Filament comparison
PEBA vs PLA Glow
Compare printing settings, strength, heat resistance, dated prices and sources.
2 selected · all documented properties
| Property | PEBA (polyether block amide)FLEX | Glow-in-the-dark PLAPLA |
|---|---|---|
| Market snapshot | ||
| Listing priceUSD/kg; dated snapshots | $60.99/kg median; $60.99–$60.99/kg across 1 dated product listings | $24.99/kg median; $19.99–$49.16/kg across 5 dated product listings |
| Identity & Market | ||
| Base polymer / chemistry | Polyether block amide: rigid polyamide and flexible polyether blocks.[1] | PLA with a phosphorescent additive at 2–20 wt% (Bambu Lab SDS, filler not named)[2] |
| Densityg/cm³ | 1.01 g/cm³ (GB/T 1033; eSUN manufacturer data)[1] | 1.24 (colorFabb) to 1.26 (Bambu Lab), ISO 1183[3][4] |
| Typical priceUSD/kg | Not documented | 1 kg spools cluster near 25[5][6] |
| Price range across brandsUSD/kg | Not documented | 20–49 across brands; ELEGOO 20, Bambu Lab 25, Polymaker 25, Filament PM 49 on 0.5 kg spools[7][5][6][8] |
| Market availability1–5 | Not documented | Stocked by most mainstream brands[5][6][7] |
| Spool sizes & diameters | 1.75 mm diameter, 1 kg spool.[9] | 1.75 and 2.85 mm; 0.75 and 1 kg spools[10][4] |
| Typical applications | Manufacturer applications include footwear, sports equipment and cushioning.[1] | Signage, novelty and cosplay parts that glow after light exposure[3] |
| Printing Parameters | ||
| Nozzle temperature°C | 230–260 °C; 240 °C recommended.[1] | 190–230 on the Bambu Lab TDS against 210–240 in its own material table; colorFabb advises 195–220[3][11][4] |
| Bed temperature°C | 60–90 °C[1] | 35–45 (Bambu Lab); 50–60 (colorFabb)[3][4] |
| 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; colorFabb allows 0–100 %[3][4] |
| 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] | Not documented |
| Overall printing difficulty1–5 | Not documented | Easy — minor profile tuning; a hardened nozzle is mandatory[11][6] |
| Extruder requirement | Not documented | Bambu Lab: hardened steel and high-flow nozzles only, 0.2 mm excluded, AMS lite not compatible[11] |
| Hardware Wear & Reliability | ||
| Nozzle hardness required1–4 | Not documented | Hardened steel required[11][6][4] |
| Abrasiveness1–5 | Not documented | Highly abrasive — the phosphor is a hard ceramic; Bambu Lab groups glow with carbon fibre as the materials that wear nozzles and grind AMS PTFE, and both Bambu Lab and Polymaker require a hardened nozzle[11][4] |
| Nozzle clog risk1–5 | Not documented | Moderate — needs dry filament and a clean nozzle[11] |
| Hotend requirement | Not documented | Hardened steel nozzle; Bambu Lab lists glow-in-the-dark among the filaments its hardened-steel nozzle exists for[12][11] |
| Other hardware wear | Not documented | Bambu Lab reports the filament adds enough feeding resistance to fail prints on the AMS lite; colorFabb warns of brass nozzle wear[11][4] |
| Moisture Behaviour | ||
| Moisture absorption (hygroscopicity)1–5 | Not documented | Moderate — 0.46 % saturated at 25 °C / 55 % RH[3] |
| Equilibrium moisture content at ~50 % RH% | Not documented | 0.46 saturated at 25 °C / 55 % RH (Bambu Lab)[3] |
| Drying temperature & time | 70–75 °C for 6–8 h; re-dry after receiving or extended exposure.[1] | Not documented |
| 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[13] |
| Mechanical Properties | ||
| Tensile strength (XY)MPa | >16.5 MPa printed XY, GB/T 1040; manufacturer lower bound, not an exact measurement.[1] | 32 ± 3 printed XY, ISO 527 (Bambu Lab); colorFabb quotes 61.5 by ISO 527 on its own specimens[3][4] |
