Filament comparison
PEBA vs PLA-CF
Compare printing settings, strength, heat resistance, dated prices and sources.
2 selected · all documented properties
| Property | PEBA (polyether block amide)FLEX | Carbon-fibre PLA (PLA-CF)PLA |
|---|---|---|
| Market snapshot | ||
| Listing priceUSD/kg; dated snapshots | $60.99/kg median; $60.99–$60.99/kg across 1 dated product listings | $29.99/kg median; $19.00–$79.98/kg across 9 dated product listings |
| Identity & Market | ||
| Base polymer / chemistry | Polyether block amide: rigid polyamide and flexible polyether blocks.[1] | PLA filled with chopped carbon fibre — 5–10 wt% (Bambu Lab SDS), 8 wt% (Polymaker)[2][3] |
| Densityg/cm³ | 1.01 g/cm³ (GB/T 1033; eSUN manufacturer data)[1] | 1.22 (Bambu Lab) to 1.29 (Polymaker, 3DXTech), ISO 1183[4][3][5] |
| Typical priceUSD/kg | Not documented | 1 kg spools span 19–80; the middle of the market is about 31[6][7][5][8][9] |
| Price range across brandsUSD/kg | Not documented | 19–80 across brands; IEMAI 19, LANDU 24, SUNLU 27, Polymaker 30, Bambu Lab 32, 3DXTech 47, Proto-pasta 80[7][6][5][10][8][11][9] |
| Market availability1–5 | Not documented | Stocked by most mainstream brands[6][7][5][10] |
| Spool sizes & diameters | 1.75 mm diameter, 1 kg spool.[12] | 1.75 and 2.85 mm; 0.5, 0.75, 1 and 3 kg spools[10][5][13] |
| Typical applications | Manufacturer applications include footwear, sports equipment and cushioning.[1] | Stiff jigs, drone and RC frames, tool holders — matte black finish, no gain in tensile strength[4][3] |
| Diameter tolerance± mm | Not documented | ±0.03 (Bambu Lab)[6] |
| Printing Parameters | ||
| Nozzle temperature°C | 230–260 °C; 240 °C recommended.[1] | 210–240 (Bambu Lab); 190–230 (Polymaker)[4][3] |
| Bed temperature°C | 60–90 °C[1] | 35–45 (Bambu Lab); 25–60 (Polymaker)[4][3] |
| Enclosure / chamber requirement1–5 | Not documented | Open frame is fine[3] |
| Part cooling fan | 10–50% fan recommended; mechanical-test specimens used 50–100%.[1] | Fan on[4][3] |
| Bed surface & adhesion aid | PEI build plate[1] | Not documented |
| Maximum volumetric flow (mm³/s; see test conditions)mm³/s | 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.[1] | 16 at Bambu Lab's 200 mm/s cap and 24 at Polymaker's 300 mm/s, on a 0.4 mm nozzle at 0.2 mm layer; Bambu Lab's own filament guide says 250 mm/s where its TDS says 200[4][14][3][15] |
| Warping tendency1–5 | Not documented | None[4] |
| Stringing / oozing tendency1–5 | Not documented | Slight[3] |
| Overall printing difficulty1–5 | Not documented | Easy — minor profile tuning; needs a hardened nozzle and 0.4 mm or larger[14][3] |
| Extruder requirement | Not documented | Nozzles below 0.4 mm are not compatible (Bambu Lab)[14] |
| Hardware Wear & Reliability | ||
| Nozzle hardness required1–4 | Not documented | Hardened steel required[14][3] |
| Abrasiveness1–5 | Not documented | Highly abrasive — standard CF composite[14][16] |
| Nozzle clog risk1–5 | Not documented | Moderate — needs dry filament and a clean nozzle[14] |
| Hotend requirement | Not documented | Hardened steel nozzle; Bambu Lab lists PLA-CF among the filaments its hardened-steel nozzle exists for[16][14] |
| Other hardware wear | Not documented | Bambu Lab reports AMS wear; Polymaker advises against running PLA-CF through an AMS at all[14][3] |
| Moisture Behaviour | ||
| Moisture absorption (hygroscopicity)1–5 | Not documented | Moderate — 0.42 % saturated at 25 °C / 55 % RH (Bambu Lab); 0.38 % equilibrium (Polymaker)[4][3] |
