Filament comparison
PAHT-CF vs PP-GF
Compare printing settings, strength, heat resistance, dated prices and sources.
2 selected · all documented properties
| Property | High-temperature CF nylon (PAHT-CF)PA | Glass-fibre PP (PP-GF)POLYOLEFIN |
|---|---|---|
| Market snapshot | ||
| Listing priceUSD/kg; dated snapshots | $59.98/kg median; $49.99–$69.98/kg across 2 dated product listings | $49.09/kg median; $46.27–$86.01/kg across 3 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] | Polypropylene reinforced with chopped glass fibre[3][4] |
| Densityg/cm³ | 1.03 (Polymaker PA612-CF15) and 1.06 (Bambu Lab), ISO 1183[1][2] | 1.12 (Prusament PP Glass Fiber, ISO 1183) — the glass lifts it above water[3] |
| Typical priceUSD/kg | 1 kg-equivalent spools cluster near 60[1][5] | 1 kg-equivalent spools cluster near 49[6][7][8] |
| Price range across brandsUSD/kg | 50–70 across brands; Bambu Lab 50, Polymaker Fiberon PA612-CF15 70[1][5] | 46-86 across brands; BCN3D PP GF30 46 at 700 g, BASF Ultrafuse PP GF30 49 at 2.2 kg, Prusament PP Glass Fiber 86 at 850 g[6][7][8] |
| Market availability1–5 | Available from several mainstream brands[1][5] | Available from several mainstream brands[6][7][8] |
| Spool sizes & diameters | 1.75 mm; 0.5 and 1 kg spools[5][1] | 1.75 and 2.85 mm; 700 g, 850 g and 2.2 kg spools[6][7][8] |
| Typical applications | Under-bonnet and near-motor parts needing 170 °C-plus heat deflection with less humidity drift than PA6[1][2] | Stiff, chemically resistant parts where PP-CF's cost or conductivity is unwanted[4] |
| Diameter tolerance± mm | Not documented | ±0.04 (Prusament)[3] |
| Printing Parameters | ||
| Nozzle temperature°C | 260–290 (Bambu Lab)[1] | 245 ± 10 (Prusament) — 25 °C below the carbon-fibre grade[3][9] |
| Bed temperature°C | Not documented | 95 ± 10 (Prusament)[3] |
| Enclosure / chamber requirement1–5 | Enclosure required (passive) — Bambu Lab specifies a 45–60 °C chamber[1] | Enclosure recommended — Simplify3D lists an enclosure as a hardware requirement and Polymaker advises one below 70 °C ambient to stop warping and cracking[10][11] |
| Recommended chamber temperature°C | 45–60 (Bambu Lab)[1] | Not documented |
| Part cooling fan | Not documented | Off — Prusa runs 0 % except 100 % on bridges[3] |
| Bed surface & adhesion aid | PEI sheet with a glue stick, or a dedicated adhesive such as Magigoo[12][13] | Not documented |
| 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] | 4 at Prusa's 50 mm/s cap on a 0.4 mm nozzle at 0.2 mm layer[3][14] |
| Warping tendency1–5 | Not documented | High — enclosure needed for reliable large parts; Prusa recommends a brim[3] |
| Bed-adhesion difficulty1–5 | Needs a specific surface plus adhesive[12] | Very difficult — special plates or slurry required[3] |
| Stringing / oozing tendency1–5 | Moderate — retraction tuning needed[13] | Not documented |
| Overall printing difficulty1–5 | Expert / industrial hardware only[1][15] | Advanced — enclosure, hardware upgrades, tuning; hardened nozzle mandatory[3] |
| Extruder requirement | 0.6 mm nozzle recommended by Bambu Lab; 0.4 and 0.8 also supported[1] | Prusa states a hardened nozzle is necessary and recommends a brim[3] |
| 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] | Hardened steel required[3] |
| Abrasiveness1–5 | Highly abrasive — standard CF composite; Polymaker puts brass nozzle life at roughly 9 h on PA612-CF15[2] | Highly abrasive — standard GF composite[3] |
| Nozzle clog risk1–5 | High — jams from moisture, heat creep or particles[15] | Moderate — needs dry filament and a clean nozzle; Prusa lists higher risk of nozzle clogging for glass-filled composites[16] |
| Heat-creep / jam sensitivity1–5 | Moderate — good heatbreak cooling needed[12] | Not documented |
| Hotend requirement | May require an all-metal hot end (Simplify3D)[12] | Not documented |
| 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][17] | Low (0.1–0.3 %) — 0.11 % at both 24 h and 7 days, higher than the carbon-fibre grade's 0.04 % but still very low[3][9] |
| 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] | 0.11 after 24 h and 0.11 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 |
| 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][18] | Not applicable in practice at 0.11 % equilibrium uptake[3] |
| Storage requirement | Sealed below 20 % RH with desiccant[15] | No special storage needed[3] |
| 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[19][20] | 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] | 46.6 ± 1.3 filament tensile yield (Prusament, ISO 527) — more than double the carbon-fibre grade's 21[3][9] |
| Young's modulusMPa | 3860 ± 230 (Bambu Lab) and 5137 ± 192 (Polymaker PA612-CF15, dry) printed XY, ISO 527; Polymaker 3991 ± 137 conditioned[1][2] | Not documented |
| 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] | Not documented |
| Flexural modulusMPa | 4230 ± 210 printed XY, ISO 178 (Bambu Lab)[1] | Not documented |
| Charpy impact, notchedkJ/m² | 8.1 ± 0.8 printed XY dry and 7.7 ± 0.5 conditioned, ISO 179 notched (Polymaker PA612-CF15)[2] | 7.9 ± 0.4 printed horizontal and 9.9 ± 0.8 printed vertical XZ (ISO 179-1, notched)[3] |
