Filament comparison
PETG-ESD vs Breakaway
Compare printing settings, strength, heat resistance, dated prices and sources.
2 selected · all documented properties
| Property | ESD-safe PETGPETG | Break-away supportSUPPORT |
|---|---|---|
| Market snapshot | ||
| Listing priceUSD/kg; dated snapshots | $102.99/kg median; $65.98–$140.00/kg across 2 dated product listings | $42.49/kg median; $26.00–$79.98/kg across 4 dated product listings |
| Identity & Market | ||
| Base polymer / chemistry | PETG compounded with a conductive filler to bring surface resistivity into the static-dissipative range[1][2] | Break-away support compounds matched to a specific model material — Polymaker sells separate grades for PLA and for PA12[3][4] |
| Densityg/cm³ | 1.24 (Fiberon) and 1.28 (3DXTech), ISO 1183[1][2] | 1.22 (PolySupport for PLA) and 1.29 (PolySupport for PA12), ISO 1183[3][4] |
| Typical priceUSD/kg | 1 kg-equivalent spools span 66–140; the middle of the market is about 103[5][6] | 1 kg-equivalent spools span 26–80; the middle of the market is about 45[5][7][8] |
| Price range across brandsUSD/kg | 66–140 across brands; Fiberon PETG-ESD 66, 3DXSTAT ESD-PETG 140[5][6] | 26–80 across brands and grades; IEMAI 3D E-REMOVE 26, Polymaker PolySupport for PLA 40 at 750 g, YXPOLYER 45, PolySupport for PA12 80 at 500 g[5][7][8] |
| Market availability1–5 | Niche, a handful of specialist brands[5][6] | Available from several mainstream brands[5][6] |
| Spool sizes & diameters | 1.75 mm; 0.5, 0.75, 1 and 3 kg spools[5][6] | 1.75 and 2.85 mm; 0.5 and 0.75 kg spools[5] |
| Typical applications | Electronics fixtures, trays and jigs handled around static-sensitive components[1][2] | Support that peels off by hand, avoiding the moisture handling and dissolution time that soluble supports demand[3] |
| Printing Parameters | ||
| Nozzle temperature°C | 250–290 (Fiberon)[1] | 220–230 (PolySupport for PLA)[3] |
| Bed temperature°C | 70–80 (Fiberon); 70 (3DXTech)[1][2] | 25–60 (PolySupport for PLA)[3] |
| Enclosure / chamber requirement1–5 | Open frame is fine — Fiberon specifies room-temperature chamber[1] | Open frame is fine[3] |
| Bed surface & adhesion aid | Textured PEI, satin or powder-coated sheets; on smooth PEI a glue stick acts as a release agent[9][10] | Not documented |
| Maximum volumetric flow (mm³/s; see test conditions)mm³/s | Fiberon rates the material to 500 mm/s, equivalent to 40 on a 0.4 mm nozzle at 0.2 mm layer — a machine-limited headline rather than a measured melt rate[1][11] | 4–12 at Polymaker's 50–150 mm/s on a 0.4 mm nozzle at 0.2 mm layer[3] |
| Bed-adhesion difficulty1–5 | Needs the right surface or a thin adhesive — the problem is releasing the part, not sticking it[9][10] | Not documented |
| Stringing / oozing tendency1–5 | Moderate — retraction tuning needed; Polymaker names stringing as PETG's common quirk[10] | Not documented |
| Overall printing difficulty1–5 | Intermediate — dry filament and a tuned profile; resistivity depends on getting the nozzle temperature right[1] | Easy — minor profile tuning[3] |
| Extruder requirement | Not documented | A second extruder or a tool changer[3] |
| Hardware Wear & Reliability | ||
| Nozzle hardness required1–4 | Hardened steel required[1] | Brass fine indefinitely[3] |
| Abrasiveness1–5 | Moderately abrasive — conductive carbon filler[1] | Non-abrasive[3] |
| Nozzle clog risk1–5 | Low — 3DXTech lists no special nozzle concerns and no minimum layer height for its ESD-PETG, only a 65 °C pre-dry[12] | Moderate — needs dry filament and a clean nozzle; Polymaker specifies a 55 °C dry for the PLA grade and warns brass nozzle life falls to about 9 h on the PA12 grade[3][4] |
| Heat-creep / jam sensitivity1–5 | Slightly sensitive[13] | Not documented |
| Hotend requirement | No special hot-end required[13] | Not documented |
| Moisture Behaviour | ||
