3D Printing InfoFilament comparison
PA6/66 vs PVA
Compare printing settings, strength, heat resistance, dated prices and sources.
2 selected · all documented properties
| Property | PA66 (Nylon 66)PA | PVA (soluble support)SUPPORT |
|---|---|---|
| Market snapshot | ||
| Listing priceUSD/kg; dated snapshots | Not documented | $65.98/kg median; $42.00–$96.00/kg across 5 dated product listings |
| Identity & Market | ||
| Base polymer / chemistry | Polyamide 66, condensed from hexamethylenediamine and adipic acid; melts around 40 °C above PA6[1] | Polyvinyl alcohol — a water-soluble support polymer[2][3] |
| Densityg/cm³ | 1.14 (extruded unfilled PA66 stock)[4] | 0.6–0.9 (3DXTech AquaTek, ISO 1183) and 1.13 (Polymaker PolyDissolve S1)[2][3] |
| Typical priceUSD/kg | Not documented | 1 kg-equivalent spools span 42–96; the middle of the market is about 66[5][6][7][8] |
| Price range across brandsUSD/kg | Not documented | 42–96 across brands; IEMAI 3D E-WATER 42, YXPOLYER 55, Reli3D 66 at 500 g, Polymaker PolyDissolve S1 67 at 750 g, 3DXTech AquaTek 96 at 750 g in 1.75 mm[5][6][7][9][8] |
| 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] | Stocked by most mainstream brands[5][6][7][9][8] |
| Spool sizes & diameters | Not documented | 1.75 and 2.85 mm; 0.5 and 0.75 kg spools[5][6] |
| Typical applications | Not documented | Dissolvable support for PLA, TPU, PVB and PETG — Polymaker names those four for PolyDissolve S1[3] |
| Printing Parameters | ||
| Nozzle temperature°C | Not documented | 215–225 (Polymaker PolyDissolve S1)[3] |
| Bed temperature°C | Not documented | 25–60 (Polymaker PolyDissolve S1)[3] |
| Enclosure / chamber requirement1–5 | Enclosure required (passive)[1] | Open frame is fine[3] |
| Part cooling fan | Not documented | Part cooling fan required (Simplify3D)[10] |
| Bed surface & adhesion aid | Not documented | PEI sheet or painter's tape[10] |
| Maximum volumetric flow (mm³/s; see test conditions)mm³/s | Not documented | 4–12 at Polymaker's 50–150 mm/s on a 0.4 mm nozzle at 0.2 mm layer[3] |
| Bed-adhesion difficulty1–5 | Not documented | Sticks to most surfaces[10] |
| Stringing / oozing tendency1–5 | Not documented | Moderate — retraction tuning needed[10] |
| Overall printing difficulty1–5 | Advanced — enclosure, hardware upgrades, tuning[1] | Intermediate — dry filament and a tuned profile; PVA is unusable once it has taken up moisture[11][3] |
| Extruder requirement | Not documented | A second extruder or a tool changer; PVA is a support material, not a model material[3] |
| Hardware Wear & Reliability | ||
| Nozzle hardness required1–4 | Not documented | Brass fine indefinitely[3] |
| Abrasiveness1–5 | Not documented | Non-abrasive[3] |
| Nozzle clog risk1–5 | Very high — frequent jams without careful setup[12][11] | Very high — frequent jams without careful setup; wet PVA foams and carbonises in the nozzle[11] |
| Heat-creep / jam sensitivity1–5 | Not documented | High — all-metal hotend and strong cooling needed; Simplify3D warns PVA clogs if the nozzle is left hot while not extruding[10] |
| Hotend requirement | Not documented | No special hot-end required, but the nozzle must not be parked hot[10] |
| Moisture Behaviour | ||
| Moisture absorption (hygroscopicity)1–5 | Very high (>2 %)[11] | Very high (>2 %) — Polymaker measures 10.21 % equilibrium water absorption, by far the highest in the dataset[3] |
| 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] | 10.21 equilibrium water absorption (Polymaker PolyDissolve S1)[3] |
| Symptoms when wet | Not documented | Bubbling and popping at the nozzle, stringing and a rough surface; with PVA this progresses to clogging[11] |
| 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 %[13][12] | Polymaker groups PVA with nylon as the most moisture-prone class and says it often has to stay in a dryer while printing; there is no published dry-versus-conditioned strength comparison because PVA is not a structural material[11] |
| Storage requirement | Not documented | Sealed with desiccant at all times; PVA takes up water faster than any other filament here[11][3] |
| 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] | Not documented |
| Young's modulusMPa | 2413 on extruded PA66 stock (ASTM D638; converted from 350,000 psi)[4] | Not documented |
| Elongation at break% | 50 at break on extruded PA66 stock (ASTM D638)[4] | Not documented |
| Flexural strengthMPa | 113.8 on extruded PA66 stock (ASTM D790; converted from 16,500 psi)[4] | Not documented |
| Flexural modulusMPa | 3034 on extruded PA66 stock (ASTM D790; converted from 440,000 psi)[4] | Not documented |
| Other impact data | Izod 53 J/m on extruded PA66 stock, converted from 1.0 ft-lb/in (ASTM D256)[4] | 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)[4] | Not documented |
