3D Printing InfoFilament comparison
PC-FR vs PEBA
Compare printing settings, strength, heat resistance, dated prices and sources.
2 selected · all documented properties
| Property | Flame-retardant PC (PC-FR)PC | PEBA (polyether block amide)FLEX |
|---|---|---|
| Market snapshot | ||
| Listing priceUSD/kg; dated snapshots | $87.50/kg median; $54.99–$224.00/kg across 4 dated product listings | $60.99/kg median; $60.99–$60.99/kg across 1 dated product listings |
| Identity & Market | ||
| Base polymer / chemistry | Flame-retardant polycarbonate. Polymaker builds its grade on Covestro's Makrolon family and rates it UL 94 V-0[1][2] | Polyether block amide: rigid polyamide and flexible polyether blocks.[3] |
| Densityg/cm³ | 1.18 (Bambu Lab) and 1.2 (Polymaker), ISO 1183[2][1] | 1.01 g/cm³ (GB/T 1033; eSUN manufacturer data)[3] |
| Typical priceUSD/kg | 1 kg-equivalent spools span 55–224; the two mainstream 1 kg grades are 55 and the industrial grades 120–224[2][4] | Not documented |
| Price range across brandsUSD/kg | 55–224 across brands; Bambu Lab and Polymaker 55, 3DXTech FR PC/ABS 120, 3DXLABS FR-PC 224[2][4][5] | Not documented |
| Market availability1–5 | Available from several mainstream brands[2][4][5] | Not documented |
| Spool sizes & diameters | 1.75 mm; 0.75 and 1 kg spools[4][5][2] | 1.75 mm diameter, 1 kg spool.[6] |
| Typical applications | Electrical enclosures, transport interiors and battery housings that must meet a flammability rating[1][2] | Manufacturer applications include footwear, sports equipment and cushioning.[3] |
| Diameter tolerance± mm | ±0.03 (Bambu Lab PC FR)[2] | Not documented |
| Printing Parameters | ||
| Nozzle temperature°C | 260–280 (Bambu Lab); 250–270 (Polymaker)[2][1] | 230–260 °C; 240 °C recommended.[3] |
| Bed temperature°C | 90–110 (Bambu Lab); 90–105 (Polymaker)[2][1] | 60–90 °C[3] |
| Enclosure / chamber requirement1–5 | Enclosure required (passive) — Bambu Lab specifies a 45–60 °C chamber, Polymaker 70–100 °C[2][1] | Not documented |
| Recommended chamber temperature°C | 45–60 (Bambu Lab); 70–100 (Polymaker)[2][1] | Not documented |
| Part cooling fan | 0–60 % (Bambu Lab)[2] | 10–50% fan recommended; mechanical-test specimens used 50–100%.[3] |
| Bed surface & adhesion aid | Smooth or textured PEI plate (Bambu Lab)[2] | PEI build plate[3] |
| Maximum volumetric flow (mm³/s; see test conditions)mm³/s | 24 at Bambu Lab's 300 mm/s cap on a 0.4 mm nozzle at 0.2 mm layer[2][7] | 9 mm³/s maximum in eSUN spiral-vase test; mechanical specimens used 2 mm³/s. Linear recommendation 25–110 mm/s is a separate quantity.[3] |
| Warping tendency1–5 | Severe — heated chamber needed[1][8] | Not documented |
| Bed-adhesion difficulty1–5 | Needs a specific surface plus adhesive[9][10] | Not documented |
| Stringing / oozing tendency1–5 | Moderate — retraction tuning needed; Polymaker flags stringing as a common PC problem[10] | Not documented |
| Overall printing difficulty1–5 | Advanced — enclosure, hardware upgrades, tuning[2][8] | Not documented |
| Hardware Wear & Reliability | ||
| Nozzle hardness required1–4 | Brass fine indefinitely[8] | Not documented |
| Abrasiveness1–5 | Non-abrasive[1] | Not documented |
| Nozzle clog risk1–5 | Moderate — needs dry filament and a clean nozzle; 3DXTech lists no special nozzle concerns but a 6 h pre-dry at 80 °C[11] | Not documented |
| Heat-creep / jam sensitivity1–5 | Slightly sensitive[9] | Not documented |
| Hotend requirement | All-metal hot end required (Simplify3D)[9] | Not documented |
| Moisture Behaviour | ||
| Moisture absorption (hygroscopicity)1–5 | Low (0.1–0.3 %) — 0.12 % saturated at 25 °C / 55 % RH (Bambu Lab), half that of unfilled Bambu Lab PC[2][12] | Not documented |