| Moisture absorption (hygroscopicity)1–5 | Moderate (0.3–0.8 %) — the PETG matrix reaches 0.40 % saturated at 25 °C / 55 % RH and 3DXTech specifies a 65 °C, 4 h pre-dry[9][12] | Moderate — 0.64 % equilibrium water absorption (PolySupport for PLA)[3] |
| Equilibrium moisture content at ~50 % RH% | 0.41 equilibrium water absorption (Fiberon PETG-ESD)[1] | 0.64 equilibrium water absorption (Polymaker PolySupport for PLA)[3] |
| Drying temperature & time | 65 °C for 3 h (Fiberon)[1] | Not documented |
| Symptoms when wet | Bubbling and popping at the nozzle, stringing and a rough surface[14] | Not documented |
| Effect of moisture on strength | Polymaker groups PETG with nylon, PVA and TPU as highly hygroscopic; no dry-versus-conditioned strength figures are published for this grade and the loss shows as bubbling and poor layer adhesion[14] | Not a structural material; no dry-versus-conditioned data is published[14] |
| Storage requirement | Sealed with desiccant; Polymaker groups PETG with the highly hygroscopic materials[14][10] | Not documented |
| Mechanical Properties | ||
| Tensile strength (XY)MPa | 36.1 ± 0.9 printed XY, ISO 527 (Fiberon); 3DXTech quotes 50 at break[1][2] | Not documented |
| Young's modulusMPa | 1983 ± 75 printed XY, ISO 527 (Fiberon)[1] | Not documented |
| Elongation at break% | 7.3 ± 0.7 printed XY, ISO 527 (Fiberon); 3DXTech quotes 13 at break[1][2] | Not documented |
| Flexural strengthMPa | 54.0 ± 2.5 printed XY, ISO 178 (Fiberon)[1] | Not documented |
| Flexural modulusMPa | 1651 ± 141 printed XY, ISO 178 (Fiberon)[1] | Not documented |
| Charpy impact, notchedkJ/m² | 5.7 ± 0.5 printed XY, ISO 179, notched (Fiberon)[1] | Not documented |
| Other impact data | Charpy unnotched 29.3 ± 2.2 printed XY (Fiberon, ISO 179)[1] | Not documented |
| Layer adhesion / Z tensileMPa | 20.7 ± 0.6 printed Z, ISO 527 (Fiberon)[1] | Not documented |
| Brittleness1–5 | Moderate[1] | Not documented |
| Creep resistance / sustained load1–5 | Below average — no ESD-grade creep test; unfilled PETG sagged from 12 to 17.1–20.4 mm over 5 days at 1.25 kg[15][16][17][18] | Not documented |
| Fatigue / repeated-flex resistance1–5 | Moderate — no ESD-grade S-N curve; unfilled printed PETG ran 79 000–193 000 cycles at 30 % of tensile strength[19] | Not documented |
| Elasticity / flexibility1–5 | Slightly flexible in thin sections[1] | Not documented |
| Z strength as % of XY% | 57 (Fiberon, printed Z against XY tensile)[1] | Not documented |
| Thermal Properties | ||
| HDT at 0.45 MPa°C | 76 (ISO 75, 0.45 MPa, Fiberon)[1] | 43 (ISO 75, 0.45 MPa, PolySupport for PA12). Polymaker's sheet prints a higher figure at the higher load, which is physically inverted; treat both HDT numbers as approximate[4] |
| HDT at 1.8 MPa°C | 72 (ISO 75, 1.8 MPa, Fiberon)[1] | 53 (ISO 75, 1.8 MPa, PolySupport for PA12) — printed above the 0.45 MPa figure on Polymaker's own sheet, which cannot be right; treat both as approximate[4] |
| Glass transition (Tg)°C | 77 (Fiberon) and 80 (3DXTech), DSC[1][2] | Not documented |
| Melting point / Vicat°C | Amorphous — no melting point; Vicat 86 (Fiberon, ISO 306)[1] | Vicat 171 (PolySupport for PA12, ISO 306)[4] |
| Flammability / UL 94 | Flammable; no UL 94 rating published for standard grades[20] | Not documented |
| Environment & Chemical | ||
| Chemical resistance | Withstands acids, alkalis, oils and UV exposure[10] | Not documented |
| Food contact | Not certified for food contact as filament[10] | Not documented |
| Biodegradability / compostability | Not biodegradable[10] | Not documented |
| Recyclability | Not accepted in household plastic collection[10] | Not documented |
| Electrical & ESD properties | Surface resistivity falls with nozzle temperature: 7.0×10⁶–1.6×10⁷ ohm at 250 °C, 3.2×10⁵–4.7×10⁵ at 270 °C and below 1×10⁴ at 290 °C (Fiberon); 3DXTech quotes 10⁷–10⁹ ohm/sq[1][2] | Surface resistance above 10^13 ohm/sq (ASTM D257, THERMAX HTS2 and MTS1)[21][22] |
