Filament comparison
PAHT-CF vs rPETG
Compare printing settings, strength, heat resistance, dated prices and sources.
2 selected · all documented properties
| Property | High-temperature CF nylon (PAHT-CF)PA | Recycled PETG (rPETG)PETG |
|---|---|---|
| Market snapshot | ||
| Listing priceUSD/kg; dated snapshots | $59.98/kg median; $49.99–$69.98/kg across 2 dated product listings | $28.99/kg median; $17.24–$39.98/kg across 4 dated product listings |
| Identity & Market | ||
| Base polymer / chemistry | High-temperature carbon-fibre nylon. Bambu Lab's PAHT-CF and Polymaker's PA612-CF15 both use a long-chain polyamide matrix for lower moisture uptake than PA6[1][2] | PETG regranulated from recycled polyester waste; Polymaker's Fiberon PETG-rCF08 adds 8 wt% recycled carbon fibre[3][4][5] |
| Densityg/cm³ | 1.03 (Polymaker PA612-CF15) and 1.06 (Bambu Lab), ISO 1183[1][2] | 1.27 (Prusament) and 1.30 (Fiberon PETG-rCF08), ISO 1183[3][5] |
| Typical priceUSD/kg | 1 kg-equivalent spools cluster near 60[1][6] | 1 kg spools cluster near 29[7][8][6][9] |
| Price range across brandsUSD/kg | 50–70 across brands; Bambu Lab 50, Polymaker Fiberon PA612-CF15 70[1][6] | 17–40 across brands; Filament PM RePETG 17, 3DXTech ECOMAX 26, GreenGate3D 32, Fiberon rCF08 40[7][8][6][9] |
| Market availability1–5 | Available from several mainstream brands[1][6] | Available from several mainstream brands[7][8][6] |
| Spool sizes & diameters | 1.75 mm; 0.5 and 1 kg spools[6][1] | 1.75 and 2.85 mm; 0.5, 1 and 3 kg spools[6][8] |
| Typical applications | Under-bonnet and near-motor parts needing 170 °C-plus heat deflection with less humidity drift than PA6[1][2] | Not documented |
| Diameter tolerance± mm | Not documented | ±0.05 (Prusament PETG Recycled), against ±0.02 for virgin Prusament PETG[3][10] |
| Printing Parameters | ||
| Nozzle temperature°C | 260–290 (Bambu Lab)[1] | 250 ± 10 (Prusament); 230–255 (Spectrum)[3][4] |
| Bed temperature°C | Not documented | 80 ± 10 (Prusament); 60–80 (Spectrum)[3][4] |
| Enclosure / chamber requirement1–5 | Enclosure required (passive) — Bambu Lab specifies a 45–60 °C chamber[1] | Open frame is fine — Spectrum states a closed chamber is not necessary[4] |
| Recommended chamber temperature°C | 45–60 (Bambu Lab)[1] | Not documented |
| Part cooling fan | Not documented | 50 % (Prusament); up to 100 % (Spectrum)[3][4] |
| Bed surface & adhesion aid | PEI sheet with a glue stick, or a dedicated adhesive such as Magigoo[11][12] | Textured PEI, satin or powder-coated sheets; on smooth PEI a glue stick acts as a release agent[10][13] |
| Maximum volumetric flow (mm³/s; see test conditions)mm³/s | 8 at Bambu Lab's 100 mm/s cap on a 0.4 mm nozzle at 0.2 mm layer[1][14] | Not documented |
| Bed-adhesion difficulty1–5 | Needs a specific surface plus adhesive[11] | Needs the right surface or a thin adhesive — the problem is releasing the part, not sticking it[10][13] |
| Stringing / oozing tendency1–5 | Moderate — retraction tuning needed[12] | Moderate — retraction tuning needed; Polymaker names stringing as PETG's common quirk[13] |
| Overall printing difficulty1–5 | Expert / industrial hardware only[1][15] | Easy — minor profile tuning; Spectrum describes printing as similar to standard PETG[4] |
| Extruder requirement | 0.6 mm nozzle recommended by Bambu Lab; 0.4 and 0.8 also supported[1] | Not documented |
| Hardware Wear & Reliability | ||
| Nozzle hardness required1–4 | Hardened steel required — Polymaker measures brass nozzle life at about 9 h on PA612-CF15 and recommends hardened steel or ruby[2] | Brass fine indefinitely[3] |
| Abrasiveness1–5 | Highly abrasive — standard CF composite; Polymaker puts brass nozzle life at roughly 9 h on PA612-CF15[2] | Not documented |
