3D Printing InfoFilament comparison
PE vs POM
Compare printing settings, strength, heat resistance, dated prices and sources.
2 selected · all documented properties
| Property | Polyethylene (PE)POLYOLEFIN | POM (acetal)ENGINEERING |
|---|---|---|
| Market snapshot | ||
| Listing priceUSD/kg; dated snapshots | $87.72/kg median; $87.72–$87.72/kg across 1 dated product listings | Not documented |
| Identity & Market | ||
| Base polymer / chemistry | Polyethylene — the simplest polyolefin, non-polar and highly crystalline. The one retailed filament grade, Spectrum HDPE, uses what Spectrum calls Low Warp technology and is denser and stiffer than plain HDPE[1][2] | Polyoxymethylene, normally the copolymer POM-C. Apium's filament grade is POM-C with antistatic additives; no unfilled POM filament was found on sale[3][4] |
| Densityg/cm³ | 1.10 (Spectrum HDPE filament, ISO 1183) against 0.95 for extruded HDPE stock — the filament is a modified formulation[1][2] | 1.41 (extruded POM-C stock)[3] |
| Typical priceUSD/kg | 1 kg-equivalent spools cluster near 88[5] | Not documented |
| Price range across brandsUSD/kg | 87.72 — Spectrum's 500 g spools at 3DJAKE are the only PE filament listing found[5] | Not documented |
| Market availability1–5 | Niche, a handful of specialist brands — Spectrum HDPE in six colours is the only PE filament in the 3DJAKE and igo3d product sitemaps, at MatterHackers or at Printed Solid, but it is a normal stocked item rather than a special order[6][7][8][5] | Special order, 1-2 makers worldwide — Apium sells a POM-C ESD filament through its own shop and states its printers are the only ones able to process POM-C; no POM filament appears in the 3DJAKE or igo3d product sitemaps, at MatterHackers or at Printed Solid[4][6][7][8] |
| Spool sizes & diameters | 1.75 mm; 500 g spools in six colours[5][6] | Not documented |
| Typical applications | Chemically resistant containers, packaging prototypes and consumer goods where HDPE is the production material[1] | Gears, bushings, bearings, conveyor and food-machinery parts; Apium markets its POM-C ESD grade for semiconductor insulators, aerospace fasteners and sliding parts[3][4] |
| Printing Parameters | ||
| Nozzle temperature°C | 240-290 (Spectrum HDPE)[1] | Not documented |
| Bed temperature°C | 80-100 (Spectrum HDPE)[1] | Not documented |
| Enclosure / chamber requirement1–5 | Enclosure recommended — Spectrum recommends a closed chamber for larger prints[1] | Not documented |
| Part cooling fan | 0-50 % part cooling (Spectrum HDPE)[1] | Not documented |
| Bed surface & adhesion aid | Spectrum states no adhesive is necessary for its low-warp HDPE, depending on geometry[1] | Not documented |
| Warping tendency1–5 | Moderate — needs adhesion aid or draught shield. Spectrum's low-warp grade is sold as printable on desktop machines, which is not true of plain polyethylene[1] | Not documented |
| Bed-adhesion difficulty1–5 | Needs the right surface or a thin adhesive; Spectrum states no adhesive is necessary but recommends a closed chamber for large parts[1] | Not documented |
| Overall printing difficulty1–5 | Intermediate — dry filament and a tuned profile; Spectrum sells the grade as desktop-printable with no dry box and no hardened nozzle[1] | Not documented |
| Extruder requirement | Not documented | Apium states that the adaptive heating system on its industrial machines is what makes POM-C printable, and that no other 3D printer can process it[4] |
| Hardware Wear & Reliability | ||
| Nozzle hardness required1–4 | Brass fine indefinitely — Spectrum states a ruby or hardened nozzle is not required[1] | Not documented |
| Abrasiveness1–5 | Non-abrasive[1] | Not documented |
| Nozzle clog risk1–5 | Low — Spectrum lists no drybox and no ruby or hardened nozzle for HDPE, and very low moisture absorption[1] | Not documented |
| Moisture Behaviour | ||
