3D Printing InfoFilament comparison
PA6/66 vs TPE SEBS
Compare printing settings, strength, heat resistance, dated prices and sources.
2 selected · all documented properties
| Property | PA66 (Nylon 66)PA | TPE (SEBS)FLEX |
|---|---|---|
| Market snapshot | ||
| Listing priceUSD/kg; dated snapshots | Not documented | $98.25/kg median; $76.50–$120.00/kg across 2 dated product listings |
| Identity & Market | ||
| Base polymer / chemistry | Polyamide 66, condensed from hexamethylenediamine and adipic acid; melts around 40 °C above PA6[1] | Styrene-ethylene-butadiene-styrene thermoplastic elastomer — a styrenic rubber, not a polyurethane[2] |
| Densityg/cm³ | 1.14 (extruded unfilled PA66 stock)[3] | 1.044 printed part density (BASF Ultrafuse TPS 90A, ISO 1183-1) — the lightest elastomer here[2] |
| Typical priceUSD/kg | Not documented | 1 kg-equivalent spools cluster near 77[4] |
| Price range across brandsUSD/kg | Not documented | 77 for the Recreus 600 g spool; Proto-pasta only lists a 50 g coil, which prices at 120[4][5] |
| 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[6][7] | Niche, a handful of specialist brands[2][5][4] |
| Spool sizes & diameters | Not documented | 1.75 and 2.85 mm; 0.05 and 0.6 kg spools[2][4] |
| Typical applications | Not documented | Soft-touch overmoulds and skin-contact parts where a non-polyurethane elastomer is wanted[2] |
| Printing Parameters | ||
| Nozzle temperature°C | Not documented | 260–280 (BASF Ultrafuse TPS 90A) — far hotter than any TPU here[2] |
| Bed temperature°C | Not documented | 70–90 (BASF Ultrafuse TPS 90A)[2] |
| Enclosure / chamber requirement1–5 | Enclosure required (passive)[1] | Open frame is fine[2] |
| Bed surface & adhesion aid | Not documented | PEI sheet or painter's tape; Polymaker warns TPU can over-stick and advises a glue stick as a release agent[8][9] |
| Maximum volumetric flow (mm³/s; see test conditions)mm³/s | Not documented | 0.8–2.4 at the 10–30 mm/s BASF specifies on a 0.4 mm nozzle at 0.2 mm layer — the slowest material in this group[2] |
| Overall printing difficulty1–5 | Advanced — enclosure, hardware upgrades, tuning[1] | Advanced — enclosure, hardware upgrades, tuning[2] |
| Extruder requirement | Not documented | Nozzle 0.4 mm or larger; BASF caps print speed at 10–30 mm/s[2] |
| Hardware Wear & Reliability | ||
| Nozzle hardness required1–4 | Not documented | Brass fine indefinitely[10] |
| Abrasiveness1–5 | Not documented | Non-abrasive[10] |
| Nozzle clog risk1–5 | Very high — frequent jams without careful setup[11][12] | Moderate — needs dry filament and a clean nozzle; BASF caps print speed at 10–30 mm/s and Simplify3D warns that raised feed rates on flexibles most likely end in a jam[8][2] |
| Hotend requirement | Not documented | No special hot-end required, but a direct-drive extruder is (Simplify3D)[8] |
| Moisture Behaviour | ||
| Moisture absorption (hygroscopicity)1–5 | Very high (>2 %)[12] | Negligible (<0.1 % EMC) — BASF states drying is not necessary, unique among the elastomers here[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[3] | Not documented |
| Drying temperature & time | Not documented | None — BASF states Ultrafuse TPS 90A arrives in a printable condition and drying is not necessary[2] |
| Symptoms when wet | Not documented | Bubbling and popping at the nozzle, stringing and a rough surface[12] |
| 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][11] | Not applicable — the SEBS chemistry has no amide or ester linkages to take up water, and BASF specifies no drying at all[2] |
| Storage requirement | Not documented | Sealed with desiccant; often kept in a dryer during the print[12] |
| 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 |
| Brittleness1–5 | Not documented | Very ductile — bends far before failing[2] |
| 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] | 89 Shore A and 29 Shore D (BASF Ultrafuse TPS 90A, ISO 7619-1)[2] |
| Creep resistance / sustained load1–5 | Not documented | Poor — no SEBS creep test; a printed 95A TPU bar crept from 74.5 to 82.7 mm over 5 days at 1.25 kg[14] |