| Equilibrium moisture content at ~50 % RH% | 0.12 saturated at 25 °C / 55 % RH (Bambu Lab)[2] | Not documented |
| Drying temperature & time | 75 °C for 6 h (Polymaker)[1] | 70–75 °C for 6–8 h; re-dry after receiving or extended exposure.[3] |
| Symptoms when wet | Bubbling and popping at the nozzle, stringing and a rough surface[13] | Not documented |
| Effect of moisture on strength | No dry-versus-conditioned figures are published. Polymaker calls PC highly hygroscopic and requires a 70–80 °C dry for 6–8 h; run wet, the loss shows as surface defects and poor layer adhesion[10][13] | Not documented |
| Storage requirement | Airtight containers with desiccant to prevent reabsorption[10] | Not documented |
| Mechanical Properties | ||
| Tensile strength (XY)MPa | 60 ± 4 (Bambu Lab) and 67 ± 4.5 (Polymaker) printed XY, ISO 527[2][1] | >16.5 MPa printed XY, GB/T 1040; manufacturer lower bound, not an exact measurement.[3] |
| Young's modulusMPa | 1670 ± 40 (Bambu Lab) and 2634 ± 182 (Polymaker) printed XY, ISO 527[2][1] | Not documented |
| Elongation at break% | 2.4 ± 0.3 (Bambu Lab) and 3.49 ± 0.7 (Polymaker) at break, printed XY, ISO 527 — the retardant roughly halves unfilled PC's elongation[2][1][14] | >520% printed XY, GB/T 1040; manufacturer lower bound.[3] |
| Flexural strengthMPa | 96.6 ± 1.3 printed XY, ISO 178 (Polymaker)[1] | Not documented |
| Flexural modulusMPa | 2518 ± 53 printed XY, ISO 178 (Polymaker)[1] | Not documented |
| Charpy impact, notchedkJ/m² | 11.7 ± 1.6 printed XY, ISO 179, notched (Polymaker)[1] | Not documented |
| Other impact data | Notched Charpy 7.5 ± 1.6 kJ/m² at −30 °C printed XY (Polymaker, ISO 179-1/1eA)[1] | Not documented |
| Layer adhesion / Z tensileMPa | 21 ± 3 (Bambu Lab) and 46 ± 4.8 (Polymaker) printed Z, ISO 527[2][1] | 7.5 MPa printed Z, GB/T 1040 (manufacturer test)[3] |
| Brittleness1–5 | Moderate[2][1] | Not documented |
| Hardness (scale-specific)Shore A / Shore D / Rockwell | Rockwell 70 (118) — the source does not name the scales and Shore D 79 on extruded unfilled PC stock (ASTM D785, D2240); no figure is published for a flame-retardant filament[15] | 90 Shore A nominal grade designation; do not compare numerically with Shore D or Rockwell.[6] |
| Creep resistance / sustained load1–5 | Good. Moulded unfilled PC sustained 41 MPa tensile creep at room temperature without breaking, but the retardant package drops the glass transition to 115 °C in Polymaker's grade, so the unfilled rating is not carried over in full[16][1] | Not documented |
| Elasticity / flexibility1–5 | Rigid[1] | Not documented |
| Z strength as % of XY% | 35 (Bambu Lab) to 69 (Polymaker), printed[2][1] | Not documented |
| Thermal Properties | ||
| HDT at 0.45 MPa°C | 110 (Polymaker) and 113 (Bambu Lab), ISO 75 at 0.45 MPa[1][2] | Not documented |
| HDT at 1.8 MPa°C | 107 (Polymaker) and 108 (Bambu Lab), ISO 75 at 1.8 MPa[1][2] | Not documented |
| Glass transition (Tg)°C | 115 (Polymaker) and 145 (Bambu Lab), DSC[1][2] | Not documented |
| Melting point / Vicat°C | Amorphous — no melting point; Vicat 114 (Bambu Lab, ISO 306)[2] | 110 °C Vicat softening (GB/T 1633, 120 °C/h, 10 N); not HDT or a continuous-use rating.[3] |
| Continuous service temperature°C | 113 — Prusa publishes this as the temperature resistance of Prusament PC Blend[17] | Not documented |
| Thermal expansion (CTE)µm/m·K | 68.4 on extruded unfilled PC stock (ASTM D696; source states 3.8e-5 in/in/°F); no figure is published for a flame-retardant grade[15] | Not documented |
| Flammability / UL 94 | UL 94 V-0 (Polymaker PolyMax PC-FR); 3DXTech rates its FR PC/ABS V-0 at 1.5 mm on the base resin[1][18] | Not documented |