| Creep resistance / sustained load1–5 | Not documented | Poor — deforms under load at room temperature; PVA is not used structurally[2] |
| Fatigue / repeated-flex resistance1–5 | Excellent — living hinges viable[1] | Poor — fails after a few cycles[2] |
| Elasticity / flexibility1–5 | Semi-flexible[12] | 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[4] | 3DXTech marks tensile strength, modulus and elongation as not applicable for its PVA support grade — it is not characterised as a structural material[2] |
| Thermal Properties | ||
| HDT at 0.45 MPa°C | 232 on extruded PA66 stock (ASTM D648 at 66 psi; converted from 450 °F)[4] | 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[4] | Not documented |
| Glass transition (Tg)°C | Not documented | 60 (3DXTech AquaTek, DSC)[2] |
| 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] | Bounded by a glass transition of 60 °C[2] |
| 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] | Flammable; no UL 94 rating published[2] |
| Environment & Chemical | ||
| UV resistance1–5 | Not documented | Degrades within weeks outdoors, and dissolves in rain long before UV matters[3] |
| Chemical resistance | Not documented | Dissolves in water; unusable in any wet or humid service environment[3][10] |
| Water / humidity resistance in service1–5 | Not documented | Dissolves or disintegrates — by design[3][2] |
| Food contact | Not documented | Not offered as a food-contact material[2] |
| Biodegradability / compostability | Not documented | PVA is water-soluble and biodegrades in wastewater treatment, but Simplify3D notes disposal should follow local guidance[10] |
| Recyclability | Not documented | Dissolved PVA goes to drain rather than to recycling[10] |
| Electrical & ESD properties | Volume resistance 1e15 ohm-cm and dielectric constant 4 on extruded PA66 stock (ASTM D257, D150)[4] | Surface resistance above 10^13 ohm/sq (ASTM D257, 3DXTech AquaTek PVA)[2] |
| Health & Safety | ||
| Fume toxicity1–5 | Moderate — measurable VOCs and UFPs, ventilation advised[14] | Low hazard — minimal VOC and particle emission; none of these materials was in the chamber study[14] |
| 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[14] | Not documented |
| Ultrafine-particle emission rateparticles/min | ≈2 × 10⁸ median — low for ultrafine particles despite the highest VOC mass of any filament tested[14] | 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[14] | Not documented |
| Ventilation / filtration requirement1–5 | Ventilated room or enclosure recommended[14] | Open a window / occasional ventilation[14] |
| Post-Processing | ||
| Sanding & machining | Not documented | Not sanded — it is dissolved away rather than finished[10] |
| Gluing & solvent welding | Not documented | Not applicable — PVA is a sacrificial support[10] |
| Vapour / chemical smoothing | Not documented | Water is the solvent; no vapour smoothing is used[3] |
| Support material pairing | Not documented | This is the support material; Polymaker pairs PolyDissolve S1 with PLA, TPU, PVB and PETG[3] |
| Solvents & Solubility | ||
| Soluble in | Dissolved at 23 °C by formic acid above ~80 %, phenol, m-cresol, 96 % sulphuric acid or hexafluoroisopropanol — laboratory reagents.[15] | Water — tap water works cold, warm moving water is faster; 6–12 h typical, changing the water every few hours.[16][17] |
| Softened or crazed by | Zinc chloride solutions stress-crack it — 10 % marginal, 37 % not resistant; alcoholic calcium chloride dissolves it.[15] | Nothing else: polyvinyl alcohol resists organic solvents, so an IPA or acetone rinse leaves the support intact.[18] |
| Solvent welding & smoothing agent | None — nylon's only solvents are formic acid, phenol and HFIP, all of which degrade the part they wet.[15] | None — water dissolves PVA rather than welding it, and no solvent gives it a smoothed surface.[16] |
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
- AquaTek PVA Water Soluble Support Technical Data Sheet v1.0 3DXTech · 2026-08 · tds
- PolyDissolve S1 Technical Data Sheet V5.4 Polymaker · 2024-11 · 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
- YXPOLYER PVA 1 kg — product page YXPOLYER · 2026-08 · vendor
- IEMAI 3D E-WATER water-soluble support filament — store page IEMAI 3D · 2026-08 · vendor
- Reli3D PVA Filament 1.75 mm 500 g Natural — Amazon listing Amazon.com · 2026-08 · vendor
- PVA — Ultimate 3D Printing Materials Guide Simplify3D · 2026-08 · doc
- Wet Filament — signs, causes and drying Polymaker Wiki · 2026-08 · doc
- Moisture Conditioning — effect on printed nylon properties 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
- PolyDissolve S1 — Polymaker Wiki Polymaker · 2026-08 · doc
- 3DXTech AquaTek PVA product page 3DXTech · 2026-08 · vendor
- Polyvinyl alcohol — KURARAY POVAL application guide Kuraray · 2026-08 · tds