| Young's modulusMPa | Not documented | 2030 ± 210 printed XY, ISO 527 (Bambu Lab); colorFabb 2960[3][4] |
| Elongation at break% | >520% printed XY, GB/T 1040; manufacturer lower bound.[1] | 8.6 ± 1.2 printed XY, ISO 527 (Bambu Lab); colorFabb 10.5 at break[3][4] |
| Flexural strengthMPa | Not documented | 76 ± 4 printed XY, ISO 178 (Bambu Lab)[3] |
| Flexural modulusMPa | Not documented | 2640 ± 130 printed XY, ISO 178 (Bambu Lab); colorFabb 3295[3][4] |
| Charpy impact, notchedkJ/m² | Not documented | 2.8 (colorFabb, ISO 179-1/1eA) and 8.8 ± 1.7 (Bambu Lab, ISO 179) printed XY, notched[3][4] |
| Other impact data | Not documented | Charpy unnotched 27.3 (Bambu Lab) and 30.8 (colorFabb), printed, ISO 179[3][4] |
| Layer adhesion / Z tensileMPa | 7.5 MPa printed Z, GB/T 1040 (manufacturer test)[1] | 26 ± 3 printed Z, ISO 527 (Bambu Lab)[3] |
| Brittleness1–5 | Not documented | Brittle — snaps with little warning[3] |
| Hardness (scale-specific)Shore A / Shore D / Rockwell | 90 Shore A nominal grade designation; do not compare numerically with Shore D or Rockwell.[9] | Not documented |
| Creep resistance / sustained load1–5 | Not documented | Poor — no glow-grade creep test; plain printed PLA sagged from 12 to 16.2–21.8 mm over 5 days at 1.25 kg[14][15][16] |
| Fatigue / repeated-flex resistance1–5 | Not documented | Poor — no grade-specific S-N curve; plain printed PLA ran 38 000–49 000 cycles at 30 % of tensile strength and the glow filler leaves a brittle, highly abrasive compound[17][3] |
| Elasticity / flexibility1–5 | Not documented | Rigid[3] |
| Z strength as % of XY% | Not documented | 81 by tensile, 72 by flexural (printed, Bambu Lab)[3] |
| Thermal Properties | ||
| HDT at 0.45 MPa°C | Not documented | 55 (ISO 75, 0.45 MPa)[3] |
| HDT at 1.8 MPa°C | Not documented | 52 (ISO 75, 1.8 MPa)[3] |
| Glass transition (Tg)°C | Not documented | 55 (DSC)[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] | 155 peak melt (DSC); colorFabb quotes above 155 by ISO 3146-C[3][4] |
| Environment & Chemical | ||
| UV resistance1–5 | Not documented | Degrades within weeks outdoors[18] |
| Health & Safety | ||
| Fume toxicity1–5 | Not documented | Low hazard — minimal VOC and particle emission[19] |
| Ventilation / filtration requirement1–5 | Not documented | None needed in a normal room[19] |
| Post-Processing | ||
| Support material pairing | Not documented | Support for PLA (Bambu Lab)[3] |
| Dimensional accuracy & detail | Not documented | Glow brightness rises with wall thickness; 0.2 mm nozzles are not usable[11] |
| 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.[20] |
| 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.[20][21] |
| 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.[22][21] |
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 SDS20251127A12 — Bambu PLA Glow Bambu Lab · 2025-11 · msds
- Bambu Filament Technical Data Sheet — PLA Glow Bambu Lab · 2026-08 · tds
- glowFill technical data sheet colorFabb · 2026-08 · tds
- PLA Glow — product page Bambu Lab US Store · 2026-08 · vendor
- Panchroma Luminous PLA — product page Polymaker Shop · 2026-08 · vendor
- ELEGOO product catalogue ELEGOO · 2026-08 · vendor
- Filament PM PLA GlowJet technical data sheet Filament PM (Plasty Mladec) · 2026-08 · tds
- 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
- Nozzles — material and compatibility Bambu Lab Wiki · 2026-08 · doc
- Wet Filament — signs, causes and drying Polymaker Wiki · 2026-08 · doc
- 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
- Carbon Fiber PLA vs META-PLA vs PLA+ vs PLA by Sunlu — 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
- 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