| Equilibrium moisture content at ~50 % RH% | Not documented | 0.42 saturated at 25 °C / 55 % RH (Bambu Lab); 0.38 equilibrium (Polymaker)[4][3] |
| Drying temperature & time | 70–75 °C for 6–8 h; re-dry after receiving or extended exposure.[1] | 55 °C for 6–8 h[4][3] |
| Effect of moisture on strength | Not documented | Polymaker rates PLA low-sensitivity and publishes no dry-versus-conditioned figures for this grade; absorbed water flashes to steam and shows as bubbling and poor layer adhesion[17] |
| Mechanical Properties | ||
| Tensile strength (XY)MPa | >16.5 MPa printed XY, GB/T 1040; manufacturer lower bound, not an exact measurement.[1] | 31.2 (Polymaker) to 38 (Bambu Lab) printed XY, ISO 527; 48 at break for 3DXTech[4][3][5] |
| Young's modulusMPa | Not documented | 2790 (Bambu Lab) to 3281 (Polymaker) printed XY, ISO 527; 4950 for 3DXTech[4][3][5] |
| Elongation at break% | >520% printed XY, GB/T 1040; manufacturer lower bound.[1] | 8.4 (Bambu Lab) and 13.2 (Polymaker) printed XY, ISO 527; 2 for 3DXTech[4][3][5] |
| Flexural strengthMPa | Not documented | 51.7 (Polymaker) to 89 (Bambu Lab) printed XY, ISO 178[4][3] |
| Flexural modulusMPa | Not documented | 3381 (Polymaker) to 3950 (Bambu Lab) printed XY, ISO 178; 6320 for 3DXTech[4][3][5] |
| Charpy impact, notchedkJ/m² | Not documented | 5.5 (Polymaker) and 7.6 (Bambu Lab) printed XY, ISO 179, notched[4][3] |
| Other impact data | Not documented | Charpy unnotched 23.2 printed XY (Bambu Lab, ISO 179)[4] |
| Layer adhesion / Z tensileMPa | 7.5 MPa printed Z, GB/T 1040 (manufacturer test)[1] | 15.1 (Polymaker) to 26 (Bambu Lab) printed Z, ISO 527[4][3] |
| Brittleness1–5 | Not documented | Brittle — snaps with little warning; elongation in Z falls to 0.9 % (Polymaker)[3][4] |
| Hardness (scale-specific)Shore A / Shore D / Rockwell | 90 Shore A nominal grade designation; do not compare numerically with Shore D or Rockwell.[12] | 71.5 Shore D measured on printed bars for Sunlu CF PLA (My Tech Fun), against 75.3 for the same maker's unfilled PLA[18] |
| Creep resistance / sustained load1–5 | Not documented | Poor — 12 mm bars sagged to 15.1, 19.8 and 21.3 mm over 5 days at 1.25 kg across three brands, against 16.2–21.8 mm for their unfilled PLA[19][20][18] |
| Fatigue / repeated-flex resistance1–5 | Not documented | Poor — no CF-grade S-N curve; plain printed PLA ran 38 000–49 000 cycles at 30 % of tensile strength and elongation in Z falls to 0.9 %[21][3] |
| Elasticity / flexibility1–5 | Not documented | Rigid[3] |
| Z strength as % of XY% | Not documented | 48 (Polymaker) to 68 (Bambu Lab), printed[4][3] |
| Thermal Properties | ||
| HDT at 0.45 MPa°C | Not documented | 54 (Polymaker) to 55 (Bambu Lab), ISO 75 at 0.45 MPa[4][3] |
| HDT at 1.8 MPa°C | Not documented | 50 (Polymaker) to 54 (Bambu Lab), ISO 75 at 1.8 MPa[4][3] |
| Glass transition (Tg)°C | Not documented | 62–63 (DSC)[4][3] |
| Melting point / Vicat°C | 110 °C Vicat softening (GB/T 1633, 120 °C/h, 10 N); not HDT or a continuous-use rating.[1] | 162–165 peak melt (DSC); Vicat 64 °C (Polymaker)[4][3] |
| Continuous service temperature°C | Not documented | 50–61 — loaded bars begin to move at this temperature across three brands (Sunlu 50, Bambu Lab and Polymaker 61)[19][20][18] |
| Environment & Chemical | ||
| UV resistance1–5 | Not documented | Degrades within weeks outdoors[22] |
| Chemical resistance | Not documented | Good against weak acids, oils and grease; poor against strong acids and alkalis[3] |
