3D Printing Info

Filament comparison

PA6/66 vs Breakaway

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

PA66 (Nylon 66) guideBreak-away support guide

2 selected · all documented properties

Open these two in the interactive comparisonMore PA6/66 comparisonsMore Breakaway comparisons
PA6/66 vs Breakaway — documented properties and sources
PropertyPA66 (Nylon 66)PABreak-away supportSUPPORT
Market snapshot
Listing priceUSD/kg; dated snapshotsNot documented$42.49/kg median; $26.00–$79.98/kg across 4 dated product listings
Identity & Market
Base polymer / chemistryPolyamide 66, condensed from hexamethylenediamine and adipic acid; melts around 40 °C above PA6[1]Break-away support compounds matched to a specific model material — Polymaker sells separate grades for PLA and for PA12[2][3]
Densityg/cm³1.14 (extruded unfilled PA66 stock)[4]1.22 (PolySupport for PLA) and 1.29 (PolySupport for PA12), ISO 1183[2][3]
Typical priceUSD/kgNot documented1 kg-equivalent spools span 26–80; the middle of the market is about 45[5][6][7]
Price range across brandsUSD/kgNot documented26–80 across brands and grades; IEMAI 3D E-REMOVE 26, Polymaker PolySupport for PLA 40 at 750 g, YXPOLYER 45, PolySupport for PA12 80 at 500 g[5][6][7]
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[8][5]Available from several mainstream brands[5][8]
Spool sizes & diametersNot documented1.75 and 2.85 mm; 0.5 and 0.75 kg spools[5]
Typical applicationsNot documentedSupport that peels off by hand, avoiding the moisture handling and dissolution time that soluble supports demand[2]
Printing Parameters
Nozzle temperature°CNot documented220–230 (PolySupport for PLA)[2]
Bed temperature°CNot documented25–60 (PolySupport for PLA)[2]
Enclosure / chamber requirement1–5Enclosure required (passive)[1]Open frame is fine[2]
Maximum volumetric flow (mm³/s; see test conditions)mm³/sNot documented4–12 at Polymaker's 50–150 mm/s on a 0.4 mm nozzle at 0.2 mm layer[2]
Overall printing difficulty1–5Advanced — enclosure, hardware upgrades, tuning[1]Easy — minor profile tuning[2]
Extruder requirementNot documentedA second extruder or a tool changer[2]
Hardware Wear & Reliability
Nozzle hardness required1–4Not documentedBrass fine indefinitely[2]
Abrasiveness1–5Not documentedNon-abrasive[2]
Nozzle clog risk1–5Very high — frequent jams without careful setup[9][10]Moderate — needs dry filament and a clean nozzle; Polymaker specifies a 55 °C dry for the PLA grade and warns brass nozzle life falls to about 9 h on the PA12 grade[2][3]
Moisture Behaviour
Moisture absorption (hygroscopicity)1–5Very high (>2 %)[10]Moderate — 0.64 % equilibrium water absorption (PolySupport for PLA)[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]0.64 equilibrium water absorption (Polymaker PolySupport for PLA)[2]
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 %[11][9]Not a structural material; no dry-versus-conditioned data is published[10]
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]Not documented
Young's modulusMPa2413 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 strengthMPa113.8 on extruded PA66 stock (ASTM D790; converted from 16,500 psi)[4]Not documented
Flexural modulusMPa3034 on extruded PA66 stock (ASTM D790; converted from 440,000 psi)[4]Not documented
Other impact dataIzod 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 / RockwellShore D 86 and Rockwell 85 (108) — the source does not name the scales on extruded PA66 stock (ASTM D2240, D785)[4]Not documented
Fatigue / repeated-flex resistance1–5Excellent — living hinges viable[1]Not documented
Elasticity / flexibility1–5Semi-flexible[9]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]Not documented
Thermal Properties
HDT at 0.45 MPa°C232 on extruded PA66 stock (ASTM D648 at 66 psi; converted from 450 °F)[4]43 (ISO 75, 0.45 MPa, PolySupport for PA12). Polymaker's sheet prints a higher figure at the higher load, which is physically inverted; treat both HDT numbers as approximate[3]
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]53 (ISO 75, 1.8 MPa, PolySupport for PA12) — printed above the 0.45 MPa figure on Polymaker's own sheet, which cannot be right; treat both as approximate[3]
Melting point / Vicat°C255 melting on extruded PA66 stock (ASTM D2133; converted from 491 °F)[4]Vicat 171 (PolySupport for PA12, ISO 306)[3]
Continuous service temperature°C85 long term and 149 short term on extruded PA66 stock (converted from 185 °F and 300 °F)[4]Not documented
Thermal expansion (CTE)µm/m·K81.0 (extruded PA66 stock, ASTM D696; source states 4.5e-5 in/in/°F)[4]Not documented
Flammability / UL 94UL 94 V-2 on extruded PA66 stock[4]Not documented
Environment & Chemical
Electrical & ESD propertiesVolume 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, THERMAX HTS2 and MTS1)[12][13]
Health & Safety
Fume toxicity1–5Moderate — 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/minUp 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 emittedCaprolactam, at up to 180 µg/min from nylon filament — the largest single-VOC emission rate measured in the study[14]Not documented
Ventilation / filtration requirement1–5Ventilated room or enclosure recommended[14]Open a window / occasional ventilation[14]
Post-Processing
Support material pairingNot documentedThis is the support material. Polymaker publishes an adhesion matrix per model material, from very good to unusable, because break-away supports only work against the polymer they were matched to[2][3]
Solvents & Solubility
Soluble inDissolved at 23 °C by formic acid above ~80 %, phenol, m-cresol, 96 % sulphuric acid or hexafluoroisopropanol — laboratory reagents.[15]None — break-away support is removed mechanically; 3DXTech lists no water or solvent route for it.[16]
Softened or crazed byZinc chloride solutions stress-crack it — 10 % marginal, 37 % not resistant; alcoholic calcium chloride dissolves it.[15]Not documented
Solvent welding & smoothing agentNone — nylon's only solvents are formic acid, phenol and HFIP, all of which degrade the part they wet.[15]None — there is no solvent to weld or smooth with.[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

