3D Printing InfoFilament comparison
PEBA vs TPU 85A
Compare printing settings, strength, heat resistance, dated prices and sources.
2 selected · all documented properties
| Property | PEBA (polyether block amide)FLEX | TPU 85AFLEX |
|---|---|---|
| Market snapshot | ||
| Listing priceUSD/kg; dated snapshots | $60.99/kg median; $60.99–$60.99/kg across 1 dated product listings | $89.89/kg median; $31.99–$106.05/kg across 6 dated product listings |
| Identity & Market | ||
| Base polymer / chemistry | Polyether block amide: rigid polyamide and flexible polyether blocks.[1] | Soft thermoplastic polyurethane at 82–85 Shore A[2][3][4] |
| Densityg/cm³ | 1.01 g/cm³ (GB/T 1033; eSUN manufacturer data)[1] | 1.11 (BASF Ultrafuse 85A) to 1.19 (NinjaFlex 85A), ISO 1183 / ASTM D792[4][2] |
| Typical priceUSD/kg | Not documented | 1 kg-equivalent spools span 32–106; the middle of the market is about 90[5][6][2] |
| Price range across brandsUSD/kg | Not documented | 32–106 across brands; Siraya Tech Flex TPU 85A 32 at 1 kg, add:north TPU Pro Matte 85A 72, Recreus Filaflex 82A 90 at 500 g, Proto-pasta Clear Flexible TPU 90, 3DXTech 3DXFLEX 85A 96, NinjaTek NinjaFlex 106[7][5][6][8][2] |
| Market availability1–5 | Not documented | Available from several mainstream brands[5][7] |
| Spool sizes & diameters | 1.75 mm diameter, 1 kg spool.[9] | 1.75, 2.85 and 3 mm; 0.5, 1 and 2 kg spools[5][7][2] |
| Typical applications | Manufacturer applications include footwear, sports equipment and cushioning.[1] | Soft-touch grips, seals, wearables and anything that must compress and rebound[2][3] |
| Printing Parameters | ||
| Nozzle temperature°C | 230–260 °C; 240 °C recommended.[1] | 200–220 (BASF Ultrafuse 85A, 210 typical)[4] |
| Bed temperature°C | 60–90 °C[1] | 40 (BASF Ultrafuse 85A)[4] |
| Enclosure / chamber requirement1–5 | Not documented | Open frame is fine[4] |
| Part cooling fan | 10–50% fan recommended; mechanical-test specimens used 50–100%.[1] | Not documented |
| Bed surface & adhesion aid | PEI build plate[1] | PEI sheet or painter's tape; Polymaker warns TPU can over-stick and advises a glue stick as a release agent[10][11] |
| 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] | 1.2–3.2 at the 15–40 mm/s BASF specifies on a 0.4 mm nozzle at 0.2 mm layer[4] |
| Warping tendency1–5 | Not documented | None[4] |
| Bed-adhesion difficulty1–5 | Not documented | Sticks to anything — Recreus states its 82A grade has excellent bed adhesion without a heated bed or additives[3] |
| Stringing / oozing tendency1–5 | Not documented | High — drying plus tuning needed[12][11] |
| Overall printing difficulty1–5 | Not documented | Advanced — enclosure, hardware upgrades, tuning; at this hardness the filament will not push through a Bowden tube[2][3] |
| Extruder requirement | Not documented | Direct drive only. NinjaTek calls its 85A grade ideal for direct-drive extruders and Recreus specifies direct-drive printers for 82A; BASF caps print speed at 15–40 mm/s with a nozzle of 0.4 mm or larger[2][3][4] |
| Hardware Wear & Reliability | ||
| Nozzle hardness required1–4 | Not documented | Brass fine indefinitely[13] |
| Abrasiveness1–5 | Not documented | Non-abrasive[13] |
| Nozzle clog risk1–5 | Not documented | High — jams from moisture, heat creep or particles[12][11] |
| Heat-creep / jam sensitivity1–5 | Not documented | Very high — softens in the cold zone readily; soft filament buckles between the drive gear and the melt zone[11][2] |
| Hotend requirement | Not documented | No special hot-end required, but a direct-drive extruder is (Simplify3D)[10] |
| Moisture Behaviour | ||
| Moisture absorption (hygroscopicity)1–5 | Not documented | Moderate — NinjaTek measures 0.22 % in 24 h (ASTM D570) and BASF specifies a 70 °C dry for at least 5 h[2][4] |
| Equilibrium moisture content at ~50 % RH% | Not documented | 0.22 after 24 h water immersion (NinjaFlex 85A, ASTM D570) — an immersion figure, not an equilibrium moisture content at 50 % RH[2] |
| Drying temperature & time | 70–75 °C for 6–8 h; re-dry after receiving or extended exposure.[1] | 70 °C for at least 5 h in a hot-air dryer or vacuum oven (BASF)[4] |
| Symptoms when wet | Not documented | Bubbling and popping at the nozzle, stringing and a rough surface[12] |
| Effect of moisture on strength | Not documented | Polymaker groups TPU with the highly hygroscopic materials; wet TPU prints with poor layer adhesion and weak, brittle layers[12] |
| Storage requirement | Not documented | Sealed with desiccant; often kept in a dryer during the print[12] |
| Mechanical Properties | ||
| Tensile strength (XY)MPa | >16.5 MPa printed XY, GB/T 1040; manufacturer lower bound, not an exact measurement.[1] | 26 ultimate (NinjaFlex 85A, ASTM D638)[2] |
