3D Printing InfoFilament comparison
PA6/66 vs PMMA
Compare printing settings, strength, heat resistance, dated prices and sources.
2 selected · all documented properties
| Property | PA66 (Nylon 66)PA | PMMA (acrylic)ENGINEERING |
|---|---|---|
| Market snapshot | ||
| Listing priceUSD/kg; dated snapshots | Not documented | $49.99/kg median; $49.99–$49.99/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] | Poly(methyl methacrylate) — acrylic, sold for 3D printing as a transparent glass substitute[2] |
| Densityg/cm³ | 1.14 (extruded unfilled PA66 stock)[3] | Not documented |
| Typical priceUSD/kg | Not documented | 1 kg spools cluster near 50[4] |
| Price range across brandsUSD/kg | Not documented | 50 at Push Plastic's 1 kg listing; 3 kg spools run the same per kilogram[4] |
| 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[5][6] | Special order, 1–2 makers worldwide[4] |
| Spool sizes & diameters | Not documented | 1.75 and 2.85 mm; 1 and 3 kg spools[4] |
| Typical applications | Not documented | Transparent covers and light guides where PC's yellowing or cost rules it out[2] |
| Printing Parameters | ||
| Enclosure / chamber requirement1–5 | Enclosure required (passive)[1] | Not documented |
| 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 |
| 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] | Not documented |
| 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] | Not documented |
| 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 |
| 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] | Not documented |
| 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] | Not documented |
| 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] | Acetone, MEK, ethyl and butyl acetate, THF, chloroform and carbon tetrachloride dissolve it; the last two are laboratory reagents.[12] |
| Softened or crazed by | Zinc chloride solutions stress-crack it — 10 % marginal, 37 % not resistant; alcoholic calcium chloride dissolves it.[11] | Alcohols, aliphatic hydrocarbons, oils and phthalate plasticisers craze it, and the threshold falls as stress rises.[12] |
| Solvent welding & smoothing agent | None — nylon's only solvents are formic acid, phenol and HFIP, all of which degrade the part they wet.[11] | Dichloromethane acrylic cement (IPS Weld-On 3): 2–5 min soak, 17.2 MPa lap shear at one week. Controlled carcinogen.[13] |
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
- PMMA Filament 1.75mm 1kg — product page Push Plastic · 2026-08 · vendor
- TECAMID 66 natural (PA66) — stock shape properties Ensinger · 2026-08 · tds
- Push Plastic product catalogue Push Plastic · 2026-08 · vendor
- 3DXTech product catalogue 3DXTech · 2026-08 · vendor
- Polymaker product catalogue Polymaker · 2026-08 · 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
- Chemical resistance of PMMA products Mitsubishi Chemical (Acrypet) · 2026-08 · tds
- Weld-On 3 Acrylic Plastic Cement — technical data sheet (shipped as dichloromethane) IPS Corporation · 2002-07 · tds