  1. PA (Nylon) — material basics Polymaker Wiki · 2026-08 · doc
  2. PolySupport Technical Data Sheet V5.4 Polymaker · 2024-11 · tds
  3. PolySupport for PA12 Technical Data Sheet V5.4 Polymaker · 2024-11 · tds
  4. TECAMID 66 natural (PA66) — stock shape properties Ensinger · 2026-08 · tds
  5. Polymaker product catalogue Polymaker · 2026-08 · vendor
  6. YXPOLYER Breakaway Support Filament 1 kg Black — product page YXPOLYER · 2026-08 · vendor
  7. IEMAI 3D E-REMOVE breakaway support filament — store page IEMAI 3D · 2026-08 · vendor
  8. 3DXTech product catalogue 3DXTech · 2026-08 · vendor
  9. Moisture Conditioning — effect on printed nylon properties Polymaker Wiki · 2026-08 · doc
  10. Wet Filament — signs, causes and drying Polymaker Wiki · 2026-08 · doc
  11. PolyMide CoPA Technical Data Sheet V5.4 (dry and wet status blocks) Polymaker · 2024-11 · tds
  12. THERMAX HTS2 Break Away Support Technical Data Sheet v1.0 3DXTech · 2026-08 · tds
  13. THERMAX MTS1 Break Away Support Technical Data Sheet v1.0 3DXTech · 2026-08 · tds
  14. 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
  15. Ultramid Nylon Chemical Resistance guide (unmodified PA6 B27E and PA66 A27E) BASF · 2026-08 · tds
  16. THERMAX HTS1 — product page 3DXTech · 2026-08 · vendor