| Nozzle clog risk1–5 | High — jams from moisture, heat creep or particles[15] | Low — recycled PETG prints on the same hardware as virgin PETG: no special hot-end, no drybox and no hardened nozzle[16][17] |
| Heat-creep / jam sensitivity1–5 | Moderate — good heatbreak cooling needed[11] | Slightly sensitive[16] |
| Hotend requirement | May require an all-metal hot end (Simplify3D)[11] | No special hot-end required[16] |
| Moisture Behaviour | ||
| Moisture absorption (hygroscopicity)1–5 | High (0.8–2 %) — 0.88 % saturated at 25 °C / 55 % RH for Bambu Lab PAHT-CF, a third of its PA6-CF; Polymaker's PA612-CF15 reaches 2.2 % equilibrium[1][2][18] | Moderate (0.3–0.8 %) — recycled PETG shares the virgin matrix, which reaches 0.40 % saturated at 25 °C / 55 % RH[10] |
| Equilibrium moisture content at ~50 % RH% | 0.88 saturated at 25 °C / 55 % RH (Bambu Lab PAHT-CF); 2.2 equilibrium (Polymaker PA612-CF15)[1][2] | 0.07 after 24 h and 0.10 after 7 days at 24 °C / 22 % RH (Prusa Polymers)[3] |
| Drying temperature & time | 80 °C for 8–12 h (Bambu Lab)[1] | Not documented |
| Symptoms when wet | Not documented | Bubbling and popping at the nozzle, stringing and a rough surface[15] |
| Effect of moisture on strength | Polymaker publishes dry and wet printed blocks for PA612-CF15 itself: at 2.57 % moisture tensile falls only 91.9 → 83.1 MPa and modulus 5137 → 3991 MPa — the PA612 backbone absorbs far less than PA6[2][19] | Polymaker groups PETG with nylon, PVA and TPU as highly hygroscopic; no dry-versus-conditioned strength figures are published for this grade and the loss shows as bubbling and poor layer adhesion[15] |
| Storage requirement | Sealed below 20 % RH with desiccant[15] | Sealed with desiccant; Polymaker groups PETG with the highly hygroscopic materials[15][13] |
| Hydrolysis at melt temperature | Polymaker specifies an 80–100 °C dry and storage below 20 % RH; no molecular-weight loss figure is published, and the wet data it does publish is conditioning rather than melt hydrolysis[20][21] | Not documented |
| Mechanical Properties | ||
| Tensile strength (XY)MPa | 92 ± 7 (Bambu Lab) and 91.9 ± 2.0 (Polymaker PA612-CF15, dry/annealed) printed XY, ISO 527; the Polymaker grade only falls to 83.1 ± 2.2 conditioned to 2.57 % moisture[1][2] | 43 ± 1.8 printed horizontal at yield, ISO 527-1 (Prusament), against 47 ± 2 for virgin Prusament PETG; Spectrum quotes 52 at yield on moulded specimens[3][10][4] |
| Young's modulusMPa | 3860 ± 230 (Bambu Lab) and 5137 ± 192 (Polymaker PA612-CF15, dry) printed XY, ISO 527; Polymaker 3991 ± 137 conditioned[1][2] | 1500 printed horizontal, 1600 printed vertical (Prusament, ISO 527-1) — the same as virgin Prusament PETG[3][10] |
| Elongation at break% | 2.6 ± 0.2 dry (Polymaker PA612-CF15) to 8.4 ± 1.8 (Bambu Lab) printed XY, ISO 527; Polymaker 4.1 ± 0.3 conditioned[1][2] | 4.5 at yield printed (Prusament); Spectrum quotes 400 at break on moulded specimens[3][4] |
| Flexural strengthMPa | Not documented | 63 ± 1 printed horizontal, ISO 178 (Prusament), against 66 ± 2 for virgin Prusament PETG[3][10] |
| Flexural modulusMPa | 4230 ± 210 printed XY, ISO 178 (Bambu Lab)[1] | 1800 printed horizontal, ISO 178 (Prusament)[3] |
| Charpy impact, notchedkJ/m² | 8.1 ± 0.8 printed XY dry and 7.7 ± 0.5 conditioned, ISO 179 notched (Polymaker PA612-CF15)[2] | 12 ± 1 printed horizontal and 15 ± 3 printed vertical, ISO 179-1 notched (Prusament)[3] |
| Other impact data | Charpy unnotched 57.5 ± 3.4 and notched 22.8 ± 1.8 printed XY (Bambu Lab, ISO 179)[1] | Charpy unnotched 25 ± 3 printed horizontal and 38 ± 11 printed vertical (Prusament, ISO 179-1)[3] |
| Layer adhesion / Z tensileMPa | 47 ± 5 (Bambu Lab) and 48.3 ± 3.9 (Polymaker PA612-CF15, dry) printed Z, ISO 527; Polymaker 35.6 ± 3.0 conditioned[1][2] | 15 ± 5 (Prusa Polymers interlayer adhesion test), against 18 ± 4 for virgin Prusament PETG[3][10] |
| Brittleness1–5 | Moderate[1] | Moderate[3] |
