HFIP, all of which degrade the part they wet.[11] | Not documented |
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
- eSUN PEBA-90A Technical Data Sheet v1.0 (Aug 2025), checked 2026-10-17 eSUN · 2025-08 · tds
- TECAMID 66 natural (PA66) — stock shape properties Ensinger · 2026-08 · tds
- 3DXTech product catalogue 3DXTech · 2026-08 · vendor
- Polymaker product catalogue Polymaker · 2026-08 · vendor
- eSUN PEBA-90A official product page: 1 kg price and product identity eSUN · 2026-10-17 · vendor
- Moisture Conditioning — effect on printed nylon properties Polymaker Wiki · 2026-08 · doc
- Wet Filament — signs, causes and drying Polymaker Wiki · 2026-08 · doc
- PolyMide CoPA Technical Data Sheet V5.4 (dry and wet status blocks) Polymaker · 2024-11 · 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