| Young's modulusMPa | Not documented | 12 (NinjaFlex 85A, ASTM D638) — two orders of magnitude below any rigid filament; NinjaTek's 95A Cheetah reaches 26 by the same method[2][14] |
| Elongation at break% | >520% printed XY, GB/T 1040; manufacturer lower bound.[1] | 650 at break (Filaflex 82A) and 660 (NinjaFlex 85A); BASF measures 600 in XY and 320 in ZX[3][2][4] |
| Layer adhesion / Z tensileMPa | 7.5 MPa printed Z, GB/T 1040 (manufacturer test)[1] | Not documented |
| Brittleness1–5 | Not documented | Very ductile — bends far before failing[2] |
| Hardness (scale-specific)Shore A / Shore D / Rockwell | 90 Shore A nominal grade designation; do not compare numerically with Shore D or Rockwell.[9] | 29 Shore D / 85 Shore A (BASF Ultrafuse 85A, ISO 7619-1); 85 Shore A (NinjaFlex, ASTM D2240); 82 A nominal for Filaflex[2][4][3] |
| Creep resistance / sustained load1–5 | Not documented | Poor — no 85A creep test; a printed 95A TPU bar crept from 74.5 to 82.7 mm over 5 days at 1.25 kg, and softer grades creep more[15] |
| Fatigue / repeated-flex resistance1–5 | Not documented | Excellent — living hinges viable[11] |
| Elasticity / flexibility1–5 | Not documented | Rubbery / highly elastic[2][3] |
| Z strength as % of XY% | Not documented | 53 — BASF measures 320 % elongation at break in ZX against 600 % in XY[4] |
| Wear resistance & friction | Not documented | Abrasion 0.08 g mass loss over 10 000 cycles (NinjaFlex, ASTM D4060); 82 mm³ (BASF, ISO 4649)[2][4] |
| Thermal Properties | ||
| Melting point / Vicat°C | 110 °C Vicat softening (GB/T 1633, 120 °C/h, 10 N); not HDT or a continuous-use rating.[1] | 216 melting (NinjaFlex 85A, DSC)[2] |
| Environment & Chemical | ||
| UV resistance1–5 | Not documented | Good — years with some colour shift; Polymaker lists UV exposure among the conditions TPU withstands[11] |
| Chemical resistance | Not documented | Withstands industrial solvents and UV exposure (Polymaker)[11] |
| Food contact | Not documented | Not food safe without specific certification (Polymaker)[11] |
| Biodegradability / compostability | Not documented | Not biodegradable[11] |
| Recyclability | Not documented | Not accepted in household plastic collection[11] |
| Health & Safety | ||
| Fume toxicity1–5 | Not documented | Low hazard — minimal VOC and particle emission; TPU was not among the nine filaments in the chamber study[16] |
| Ventilation / filtration requirement1–5 | Not documented | Open a window / occasional ventilation[16] |
| Post-Processing | ||
| Sanding & machining | Not documented | Difficult to sand or smooth; Polymaker limits post-processing to trimming or tumbling[11] |
| Gluing & solvent welding | Not documented | Cyanoacrylate bonds TPU; no common solvent welds it[11] |
| Vapour / chemical smoothing | Not documented | No practical vapour smoothing[11] |
| Support material pairing | Not documented | Polymaker warns TPU supports are often very difficult to remove[11] |
| Solvents & Solubility | ||
| Soluble in | Not documented | DMF, DMSO, NMP and THF dissolve TPU; acetone, MEK and cyclohexanone are partial solvents. All laboratory reagents.[17] |
| Softened or crazed by | Not documented | Toluene and benzene swell it up to +50 % by weight at 23 °C; esters swell it severely; ethanol and IPA soften it.[17] |
| Solvent welding & smoothing agent | Not documented | None practical — the true solvents (DMF, THF, NMP) are laboratory reagents and leave the joint swollen and weak.[17] |
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
- NinjaFlex 85A Technical Specifications NinjaTek · 2026-08 · tds
- Filaflex 82A product page (Shore hardness and elongation) Recreus · 2026-08 · vendor
- Ultrafuse TPU 85A Technical Data Sheet (Version 3.0) BASF Forward AM · 2022-08 · tds
- 3DXTech product catalogue 3DXTech · 2026-08 · vendor
- Siraya Tech Flex TPU 85A Filament — product page Siraya Tech · 2026-08 · vendor
- Proto-pasta product catalogue Proto-pasta · 2026-08 · vendor
- add:north TPU Pro Matte 85A product page add:north · 2026-08 · vendor
- eSUN PEBA-90A official product page: 1 kg price and product identity eSUN · 2026-10-17 · vendor
- Flexible (TPE/TPU) — Ultimate 3D Printing Materials Guide Simplify3D · 2026-08 · doc
- TPU — material basics Polymaker Wiki · 2026-08 · doc
- Wet Filament — signs, causes and drying Polymaker Wiki · 2026-08 · doc
- Extrudr Product Catalogue (DURAPRO PA12 data block) Extrudr · 2025-03 · tds
- NinjaTek technical specs comparison chart (Cheetah, NinjaFlex, Armadillo, Alloy 910, Nylon 645) NinjaTek · 2026-08 · tds
- BambuLab TPU 95A HF vs Qidi TPU 95A HF — results spreadsheet My Tech Fun (Igor Gaspar) · 2024-02 · test
- 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
- Elastollan — Chemical properties: swelling and chemical resistance BASF · 2026-08 · tds