| Hardness (scale-specific)Shore A / Shore D / Rockwell | Rockwell M88 / R117 on extruded PA66-GF30 stock (ASTM D785); no figure is published for a carbon-fibre long-chain nylon filament[22] | 74 Shore D (Prusa Polymers method) — the same as virgin Prusament PETG[3][10] |
| Creep resistance / sustained load1–5 | Good. Ensinger rates its PA66-CF30 compound for sustained static and dynamic load with 110 °C continuous service; the long-chain PA612 matrix takes up 0.88 % at saturation, a third of the same maker's PA6-CF, so it holds dimension better[23][2] | Below average — no recycled-grade creep test; virgin PETG sagged from 12 to 17.1–20.4 mm over 5 days at 1.25 kg[24][25][26][27] |
| Fatigue / repeated-flex resistance1–5 | Good. Ensinger states carbon-filled PA66 compounds have improved fatigue strength in tension, flexure and compression[23] | Moderate — no recycled-grade S-N curve; virgin printed PETG ran 79 000–193 000 cycles at 30 % of tensile strength[28] |
| Elasticity / flexibility1–5 | Rigid[1] | Slightly flexible in thin sections[3] |
| Z strength as % of XY% | 51 (Bambu Lab) to 53 (Polymaker PA612-CF15), printed[1][2] | Not documented |
| Thermal Properties | ||
| HDT at 0.45 MPa°C | 175 (Polymaker PA612-CF15) and 194 (Bambu Lab), ISO 75 at 0.45 MPa[1][2] | 68 (ISO 75, 0.45 MPa) — the same as virgin Prusament PETG; Spectrum quotes 70[3][10][4] |
| HDT at 1.8 MPa°C | 114 (Polymaker PA612-CF15) and 170 (Bambu Lab), ISO 75 at 1.8 MPa[1][2] | 68 (ISO 75, 1.8 MPa)[3] |
| Glass transition (Tg)°C | 70 (Bambu Lab, DSC)[1] | Not documented |
| Melting point / Vicat°C | 210 (Polymaker PA612-CF15) and 225 (Bambu Lab) melting, DSC; Vicat 206 (Polymaker)[1][2] | Not documented |
| Flammability / UL 94 | Flammable; no UL 94 rating published for the grades surveyed[20] | Flammable; no UL 94 rating published for standard grades[29] |
| Environment & Chemical | ||
| UV resistance1–5 | Months outdoors before embrittlement — unstabilised polyamide yellows under UV[12] | Not documented |
| Chemical resistance | Withstands oils, fuels and alkalis[12] | Withstands acids, alkalis, oils and UV exposure[13] |
| Water / humidity resistance in service1–5 | Absorbs water, properties shift — less than PA6 but more than PA12[19][1] | Not documented |
| Food contact | Not food-contact certified as filament[12] | Not certified for food contact as filament[13] |
| Biodegradability / compostability | Not biodegradable[12] | Not biodegradable[13] |
| Recyclability | Not accepted in household plastic collection[12] | The feedstock itself — Spectrum describes collecting, shredding and re-homogenising PETG waste[4] |
| Electrical & ESD properties | Surface resistivity above 10¹² ohm — insulating (Polymaker PA612-CF15, ANSI/ESD S11.11)[2] | Not documented |
| Health & Safety | ||
| Fume toxicity1–5 | Moderate — measurable VOCs and UFPs, ventilation advised[30] | Moderate — measurable VOCs and UFPs, ventilation advised[30] |
| VOC emission rateµg/min | Up to 180 caprolactam, the dominant VOC from nylon and the largest single-VOC rate in the study[30] | Not documented |
| Ultrafine-particle emission rateparticles/min | ≈2 × 10⁸ median for nylon — low for particles despite the highest VOC mass measured[30] | Not documented |
| Hazardous species emitted | Caprolactam, at up to 180 µg/min from nylon filament[30] | Not documented |
| Ventilation / filtration requirement1–5 | Ventilated room or enclosure recommended[30] | Open a window / occasional ventilation[30] |
| Dust & fibre handling hazard | Fibre is bound in the matrix; sanding dust should not be inhaled[20] | Not documented |
| Post-Processing | ||
| Sanding & machining | Sands poorly — gums rather than powders[11] | Sands poorly — the material is tough and gums rather than powders[16] |