| Fatigue / repeated-flex resistance1–5 | Excellent — living hinges viable[1] | Excellent — living hinges viable[9] |
| Elasticity / flexibility1–5 | Semi-flexible[11] | Rubbery / highly elastic[2] |
| 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] | Abrasion 111 mm³ (ISO 4649) — the poorest abrasion resistance in this group, well behind TPU[2] |
| 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] | 242–249 melting (BASF Ultrafuse TPS 90A, ISO 11357-3)[2] |
| 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 | ||
| UV resistance1–5 | Not documented | Good — years with some colour shift; Polymaker lists UV exposure among the conditions TPU withstands[9] |
| Chemical resistance | Not documented | Withstands industrial solvents and UV exposure (Polymaker)[9] |
| Water / humidity resistance in service1–5 | Not documented | Excellent — essentially unaffected[2] |
| Food contact | Not documented | Not food safe without specific certification (Polymaker)[9] |
| Biodegradability / compostability | Not documented | Not biodegradable[9] |
| Recyclability | Not documented | Not accepted in household plastic collection[9] |
| 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[15] | Low hazard — minimal VOC and particle emission; TPU was not among the nine filaments in the chamber study[15] |
| 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[15] | Not documented |
| Ultrafine-particle emission rateparticles/min | ≈2 × 10⁸ median — low for ultrafine particles despite the highest VOC mass of any filament tested[15] | 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[15] | Not documented |
| Ventilation / filtration requirement1–5 | Ventilated room or enclosure recommended[15] | Open a window / occasional ventilation[15] |
| Post-Processing | ||
| Sanding & machining | Not documented | Difficult to sand or smooth; Polymaker limits post-processing to trimming or tumbling[9] |
| Gluing & solvent welding | Not documented | Cyanoacrylate bonds TPU; no common solvent welds it[9] |
| Vapour / chemical smoothing | Not documented | No practical vapour smoothing[9] |
| Support material pairing | Not documented | Polymaker warns TPU supports are often very difficult to remove[9] |
| Solvents & Solubility | ||
| Soluble in | Dissolved at 23 °C by formic acid above ~80 %, phenol, m-cresol, 96 % sulphuric acid or hexafluoroisopropanol — laboratory reagents.[16] | Toluene dissolves SEBS at room temperature — Kraton quotes solution viscosity at 25 % mass in toluene, 25 °C.[17] |
| Softened or crazed by | Zinc chloride solutions stress-crack it — 10 % marginal, 37 % not resistant; alcoholic calcium chloride dissolves it.[16] | Soaking in hydrocarbon solvents and oils deteriorates it; short exposures are tolerated. Resists water, acids and bases.[17] |
| Solvent welding & smoothing agent | None — nylon's only solvents are formic acid, phenol and HFIP, all of which degrade the part they wet.[16] | Toluene will weld it, though the joint stays soft; no workshop-safe agent, and vapour smoothing is not practical.[17] |
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
- Ultrafuse TPS 90A Technical Data Sheet (Version 1.1, SEBS) BASF Forward AM · 2020-12 · tds
- TECAMID 66 natural (PA66) — stock shape properties Ensinger · 2026-08 · tds
- Recreus product catalogue Recreus · 2026-08 · vendor
- Proto-pasta product catalogue Proto-pasta · 2026-08 · vendor
- 3DXTech product catalogue 3DXTech · 2026-08 · vendor
- Polymaker product catalogue Polymaker · 2026-08 · vendor
- Flexible (TPE/TPU) — Ultimate 3D Printing Materials Guide Simplify3D · 2026-08 · doc
- TPU — material basics Polymaker Wiki · 2026-08 · doc
- Extrudr Product Catalogue (DURAPRO PA12 data block) Extrudr · 2025-03 · tds
- 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
- BambuLab TPU 95A HF vs Qidi TPU 95A HF — results spreadsheet My Tech Fun (Igor Gaspar) · 2024-02 · test
- 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
- KRATON polymers Grade Range — chemical resistance and toluene solution data Kraton Corporation · 2025-07 · tds