3D Printing Info

Filament comparison

PA6/66 vs PLA Glow

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

PA66 (Nylon 66) guideGlow-in-the-dark PLA guide

2 selected · all documented properties

Open these two in the interactive comparisonMore PA6/66 comparisonsMore PLA Glow comparisons
PA6/66 vs PLA Glow — documented properties and sources
PropertyPA66 (Nylon 66)PAGlow-in-the-dark PLAPLA
Market snapshot
Listing priceUSD/kg; dated snapshotsNot documented$24.99/kg median; $19.99–$49.16/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]PLA with a phosphorescent additive at 2–20 wt% (Bambu Lab SDS, filler not named)[2]
Densityg/cm³1.14 (extruded unfilled PA66 stock)[3]1.24 (colorFabb) to 1.26 (Bambu Lab), ISO 1183[4][5]
Typical priceUSD/kgNot documented1 kg spools cluster near 25[6][7]
Price range across brandsUSD/kgNot documented20–49 across brands; ELEGOO 20, Bambu Lab 25, Polymaker 25, Filament PM 49 on 0.5 kg spools[8][6][7][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[10][11]Stocked by most mainstream brands[6][7][8]
Spool sizes & diametersNot documented1.75 and 2.85 mm; 0.75 and 1 kg spools[11][5]
Typical applicationsNot documentedSignage, novelty and cosplay parts that glow after light exposure[4]
Printing Parameters
Nozzle temperature°CNot documented190–230 on the Bambu Lab TDS against 210–240 in its own material table; colorFabb advises 195–220[4][12][5]
Bed temperature°CNot documented35–45 (Bambu Lab); 50–60 (colorFabb)[4][5]
Enclosure / chamber requirement1–5Enclosure required (passive)[1]Open frame is fine[4]
Part cooling fanNot documentedFan on; colorFabb allows 0–100 %[4][5]
Overall printing difficulty1–5Advanced — enclosure, hardware upgrades, tuning[1]Easy — minor profile tuning; a hardened nozzle is mandatory[12][7]
Extruder requirementNot documentedBambu Lab: hardened steel and high-flow nozzles only, 0.2 mm excluded, AMS lite not compatible[12]
Hardware Wear & Reliability
Nozzle hardness required1–4Not documentedHardened steel required[12][7][5]
Abrasiveness1–5Not documentedHighly abrasive — the phosphor is a hard ceramic; Bambu Lab groups glow with carbon fibre as the materials that wear nozzles and grind AMS PTFE, and both Bambu Lab and Polymaker require a hardened nozzle[12][5]
Nozzle clog risk1–5Very high — frequent jams without careful setup[13][14]Moderate — needs dry filament and a clean nozzle[12]
Hotend requirementNot documentedHardened steel nozzle; Bambu Lab lists glow-in-the-dark among the filaments its hardened-steel nozzle exists for[15][12]
Other hardware wearNot documentedBambu Lab reports the filament adds enough feeding resistance to fail prints on the AMS lite; colorFabb warns of brass nozzle wear[12][5]
Moisture Behaviour
Moisture absorption (hygroscopicity)1–5Very high (>2 %)[14]Moderate — 0.46 % saturated at 25 °C / 55 % RH[4]
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]0.46 saturated at 25 °C / 55 % RH (Bambu Lab)[4]
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 %[16][13]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[14]
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[3]32 ± 3 printed XY, ISO 527 (Bambu Lab); colorFabb quotes 61.5 by ISO 527 on its own specimens[4][5]
Young's modulusMPa2413 on extruded PA66 stock (ASTM D638; converted from 350,000 psi)[3]2030 ± 210 printed XY, ISO 527 (Bambu Lab); colorFabb 2960[4][5]
Elongation at break%50 at break on extruded PA66 stock (ASTM D638)[3]8.6 ± 1.2 printed XY, ISO 527 (Bambu Lab); colorFabb 10.5 at break[4][5]
Flexural strengthMPa113.8 on extruded PA66 stock (ASTM D790; converted from 16,500 psi)[3]76 ± 4 printed XY, ISO 178 (Bambu Lab)[4]
Flexural modulusMPa3034 on extruded PA66 stock (ASTM D790; converted from 440,000 psi)[3]2640 ± 130 printed XY, ISO 178 (Bambu Lab); colorFabb 3295[4][5]
Charpy impact, notchedkJ/m²Not documented2.8 (colorFabb, ISO 179-1/1eA) and 8.8 ± 1.7 (Bambu Lab, ISO 179) printed XY, notched[4][5]
Other impact dataIzod 53 J/m on extruded PA66 stock, converted from 1.0 ft-lb/in (ASTM D256)[3]Charpy unnotched 27.3 (Bambu Lab) and 30.8 (colorFabb), printed, ISO 179[4][5]
Layer adhesion / Z tensileMPaNot documented26 ± 3 printed Z, ISO 527 (Bambu Lab)[4]
Brittleness1–5Not documentedBrittle — snaps with little warning[4]
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)[3]Not documented
Creep resistance / sustained load1–5Not documentedPoor — no glow-grade creep test; plain printed PLA sagged from 12 to 16.2–21.8 mm over 5 days at 1.25 kg[17][18][19]
Fatigue / repeated-flex resistance1–5Excellent — living hinges viable[1]Poor — no grade-specific S-N curve; plain printed PLA ran 38 000–49 000 cycles at 30 % of tensile strength and the glow filler leaves a brittle, highly abrasive compound[20][4]
Elasticity / flexibility1–5Semi-flexible[13]Rigid[4]
Z strength as % of XY%Not documented81 by tensile, 72 by flexural (printed, Bambu Lab)[4]
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[3]Not documented
Thermal Properties
HDT at 0.45 MPa°C232 on extruded PA66 stock (ASTM D648 at 66 psi; converted from 450 °F)[3]55 (ISO 75, 0.45 MPa)[4]
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[3]52 (ISO 75, 1.8 MPa)[4]
Glass transition (Tg)°CNot documented55 (DSC)[4]
Melting point / Vicat°C255 melting on extruded PA66 stock (ASTM D2133; converted from 491 °F)[3]155 peak melt (DSC); colorFabb quotes above 155 by ISO 3146-C[4][5]
Continuous service temperature°C85 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·K81.0 (extruded PA66 stock, ASTM D696; source states 4.5e-5 in/in/°F)[3]Not documented
Flammability / UL 94UL 94 V-2 on extruded PA66 stock[3]Not documented
Environment & Chemical
UV resistance1–5Not documentedDegrades within weeks outdoors[21]
Electrical & ESD propertiesVolume resistance 1e15 ohm-cm and dielectric constant 4 on extruded PA66 stock (ASTM D257, D150)[3]Not documented
Health & Safety
Fume toxicity1–5Moderate — measurable VOCs and UFPs, ventilation advised[22]Low hazard — minimal VOC and particle emission[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]Not documented
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]None needed in a normal room[22]
Post-Processing
Support material pairingNot documentedSupport for PLA (Bambu Lab)[4]
Dimensional accuracy & detailNot documentedGlow brightness rises with wall thickness; 0.2 mm nozzles are not usable[12]
Solvents & Solubility
Soluble inDissolved at 23 °C by formic acid above ~80 %, phenol, m-cresol, 96 % sulphuric acid or hexafluoroisopropanol — laboratory reagents.[23]Chloroform dissolves the PLA matrix (10 % w/v, 2–4 h at 23 °C) and leaves the filler as loose sludge; laboratory reagent.[24]
Softened or crazed byZinc chloride solutions stress-crack it — 10 % marginal, 37 % not resistant; alcoholic calcium chloride dissolves it.[23]Acetone, ethyl acetate and toluene plasticise the matrix but dissolve <1 % even at 65 °C; acetone submersion crazes parts.[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]Chloroform vapour attacks only the resin fraction, so the filler is left standing proud; no workshop-safe agent exists.[26][25]