| Moisture absorption (hygroscopicity)1–5 | Negligible (<0.1 % EMC) — Spectrum lists very low moisture absorption and no dry box[1] | Low (0.1-0.3 %) — extruded POM-C stock takes up 0.18 % in 24 h and 0.80 % at saturation (ASTM D570)[3] |
| Drying temperature & time | No drying step published; Spectrum lists a dry box as not required[1] | Not documented |
| Effect of moisture on strength | Not applicable in practice — Spectrum lists very low moisture absorption and no drybox requirement for HDPE[1] | Not documented |
| Storage requirement | Store dry at 18-25 °C out of sunlight; Spectrum quotes a 24-month shelf life[1] | Not documented |
| Mechanical Properties | ||
| Tensile strength (XY)MPa | 29 at break (Spectrum HDPE, ISO 527; specimen type not stated) against 25.5 at yield on extruded HDPE stock (ASTM D638, from 3700 psi)[1][2] | 66.9 at break and 64.1 at yield (extruded POM-C stock, ASTM D638; converted from 9700 and 9300 psi)[3] |
| Young's modulusMPa | 3500 (Spectrum HDPE, ISO 527) against 965 on extruded HDPE stock (ASTM D638, from 140,000 psi) — the filament grade is nearly four times stiffer than plain polyethylene[1][2] | 2275 (extruded POM-C stock, ASTM D638; converted from 330,000 psi)[3] |
| Elongation at break% | 18 at break (Spectrum HDPE, ISO 527) against above 100 on extruded stock (ASTM D638)[1][2] | 40 at break and 9 at yield (extruded POM-C stock, ASTM D638)[3] |
| Flexural strengthMPa | 27.6 on extruded HDPE stock (ASTM D790; converted from 4000 psi)[2] | 89.6 (extruded POM-C stock, ASTM D790; converted from 13,000 psi)[3] |
| Flexural modulusMPa | 3200 (Spectrum HDPE, ISO 178) against 965 on extruded stock (ASTM D790, from 140,000 psi)[1][2] | 2758 (extruded POM-C stock, ASTM D790; converted from 400,000 psi)[3] |
| Other impact data | Charpy 10 kJ/m2 (Spectrum HDPE, ISO 179-1; notch condition not stated); Izod 104 J/m on extruded stock, converted from 1.94 ft-lb/in (ASTM D256)[1][2] | Izod 53 J/m on extruded POM-C stock, converted from 1.0 ft-lb/in[3] |
| Brittleness1–5 | Tough — absorbs impact, yields before breaking; 18 % elongation at break on the filament and above 100 % on extruded stock[1][2] | Tough — absorbs impact, yields before breaking; extruded stock elongates 40 % before failing. No printed figure is published[3] |
| Hardness (scale-specific)Shore A / Shore D / Rockwell | Shore D 67 and Rockwell R54 on extruded HDPE stock (ASTM D2240, D785); Spectrum quotes Rockwell 80 HRM for its filament (ISO 2039-2)[2][1] | Rockwell 86 (and R120) — the source names only the R scale on extruded POM-C stock (ASTM D785)[3] |
| Fatigue / repeated-flex resistance1–5 | Good — Spectrum lists outstanding abrasion and crack resistance for its HDPE, but no repeated-flex or fatigue test data was found for any PE filament[1] | Not documented |
| Elasticity / flexibility1–5 | Slightly flexible in thin sections — Spectrum's low-warp grade has a 3.5 GPa tensile modulus; plain extruded HDPE at 965 MPa is genuinely semi-flexible[1][2] | Not documented |
| Wear resistance & friction | Not documented | Wear factor 65e-10 in3*min/(ft*lb*h) and a dynamic coefficient of friction of 0.21 at 40 psi and 50 fpm (ASTM D3702, extruded stock) — the properties that make acetal the default gear and bushing plastic; Apium lists good sliding properties as the reason for its grade[3][4] |
| Thermal Properties | ||
| HDT at 0.45 MPa°C | 75 on extruded HDPE stock (ASTM D648 at 66 psi; converted from 167 °F)[2] | 158 (extruded POM-C stock, ASTM D648 at 66 psi; converted from 316 °F)[3] |
| HDT at 1.8 MPa°C | Not documented | 110 (extruded POM-C stock, ASTM D648 at 264 psi; converted from 230 °F)[3] |
| Melting point / Vicat°C | Not documented | 165 melting (extruded POM-C stock; converted from 329 °F)[3] |
