3D Printing InfoFilament comparison
PA6/66 vs HT soluble
Compare printing settings, strength, heat resistance, dated prices and sources.
2 selected · all documented properties
| Property | PA66 (Nylon 66)PA | High-temperature supportSUPPORT |
|---|---|---|
| Market snapshot | ||
| Listing priceUSD/kg; dated snapshots | Not documented | $209.00/kg median; $100.00–$290.00/kg across 4 dated product listings |
| Identity & Market | ||
| Base polymer / chemistry | Polyamide 66, condensed from hexamethylenediamine and adipic acid; melts around 40 °C above PA6[1] | Break-away support compounded to survive high-temperature print chambers; 3DXTech sells separate grades for PC/ABS and for the PAEK and PEI class[2][3] |
| Densityg/cm³ | 1.14 (extruded unfilled PA66 stock)[4] | 1.37 (3DXTech THERMAX HTS1, ISO 1183)[2] |
| Typical priceUSD/kg | Not documented | 1 kg-equivalent spools cluster near 168[5] |
| Price range across brandsUSD/kg | Not documented | 100–290 across grades; 3DXTech THERMAX MTS1 100 at 2 kg, HTS2 168 at 250 g, HTS1 250 at 500 g, IEMAI 3D HT-SP 290 at 1 kg[5][6] |
| 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][7] | Niche, a handful of specialist brands[5][6] |
| Spool sizes & diameters | Not documented | 1.75 mm; 250 g, 500 g, 1 kg and 2 kg spools[5] |
| Typical applications | Not documented | Support for PEEK, PEI and PC-class prints, where PVA and PLA-based supports would decompose[2][3] |
| Printing Parameters | ||
| Enclosure / chamber requirement1–5 | Enclosure required (passive)[1] | Actively heated chamber required — it is used inside high-temperature builds[2] |
| Overall printing difficulty1–5 | Advanced — enclosure, hardware upgrades, tuning[1] | Expert / industrial hardware only[2] |
| Extruder requirement | Not documented | A dual-extruder machine rated for high-temperature materials; 3DXTech states the grade is intended for dual-extruder printers designed to print high-temp materials[8] |
| Hardware Wear & Reliability | ||
| Nozzle hardness required1–4 | Not documented | Brass fine indefinitely[2] |
| Abrasiveness1–5 | Not documented | Non-abrasive[2] |
| Nozzle clog risk1–5 | Very high — frequent jams without careful setup[9][10] | Moderate — needs dry filament and a clean nozzle; 3DXTech lists no special nozzle concerns but a mandatory 120 °C pre-dry for HTS1 and 80 °C for MTS1[8][11] |
| Moisture Behaviour | ||
| Moisture absorption (hygroscopicity)1–5 | Very high (>2 %)[10] | 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[4] | 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 %[12][9] | No dry-versus-conditioned figures are published; 3DXTech mandates a 120 °C, 4 h pre-dry for HTS1 and 80 °C for MTS1 because trapped water flashes to steam at these nozzle temperatures[8][11] |
| 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 |
| Fatigue / repeated-flex resistance1–5 | Excellent — living hinges viable[1] | Not documented |
| Elasticity / flexibility1–5 | Semi-flexible[9] | 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 support grades — they are not characterised as structural materials[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] | 205 (THERMAX HTS1, printed XY, ISO 75 at 1.8 MPa)[2] |
| Glass transition (Tg)°C | Not documented | 225 (3DXTech THERMAX HTS1, DSC) — high enough to stay solid inside a PEI or PEEK build[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] | Not documented |
| 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] | Not documented |
| Environment & Chemical | ||
| 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 on all three THERMAX support grades (ASTM D257) — insulating[2][13][3] |
| 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 | ||
| Support material pairing | Not documented | This is the support material. MTS1 is matched to PC/ABS and PC; HTS1 and HTS2 to the higher-temperature classes[3][2] |
| Solvents & Solubility | ||
| Soluble in | Dissolved at 23 °C by formic acid above ~80 %, phenol, m-cresol, 96 % sulphuric acid or hexafluoroisopropanol — laboratory reagents.[15] | Aqueous alkali, not water: IEMAI specifies an alkaline bath in an ultrasonic cleaner until the support dissolves.[6] |
| Softened or crazed by | Zinc chloride solutions stress-crack it — 10 % marginal, 37 % not resistant; alcoholic calcium chloride dissolves it.[15] | Not documented |
| 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 — the alkaline bath dissolves the support rather than welding anything.[6] |
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
- THERMAX HTS1 Break Away Support Technical Data Sheet v1.0 3DXTech · 2026-08 · tds
- THERMAX MTS1 Break Away Support Technical Data Sheet v1.0 3DXTech · 2026-08 · tds
- TECAMID 66 natural (PA66) — stock shape properties Ensinger · 2026-08 · tds
- 3DXTech product catalogue 3DXTech · 2026-08 · vendor
- IEMAI 3D HT-SP alkaline-soluble support filament — store page IEMAI 3D · 2026-08 · vendor
- Polymaker product catalogue Polymaker · 2026-08 · vendor
- THERMAX HTS1 — product page 3DXTech · 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
- THERMAX MTS1 — product page 3DXTech · 2026-08 · vendor
- PolyMide CoPA Technical Data Sheet V5.4 (dry and wet status blocks) Polymaker · 2024-11 · tds
- THERMAX HTS2 Break Away Support Technical Data Sheet v1.0 3DXTech · 2026-08 · 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