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. Safety Data Sheet SDS20251127A12 — Bambu PLA Glow Bambu Lab · 2025-11 · msds
  3. TECAMID 66 natural (PA66) — stock shape properties Ensinger · 2026-08 · tds
  4. Bambu Filament Technical Data Sheet — PLA Glow Bambu Lab · 2026-08 · tds
  5. glowFill technical data sheet colorFabb · 2026-08 · tds
  6. PLA Glow — product page Bambu Lab US Store · 2026-08 · vendor
  7. Panchroma Luminous PLA — product page Polymaker Shop · 2026-08 · vendor
  8. ELEGOO product catalogue ELEGOO · 2026-08 · vendor
  9. Filament PM PLA GlowJet technical data sheet Filament PM (Plasty Mladec) · 2026-08 · tds
  10. 3DXTech product catalogue 3DXTech · 2026-08 · vendor
  11. Polymaker product catalogue Polymaker · 2026-08 · vendor
  12. PLA Usage Guide Bambu Lab Wiki · 2026-08 · doc
  13. Moisture Conditioning — effect on printed nylon properties Polymaker Wiki · 2026-08 · doc
  14. Wet Filament — signs, causes and drying Polymaker Wiki · 2026-08 · doc
  15. Nozzles — material and compatibility Bambu Lab Wiki · 2026-08 · doc
  16. PolyMide CoPA Technical Data Sheet V5.4 (dry and wet status blocks) Polymaker · 2024-11 · tds
  17. BambuLab PLA Basic vs PLA Tough vs PLA-CF — results spreadsheet My Tech Fun (Igor Gaspar) · 2026-08 · test
  18. Polymaker PLA Pro vs PLA-CF — results spreadsheet My Tech Fun (Igor Gaspar) · 2026-08 · test
  19. Carbon Fiber PLA vs META-PLA vs PLA+ vs PLA by Sunlu — results spreadsheet My Tech Fun (Igor Gaspar) · 2026-08 · test
  20. Mechanical Properties of Additively Manufactured Polymeric Materials — PLA and PETG — For Biomechanical Applications Polymers 16(13):1868 · 2024-06 · paper
  21. PLA — material guide Prusa Knowledge Base · 2026-08 · doc
  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. Solubility Study of Ingeo Biopolymer Grades in Common Organic Solvents (NWPD003) NatureWorks · 2019-10 · tds
  25. Improve your 3D prints with chemical smoothing Prusa Research · 2026-08 · doc
  26. 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