| Continuous service temperature°C | 110 stated as heat resistance by Spectrum with no test standard given; extruded stock is rated 120 long-term maximum (converted from 248 °F) and brittle below -76[1][2] | 91 long term and 141 intermittent (extruded POM-C stock; converted from 195 °F and 285 °F)[3] |
| Thermal expansion (CTE)µm/m·K | 117 (extruded HDPE stock, ASTM D696; source states 6.5e-5 in/in/°F)[2] | 84.6 (extruded POM-C stock, ASTM D696; source states 4.7e-5 in/in/°F)[3] |
| Flammability / UL 94 | Not documented | UL 94 HB on extruded POM-C stock[3] |
| Environment & Chemical | ||
| UV resistance1–5 | Moderate — a season or two. Spectrum describes its HDPE as UV-stable and weather-resistant but publishes no exposure data[1] | Not documented |
| Chemical resistance | Excellent chemical resistance to acids, bases, oils and solvents (Spectrum); Ensinger lists broad chemical compatibility for HDPE stock[1][2] | Good chemical resistance, particularly to bases; Apium lists resistance to bases as a headline property[3][4] |
| Water / humidity resistance in service1–5 | Excellent — essentially unaffected; Ensinger lists low moisture absorption for HDPE stock and Spectrum very low absorption for the filament[1][2] | Good — minor absorption; 0.80 % water at saturation (ASTM D570, extruded stock)[3] |
| Recyclability | Spectrum states the filament is fully recyclable; HDPE is resin code 2[1] | Not documented |
| Electrical & ESD properties | Not documented | Volume resistance 1e14 ohm-cm, dielectric strength 500 V/mil and dielectric constant 3.7 at 60 Hz on extruded stock (ASTM D257, D149, D150); Apium's filament grade adds antistatic agents[3][4] |
| Post-Processing | ||
| Sanding & machining | Easy to machine — Ensinger lists machinability as a headline property of HDPE stock[2] | Easy to machine — Ensinger lists machinability as a headline property of POM-C stock[3] |
| Dimensional accuracy & detail | Spectrum lists a shiny surface finish and no adhesive requirement; shrinkage remains the limit on large flat parts[1] | Not documented |
| Solvents & Solubility | ||
| Soluble in | None at room temperature; xylene dissolves HDPE at about 105 °C and LDPE at 75 °C. Hot decalin does the same.[9][10] | Hexafluoroisopropanol dissolves it at room temperature; NMP and DMF only when hot. Laboratory reagents.[11] |
| Softened or crazed by | Toluene, xylene, styrene, chloroform, dichloromethane, MEK and trichloroethylene are all unsatisfactory at 21 °C.[10] | Acids, oxidants, halogens and hot concentrated zinc chloride attack it; alcohols, ketones and esters do not.[11][12] |
| Solvent welding & smoothing agent | None — polyethylene has no room-temperature solvent, so joints are made by heat welding.[10][9] | None — no solvent softens POM below its melting point, which is why it is bolted or heat-welded rather than glued.[11] |
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
- Spectrum HDPE Technical Data Sheet Spectrum Filaments · 2025-10 · tds
- TECAFINE HDPE natural — stock shape properties Ensinger · 2026-08 · tds
- TECAFORM AH natural (POM-C) — stock shape properties Ensinger · 2026-08 · tds
- POM-C ESD 3D printing — material page Apium 3D Technologies · 2026-08 · doc
- Spectrum HDPE Traffic Black, 1.75 mm / 500 g 3DJAKE · 2026-08 · vendor
- 3DJAKE product catalogue 3DJAKE · 2026-08 · vendor
- igo3d product sitemap (17452 product URLs) igo3d · 2026-08 · vendor
- Printed Solid product catalogue Printed Solid · 2026-08 · vendor
- US 5,278,282 Polymer recycling by selective dissolution — xylene dissolution temperatures Nauman & Lynch, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute · 1994-01 · paper
- HDPE Chemical Resistance Guide (21 °C and 60 °C) INEOS Olefins & Polymers USA · 2026-08 · tds
- Resistance of Ultramid, Ultraform and Ultradur to chemicals (TI-KTU/AS-28 e) BASF · 2000-10 · tds
- Chemical resistance — resistance of Ensinger plastics to chemicals (DIN 50 014, 23/50) Ensinger · 2026-08 · tds