| Health & Safety | ||
| Fume toxicity1–5 | Moderate — measurable VOCs and UFPs, ventilation advised[23] | Low hazard — minimal VOC and particle emission; none of these materials was in the chamber study[23] |
| Ventilation / filtration requirement1–5 | Open a window / occasional ventilation[23] | Open a window / occasional ventilation[23] |
| Dust & fibre handling hazard | Conductive carbon filler is bound in the matrix; avoid inhaling sanding dust[1] | Not documented |
| Post-Processing | ||
| Sanding & machining | Sands poorly — the material is tough and gums rather than powders[13] | Not documented |
| Gluing & solvent welding | Cyanoacrylate; no common solvent welds PETG cleanly[13] | Not documented |
| Vapour / chemical smoothing | No practical vapour smoothing[13] | Not documented |
| Support material pairing | Prints its own supports; Polymaker rates PolyDissolve S1 for PETG[13] | This is the support material. Polymaker publishes an adhesion matrix per model material, from very good to unusable, because break-away supports only work against the polymer they were matched to[3][4] |
| Dimensional accuracy & detail | Nozzle temperature has to be held steady — it moves surface resistivity by three orders of magnitude[1] | Not documented |
| Solvents & Solubility | ||
| Soluble in | No common workshop solvent; 1,2-dichloroethane destroys it inside a week and dichloromethane — a carcinogen — dissolves the surface.[24][25] | None — break-away support is removed mechanically; 3DXTech lists no water or solvent route for it.[26] |
| Softened or crazed by | Acetone (+16 % weight over 1 year at 23 °C), ethyl acetate, toluene and DMF swell and soften it; methanol crazes it.[24] | Not documented |
| Solvent welding & smoothing agent | Dichloromethane brushed on is the only agent that smooths PETG — a controlled carcinogen, not workshop stock.[25] | None — there is no solvent to weld or smooth with.[26] |
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
- Fiberon PETG-ESD Technical Data Sheet V1.1 Polymaker · 2026-08 · tds
- 3DXSTAT ESD-PETG Technical Data Sheet 3DXTech · 2026-08 · tds
- PolySupport Technical Data Sheet V5.4 Polymaker · 2024-11 · tds
- PolySupport for PA12 Technical Data Sheet V5.4 Polymaker · 2024-11 · tds
- Polymaker product catalogue Polymaker · 2026-08 · vendor
- 3DXTech product catalogue 3DXTech · 2026-08 · vendor
- YXPOLYER Breakaway Support Filament 1 kg Black — product page YXPOLYER · 2026-08 · vendor
- IEMAI 3D E-REMOVE breakaway support filament — store page IEMAI 3D · 2026-08 · vendor
- Prusament PETG Technical Datasheet v1.1 Prusa Polymers · 2022-02 · tds
- PETG — material basics Polymaker Wiki · 2026-08 · doc
- Max volumetric speed Prusa Knowledge Base · 2026-08 · doc
- 3DXSTAT ESD-PETG — product page (print recommendations) 3DXTech · 2026-08 · doc
- PET and PETG — Ultimate 3D Printing Materials Guide Simplify3D · 2026-08 · doc
- Wet Filament — signs, causes and drying Polymaker Wiki · 2026-08 · doc
- PCTG vs PETG comparison — results spreadsheet My Tech Fun (Igor Gaspar) · 2026-08 · test
- Extrudr PETG vs PCTG vs XPETG-CF — results spreadsheet My Tech Fun (Igor Gaspar) · 2026-08 · test
- Prusament PETG-CF vs PETG V0 vs PETG — results spreadsheet My Tech Fun (Igor Gaspar) · 2026-08 · test
- BambuLab PETG Basic vs Translucent vs PETG-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
- Prusament PETG V0 Technical Datasheet Prusa Polymers · 2026-08 · tds
- THERMAX HTS2 Break Away Support Technical Data Sheet v1.0 3DXTech · 2026-08 · tds
- THERMAX MTS1 Break Away Support Technical Data Sheet v1.0 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
- Eastman Spectar copolyester — Chemical resistance (unstressed bars, 1 year at 23 °C) Eastman Chemical Company · 2026-08 · tds
- Improve your 3D prints with chemical smoothing Prusa Research · 2026-08 · doc
- THERMAX HTS1 — product page 3DXTech · 2026-08 · vendor