3D Printing Info

Filament comparison

PA6/66 vs POM

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

PA66 (Nylon 66) guidePOM (acetal) guide

2 selected · all documented properties

Open these two in the interactive comparisonMore PA6/66 comparisonsMore POM comparisons
PA6/66 vs POM — documented properties and sources
PropertyPA66 (Nylon 66)PAPOM (acetal)ENGINEERING
Market snapshot
Listing priceUSD/kg; dated snapshotsNot documentedNot documented
Identity & Market
Base polymer / chemistryPolyamide 66, condensed from hexamethylenediamine and adipic acid; melts around 40 °C above PA6[1]Polyoxymethylene, normally the copolymer POM-C. Apium's filament grade is POM-C with antistatic additives; no unfilled POM filament was found on sale[2][3]
Densityg/cm³1.14 (extruded unfilled PA66 stock)[4]1.41 (extruded POM-C stock)[2]
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[5][6]Special order, 1-2 makers worldwide — Apium sells a POM-C ESD filament through its own shop and states its printers are the only ones able to process POM-C; no POM filament appears in the 3DJAKE or igo3d product sitemaps, at MatterHackers or at Printed Solid[3][7][8][9]
Typical applicationsNot documentedGears, bushings, bearings, conveyor and food-machinery parts; Apium markets its POM-C ESD grade for semiconductor insulators, aerospace fasteners and sliding parts[2][3]
Printing Parameters
Enclosure / chamber requirement1–5Enclosure required (passive)[1]Not documented
Overall printing difficulty1–5Advanced — enclosure, hardware upgrades, tuning[1]Not documented
Extruder requirementNot documentedApium states that the adaptive heating system on its industrial machines is what makes POM-C printable, and that no other 3D printer can process it[3]
Hardware Wear & Reliability
Nozzle clog risk1–5Very high — frequent jams without careful setup[10][11]Not documented
Moisture Behaviour
Moisture absorption (hygroscopicity)1–5Very high (>2 %)[11]Low (0.1-0.3 %) — extruded POM-C stock takes up 0.18 % in 24 h and 0.80 % at saturation (ASTM D570)[2]
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
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 %[12][10]Not documented
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]66.9 at break and 64.1 at yield (extruded POM-C stock, ASTM D638; converted from 9700 and 9300 psi)[2]
Young's modulusMPa2413 on extruded PA66 stock (ASTM D638; converted from 350,000 psi)[4]2275 (extruded POM-C stock, ASTM D638; converted from 330,000 psi)[2]
Elongation at break%50 at break on extruded PA66 stock (ASTM D638)[4]40 at break and 9 at yield (extruded POM-C stock, ASTM D638)[2]
Flexural strengthMPa113.8 on extruded PA66 stock (ASTM D790; converted from 16,500 psi)[4]89.6 (extruded POM-C stock, ASTM D790; converted from 13,000 psi)[2]
Flexural modulusMPa3034 on extruded PA66 stock (ASTM D790; converted from 440,000 psi)[4]2758 (extruded POM-C stock, ASTM D790; converted from 400,000 psi)[2]
Other impact dataIzod 53 J/m on extruded PA66 stock, converted from 1.0 ft-lb/in (ASTM D256)[4]Izod 53 J/m on extruded POM-C stock, converted from 1.0 ft-lb/in[2]
Brittleness1–5Not documentedTough — absorbs impact, yields before breaking; extruded stock elongates 40 % before failing. No printed figure is published[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 86 (and R120) — the source names only the R scale on extruded POM-C stock (ASTM D785)[2]
Fatigue / repeated-flex resistance1–5Excellent — living hinges viable[1]Not documented
Elasticity / flexibility1–5Semi-flexible[10]Not documented
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]Wear factor 65e-10 in3*min/(ft*lb*h) and a dynamic coefficient of friction of 0.21 at 40 psi and 50 fpm (ASTM D3702, extruded stock) — the properties that make acetal the default gear and bushing plastic; Apium lists good sliding properties as the reason for its grade[2][3]
Thermal Properties
HDT at 0.45 MPa°C232 on extruded PA66 stock (ASTM D648 at 66 psi; converted from 450 °F)[4]158 (extruded POM-C stock, ASTM D648 at 66 psi; converted from 316 °F)[2]
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]110 (extruded POM-C stock, ASTM D648 at 264 psi; converted from 230 °F)[2]
Melting point / Vicat°C255 melting on extruded PA66 stock (ASTM D2133; converted from 491 °F)[4]165 melting (extruded POM-C stock; converted from 329 °F)[2]
Continuous service temperature°C85 long term and 149 short term on extruded PA66 stock (converted from 185 °F and 300 °F)[4]91 long term and 141 intermittent (extruded POM-C stock; converted from 195 °F and 285 °F)[2]
Thermal expansion (CTE)µm/m·K81.0 (extruded PA66 stock, ASTM D696; source states 4.5e-5 in/in/°F)[4]84.6 (extruded POM-C stock, ASTM D696; source states 4.7e-5 in/in/°F)[2]
Flammability / UL 94UL 94 V-2 on extruded PA66 stock[4]UL 94 HB on extruded POM-C stock[2]
Environment & Chemical
Chemical resistanceNot documentedGood chemical resistance, particularly to bases; Apium lists resistance to bases as a headline property[2][3]
Water / humidity resistance in service1–5Not documentedGood — minor absorption; 0.80 % water at saturation (ASTM D570, extruded stock)[2]
Electrical & ESD propertiesVolume resistance 1e15 ohm-cm and dielectric constant 4 on extruded PA66 stock (ASTM D257, D150)[4]Volume resistance 1e14 ohm-cm, dielectric strength 500 V/mil and dielectric constant 3.7 at 60 Hz on extruded stock (ASTM D257, D149, D150); Apium's filament grade adds antistatic agents[2][3]
Health & Safety
Fume toxicity1–5Moderate — measurable VOCs and UFPs, ventilation advised[13]Not documented
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[13]Not documented
Ultrafine-particle emission rateparticles/min≈2 × 10⁸ median — low for ultrafine particles despite the highest VOC mass of any filament tested[13]Not documented
Hazardous species emittedCaprolactam, at up to 180 µg/min from nylon filament — the largest single-VOC emission rate measured in the study[13]Not documented
Ventilation / filtration requirement1–5Ventilated room or enclosure recommended[13]Not documented
Post-Processing
Sanding & machiningNot documentedEasy to machine — Ensinger lists machinability as a headline property of POM-C stock[2]
Solvents & Solubility
Soluble inDissolved at 23 °C by formic acid above ~80 %, phenol, m-cresol, 96 % sulphuric acid or hexafluoroisopropanol — laboratory reagents.[14]Hexafluoroisopropanol dissolves it at room temperature; NMP and DMF only when hot. Laboratory reagents.[15]
Softened or crazed byZinc chloride solutions stress-crack it — 10 % marginal, 37 % not resistant; alcoholic calcium chloride dissolves it.[14]Acids, oxidants, halogens and hot concentrated zinc chloride attack it; alcohols, ketones and esters do not.[15][16]
Solvent welding & smoothing agentNone — nylon's only solvents are formic acid, phenol and HFIP, all of which degrade the part they wet.[14]None — no solvent softens POM below its melting point, which is why it is bolted or heat-welded rather than glued.[15]