| Environment & Chemical | ||
| UV resistance1–5 | Degrades within weeks outdoors unless stabilised[10] | Not documented |
| Chemical resistance | Withstands oils, solvents and fuels; Polymaker rates it good against weak acids[10] | Not documented |
| Food contact | Bisphenol-A polycarbonate is not offered as food-contact filament[10] | Not documented |
| Biodegradability / compostability | Not biodegradable[10] | Not documented |
| Recyclability | Mechanically recyclable but not accepted in household plastic collection[10] | Not documented |
| Health & Safety | ||
| Fume toxicity1–5 | Moderate — measurable VOCs and UFPs, ventilation advised[19] | Not documented |
| Ultrafine-particle emission rateparticles/min | ≈4 × 10¹⁰ median — the highest ultrafine-particle rate of the nine filaments in the chamber study, above every ABS tested[19] | Not documented |
| Ventilation / filtration requirement1–5 | Ventilated room or enclosure recommended[19][8] | Not documented |
| Post-Processing | ||
| Sanding & machining | Sands and machines well; the toughness means it cuts rather than chips[9] | Not documented |
| Gluing & solvent welding | Cyanoacrylate; dichloromethane solvent-welds PC but is a laboratory reagent[9] | Not documented |
| Vapour / chemical smoothing | No practical vapour smoothing[9] | Not documented |
| Support material pairing | Prints its own supports; 3DXTech sells a dedicated PC break-away support[9] | Not documented |
| Solvents & Solubility | ||
| Soluble in | Dichloromethane, chloroform, DMF and dioxane dissolve it outright (Covestro, 6 days at 23 °C). Laboratory reagents.[20] | Not documented |
| Softened or crazed by | Methanol, butyl acetate, ether, 1 % NaOH and phthalate plasticisers stress-crack it; acetone, MEK and xylene swell it.[20] | Not documented |
| Solvent welding & smoothing agent | Dichloromethane cement welds PC — 16.5 MPa lap shear at one week (IPS Weld-On 3). A controlled carcinogen.[21] | Not documented |
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
- PolyMax PC-FR Technical Data Sheet V5.5 Polymaker · 2024-11 · tds
- Bambu Filament Technical Data Sheet V1.0 — PC FR Bambu Lab · 2026-08 · tds
- eSUN PEBA-90A Technical Data Sheet v1.0 (Aug 2025), checked 2026-10-17 eSUN · 2025-08 · tds
- Polymaker product catalogue Polymaker · 2026-08 · vendor
- 3DXTech product catalogue 3DXTech · 2026-08 · vendor
- eSUN PEBA-90A official product page: 1 kg price and product identity eSUN · 2026-10-17 · vendor
- Max volumetric speed Prusa Knowledge Base · 2026-08 · doc
- ABS / ASA / PC Usage Guide Bambu Lab Wiki · 2026-08 · doc
- Polycarbonate — Ultimate 3D Printing Materials Guide Simplify3D · 2026-08 · doc
- PC — material basics Polymaker Wiki · 2026-08 · doc
- 3DXTech Firewire FR-PC/ABS product page 3DXTech · 2026-08 · vendor
- Bambu Filament Technical Data Sheet V2.0 — PC Bambu Lab · 2026-08 · tds
- Wet Filament — signs, causes and drying Polymaker Wiki · 2026-08 · doc
- PolyLite PC Technical Data Sheet V5.4 Polymaker · 2024-11 · tds
- TECANAT natural (PC) — stock shape properties Ensinger · 2026-08 · tds
- Experimental data for creep and dynamic mechanical properties of polycarbonate and polycarbonate/ABS Data in Brief 42:108264 · 2022-06 · paper
- Prusament PC Blend Technical Datasheet v1.1 Prusa Polymers · 2022-02 · tds
- Firewire Flame Retardant PC/ABS Technical Data Sheet Rev 3.0 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
- Makrolon — The chemical resistance (Makrolon 2800, 6 days at 23 °C and 50 °C) Covestro · 2016-12 · tds
- Weld-On 3 Acrylic Plastic Cement — technical data sheet (shipped as dichloromethane) IPS Corporation · 2002-07 · tds