| Other impact data | Charpy unnotched 57.5 ± 3.4 and notched 22.8 ± 1.8 printed XY (Bambu Lab, ISO 179)[1] | Not documented |
| 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] | Not documented |
| 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[21] | Rockwell R102 (and M95) on extruded unfilled PP stock (ASTM D785); no figure is published for a glass-fibre PP filament[22] |
| 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] | Not documented |
| Fatigue / repeated-flex resistance1–5 | Good. Ensinger states carbon-filled PA66 compounds have improved fatigue strength in tension, flexure and compression[23] | Not documented |
| Elasticity / flexibility1–5 | Rigid[1] | Rigid[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] | 138.3 (ISO 75, 0.45 MPa)[3] |
| HDT at 1.8 MPa°C | 114 (Polymaker PA612-CF15) and 170 (Bambu Lab), ISO 75 at 1.8 MPa[1][2] | 112.6 (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[19] | Not documented |
| Environment & Chemical | ||
| UV resistance1–5 | Months outdoors before embrittlement — unstabilised polyamide yellows under UV[13] | Not documented |
| Chemical resistance | Withstands oils, fuels and alkalis[13] | Excellent against acids, alkalis and most solvents[11] |
| Water / humidity resistance in service1–5 | Absorbs water, properties shift — less than PA6 but more than PA12[18][1] | Excellent — essentially unaffected[3] |
| Food contact | Not food-contact certified as filament[13] | Not documented |
| Biodegradability / compostability | Not biodegradable[13] | Not documented |
| Recyclability | Not accepted in household plastic collection[13] | Not documented |
| 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[24] | Low hazard — minimal VOC and particle emission. Inferred: no polyolefin was among the nine filaments in the Azimi chamber study, so this is a family-level judgement rather than a measurement[24] |
| VOC emission rateµg/min | Up to 180 caprolactam, the dominant VOC from nylon and the largest single-VOC rate in the study[24] | Not documented |
| Ultrafine-particle emission rateparticles/min | ≈2 × 10⁸ median for nylon — low for particles despite the highest VOC mass measured[24] | Not documented |
| Hazardous species emitted | Caprolactam, at up to 180 µg/min from nylon filament[24] | Not documented |
| Ventilation / filtration requirement1–5 | Ventilated room or enclosure recommended[24] | Open a window / occasional ventilation. Inferred — no polyolefin was measured in the chamber study[24] |
| Dust & fibre handling hazard | Fibre is bound in the matrix; sanding dust should not be inhaled[19] | Glass fibre is bound in the matrix; avoid inhaling sanding dust[3] |
| Post-Processing | ||
| Sanding & machining | Sands poorly — gums rather than powders[12] | Not documented |
| Gluing & solvent welding | Cyanoacrylate; no common solvent welds polyamide[12] | Not documented |
| Vapour / chemical smoothing | No practical vapour smoothing[12] | Not documented |
| Solvents & Solubility | ||
| Soluble in | Formic acid, phenol, m-cresol and hexafluoroisopropanol dissolve the matrix at 23 °C, leaving the fibre; laboratory reagents.[25] | None at room temperature; chloroform dissolves the matrix at 60 °C and xylene at about 118 °C, leaving the fibre.[26][27] |
| Softened or crazed by | Zinc chloride solutions stress-crack the nylon matrix, alcoholic calcium chloride dissolves it, mineral acids attack it.[25] | Xylene, decalin, CCl4 and chlorobenzene are heavily absorbed at 20 °C; oleum, chlorosulphonic acid and bromine destroy it.[26] |
| Solvent welding & smoothing agent | None — nylon's only solvents (formic acid, phenol, HFIP) degrade the part, and the fibre blocks surface flow anyway.[25] | None — nothing softens PP at room temperature, so joints have to be welded thermally rather than chemically.[26] |
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 PP Glass Fiber Technical Datasheet v1.0 Prusa Polymers · 2024-11 · tds
- Prusament PP Glass Fiber — material page Prusa Polymers · 2026-08 · doc
- Polymaker product catalogue Polymaker · 2026-08 · vendor
- BASF Ultrafuse PP GF30 Black 2.85 mm 2.200 g igo3d · 2026-08 · vendor
- BCN3D PP GF30 Black 2.85 mm 700 g igo3d · 2026-08 · vendor
- Prusa Prusament PP Glass Fiber Natural (NFC), 1.75 mm / 850 g 3DJAKE · 2026-08 · vendor
- Prusament PP Carbon Fiber Technical Datasheet v1.0 Prusa Polymers · 2024-11 · tds
- Polypropylene — Ultimate 3D Printing Materials Guide Simplify3D · 2026-08 · doc
- PP — material basics Polymaker Wiki · 2026-08 · doc
- Nylon — Ultimate 3D Printing Materials Guide Simplify3D · 2026-08 · doc
- PA (Nylon) — 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
- Composite materials filled with carbon, kevlar or glass 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
- TECAFINE PP natural — stock shape properties Ensinger · 2026-08 · tds
- TECACOMP PA66 CF30 black — injection-moulding compound Ensinger · 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
- Pro-fax and Moplen polypropylene — Chemical Resistance Guide (20, 60 and 100 °C) LyondellBasell · 2026-08 · tds
- US 5,278,282 Polymer recycling by selective dissolution — xylene dissolution temperatures Nauman & Lynch, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute · 1994-01 · paper