| Health & Safety | ||
| Fume toxicity1–5 | Not documented | Low hazard — minimal VOC and particle emission[23] |
| Ventilation / filtration requirement1–5 | Not documented | None needed in a normal room[23] |
| Dust & fibre handling hazard | Not documented | Carbon fibre is bound in the matrix; sanding dust should not be inhaled[2] |
| Post-Processing | ||
| Support material pairing | Not documented | Support for PLA (Bambu Lab); PolySupport and PolyDissolve S1 (Polymaker)[4][3] |
| Dimensional accuracy & detail | Not documented | Matte finish hides layer lines; stiffness is the gain — tensile strength stays at or below Bambu Lab PLA Basic's 35 MPa and Polymaker PolyLite PLA's 52.3 MPa[4][3][24][25] |
| Solvents & Solubility | ||
| Soluble in | Not documented | Chloroform dissolves the PLA matrix (10 % w/v, 2–4 h at 23 °C) and leaves the filler as loose sludge; laboratory reagent.[26] |
| Softened or crazed by | Not documented | Acetone, ethyl acetate and toluene plasticise the matrix but dissolve <1 % even at 65 °C; acetone submersion crazes parts.[26][27] |
| Solvent welding & smoothing agent | Not documented | Chloroform vapour attacks only the resin fraction, so the filler is left standing proud; no workshop-safe agent exists.[28][27] |
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
- eSUN PEBA-90A Technical Data Sheet v1.0 (Aug 2025), checked 2026-10-17 eSUN · 2025-08 · tds
- Safety Data Sheet SDS20251127A50 — Bambu PLA-CF Bambu Lab · 2025-11 · msds
- PolyLite PLA-CF Technical Data Sheet V5.4 Polymaker · 2024-11 · tds
- Bambu Filament Technical Data Sheet V4.0 — PLA-CF Bambu Lab · 2026-08 · tds
- CarbonX PLA+CF Technical Data Sheet v3 3DXTech · 2026-08 · tds
- PLA-CF — product page Bambu Lab US Store · 2026-08 · vendor
- PolyLite PLA-CF — product page Polymaker Shop · 2026-08 · vendor
- IEMAI CF-PLA 3D Printing Filament product page IEMAI 3D · 2026-08 · vendor
- SUNLU PLA-CF Carbon Fiber 3D Printer Filament 1 kg SUNLU · 2026-08 · vendor
- Proto-pasta product catalogue Proto-pasta · 2026-08 · vendor
- LANDU Carbon Fiber PLA Filament 1.75 mm Black 1 kg LANDU (Amazon US) · 2026-08 · vendor
- eSUN PEBA-90A official product page: 1 kg price and product identity eSUN · 2026-10-17 · vendor
- Polymaker product catalogue Polymaker · 2026-08 · vendor
- PLA Usage Guide Bambu Lab Wiki · 2026-08 · doc
- Max volumetric speed Prusa Knowledge Base · 2026-08 · doc
- Nozzles — material and compatibility Bambu Lab Wiki · 2026-08 · doc
- Wet Filament — signs, causes and drying Polymaker Wiki · 2026-08 · doc
- Carbon Fiber PLA vs META-PLA vs PLA+ vs PLA by Sunlu — results spreadsheet My Tech Fun (Igor Gaspar) · 2026-08 · test
- BambuLab PLA Basic vs PLA Tough vs PLA-CF — results spreadsheet My Tech Fun (Igor Gaspar) · 2026-08 · test
- Polymaker PLA Pro vs PLA-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
- PLA — material guide Prusa Knowledge Base · 2026-08 · doc
- 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
- PolyLite PLA Technical Data Sheet V5.4 Polymaker · 2024-11 · tds
- Bambu Filament Technical Data Sheet V3.0 — PLA Basic Bambu Lab · 2026-08 · tds
- Solubility Study of Ingeo Biopolymer Grades in Common Organic Solvents (NWPD003) NatureWorks · 2019-10 · tds
- Improve your 3D prints with chemical smoothing Prusa Research · 2026-08 · doc
- Effect of vapour smoothing in trichloromethane on 3D printed PLA — surface, mechanical and chemical structure Pitale, Keche & Chopra, Engineering Research Express 6(4) 045579 · 2024-12 · paper