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. TECAFORM AH natural (POM-C) — stock shape properties Ensinger · 2026-08 · tds
  3. POM-C ESD 3D printing — material page Apium 3D Technologies · 2026-08 · doc
  4. TECAMID 66 natural (PA66) — stock shape properties Ensinger · 2026-08 · tds
  5. 3DXTech product catalogue 3DXTech · 2026-08 · vendor
  6. Polymaker product catalogue Polymaker · 2026-08 · vendor
  7. 3DJAKE product catalogue 3DJAKE · 2026-08 · vendor
  8. igo3d product sitemap (17452 product URLs) igo3d · 2026-08 · vendor
  9. Printed Solid product catalogue Printed Solid · 2026-08 · vendor
  10. Moisture Conditioning — effect on printed nylon properties Polymaker Wiki · 2026-08 · doc
  11. Wet Filament — signs, causes and drying Polymaker Wiki · 2026-08 · doc
  12. PolyMide CoPA Technical Data Sheet V5.4 (dry and wet status blocks) Polymaker · 2024-11 · tds
  13. 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
  14. Ultramid Nylon Chemical Resistance guide (unmodified PA6 B27E and PA66 A27E) BASF · 2026-08 · tds
  15. Resistance of Ultramid, Ultraform and Ultradur to chemicals (TI-KTU/AS-28 e) BASF · 2000-10 · tds
  16. Chemical resistance — resistance of Ensinger plastics to chemicals (DIN 50 014, 23/50) Ensinger · 2026-08 · tds