| Gluing & solvent welding | Cyanoacrylate; no common solvent welds polyamide[11] | Cyanoacrylate; no common solvent welds PETG cleanly[16] |
| Vapour / chemical smoothing | No practical vapour smoothing[11] | No practical vapour smoothing[16] |
| Support material pairing | Not documented | Prints its own supports; Polymaker rates PolyDissolve S1 for PETG[16] |
| Solvents & Solubility | ||
| Soluble in | Formic acid, phenol, m-cresol and hexafluoroisopropanol dissolve the matrix at 23 °C, leaving the fibre; laboratory reagents.[31] | No common workshop solvent; 1,2-dichloroethane destroys it inside a week and dichloromethane — a carcinogen — dissolves the surface.[32][33] |
| Softened or crazed by | Zinc chloride solutions stress-crack the nylon matrix, alcoholic calcium chloride dissolves it, mineral acids attack it.[31] | Acetone (+16 % weight over 1 year at 23 °C), ethyl acetate, toluene and DMF swell and soften it; methanol crazes it.[32] |
| Solvent welding & smoothing agent | None — nylon's only solvents (formic acid, phenol, HFIP) degrade the part, and the fibre blocks surface flow anyway.[31] | Dichloromethane brushed on is the only agent that smooths PETG — a controlled carcinogen, not workshop stock.[33] |
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
- Bambu Filament Technical Data Sheet — PAHT-CF Bambu Lab · 2026-08 · tds
- Fiberon PA612-CF15 Technical Data Sheet V1.1 Polymaker · 2024-12 · tds
- Prusament PETG Recycled Technical Datasheet Prusa Polymers · 2026-08 · tds
- Spectrum r-PETG Technical Data Sheet Spectrum Filaments · 2026-08 · tds
- Fiberon PETG-rCF08 Technical Data Sheet V1.0 Polymaker · 2026-08 · tds
- Polymaker product catalogue Polymaker · 2026-08 · vendor
- 3DXTech product catalogue 3DXTech · 2026-08 · vendor
- GreenGate3D Recycled PET-G — product data GreenGate3D · 2026-08 · vendor
- Filament PM RePETG technical data sheet Filament PM (Plasty Mladec) · 2026-08 · tds
- Prusament PETG Technical Datasheet v1.1 Prusa Polymers · 2022-02 · tds
- Nylon — Ultimate 3D Printing Materials Guide Simplify3D · 2026-08 · doc
- PA (Nylon) — material basics Polymaker Wiki · 2026-08 · doc
- PETG — material basics Polymaker Wiki · 2026-08 · doc
- Max volumetric speed Prusa Knowledge Base · 2026-08 · doc
- Wet Filament — signs, causes and drying Polymaker Wiki · 2026-08 · doc
- PET and PETG — Ultimate 3D Printing Materials Guide Simplify3D · 2026-08 · doc
- Filament Material Guide Prusa Knowledge Base · 2026-08 · doc
- Bambu Filament Technical Data Sheet — PA6-CF Bambu Lab · 2026-08 · tds
- Moisture Conditioning — effect on printed nylon properties Polymaker Wiki · 2026-08 · doc
- Fiberon PA6-CF20 Technical Data Sheet V1.1 Polymaker · 2024-12 · tds
- PolyMide CoPA Technical Data Sheet V5.4 (dry and wet status blocks) Polymaker · 2024-11 · tds
- TECAMID 66 GF30 black (PA66-GF30) — stock shape properties Ensinger · 2026-08 · tds
- TECACOMP PA66 CF30 black — injection-moulding compound Ensinger · 2026-08 · tds
- PCTG vs PETG comparison — results spreadsheet My Tech Fun (Igor Gaspar) · 2026-08 · test
- Extrudr PETG vs PCTG vs XPETG-CF — results spreadsheet My Tech Fun (Igor Gaspar) · 2026-08 · test
- Prusament PETG-CF vs PETG V0 vs PETG — results spreadsheet My Tech Fun (Igor Gaspar) · 2026-08 · test
- BambuLab PETG Basic vs Translucent vs PETG-CF — results spreadsheet My Tech Fun (Igor Gaspar) · 2026-08 · test
- Mechanical Properties of Additively Manufactured Polymeric Materials — PLA and PETG — For Biomechanical Applications Polymers 16(13):1868 · 2024-06 · paper
- Prusament PETG V0 Technical Datasheet Prusa Polymers · 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
- Eastman Spectar copolyester — Chemical resistance (unstressed bars, 1 year at 23 °C) Eastman Chemical Company · 2026-08 · tds
- Improve your 3D prints with chemical smoothing Prusa Research · 2026-08 · doc