3D Printing Info

Filament comparison

PLA Glow vs PVDF

Compare printing settings, strength, heat resistance, dated prices and sources.

Glow-in-the-dark PLA guidePVDF guide

2 selected · all documented properties

Open these two in the interactive comparisonMore PLA Glow comparisonsMore PVDF comparisons
PLA Glow vs PVDF — documented properties and sources
PropertyGlow-in-the-dark PLAPLAPVDFENGINEERING
Market snapshot
Listing priceUSD/kg; dated snapshots$24.99/kg median; $19.99–$49.16/kg across 5 dated product listings$250.67/kg median; $250.67–$250.67/kg across 1 dated product listings
Identity & Market
Base polymer / chemistryPLA with a phosphorescent additive at 2–20 wt% (Bambu Lab SDS, filler not named)[1]Polyvinylidene fluoride — a semi-crystalline fluoropolymer[2][3]
Densityg/cm³1.24 (colorFabb) to 1.26 (Bambu Lab), ISO 1183[4][5]1.71 (ISO 1183) — the densest unfilled filament in the dataset[2]
Typical priceUSD/kg1 kg spools cluster near 25[6][7]1 kg-equivalent spools cluster near 251[8]
Price range across brandsUSD/kg20–49 across brands; ELEGOO 20, Bambu Lab 25, Polymaker 25, Filament PM 49 on 0.5 kg spools[9][6][7][10]251 at 3DXTech's 750 g pricing — the most expensive material in the whole dataset[8]
Market availability1–5Stocked by most mainstream brands[6][7][9]Special order, 1–2 makers worldwide[8][11]
Spool sizes & diameters1.75 and 2.85 mm; 0.75 and 1 kg spools[12][5]1.75 and 2.85 mm; 750 g spools[8]
Typical applicationsSignage, novelty and cosplay parts that glow after light exposure[4]Chemical-plant fittings, semiconductor handling and parts needing outstanding UV and chemical resistance[2]
Printing Parameters
Nozzle temperature°C190–230 on the Bambu Lab TDS against 210–240 in its own material table; colorFabb advises 195–220[4][13][5]Not documented
Bed temperature°C35–45 (Bambu Lab); 50–60 (colorFabb)[4][5]70–110 (3DXTech FluorX)[2]
Enclosure / chamber requirement1–5Open frame is fine[4]Enclosure required (passive)[2]
Part cooling fanFan on; colorFabb allows 0–100 %[4][5]Not documented
Warping tendency1–5Not documentedHigh — enclosure needed for reliable large parts[2]
Overall printing difficulty1–5Easy — minor profile tuning; a hardened nozzle is mandatory[13][7]Expert / industrial hardware only[2][3]
Extruder requirementBambu Lab: hardened steel and high-flow nozzles only, 0.2 mm excluded, AMS lite not compatible[13]Not documented
Hardware Wear & Reliability
Nozzle hardness required1–4Hardened steel required[13][7][5]Brass fine indefinitely for unfilled grades[2]
Abrasiveness1–5Highly 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[13][5]Non-abrasive when unfilled[2]
Nozzle clog risk1–5Moderate — needs dry filament and a clean nozzle[13]Low — 3DXTech lists no special nozzle concerns, no minimum layer height and states drying is not required[11]
Hotend requirementHardened steel nozzle; Bambu Lab lists glow-in-the-dark among the filaments its hardened-steel nozzle exists for[14][13]Not documented
Other hardware wearBambu Lab reports the filament adds enough feeding resistance to fail prints on the AMS lite; colorFabb warns of brass nozzle wear[13][5]Hydrogen fluoride released on overheating is extremely corrosive and will attack hotend and enclosure metalwork as well as people[3]
Moisture Behaviour
Moisture absorption (hygroscopicity)1–5Moderate — 0.46 % saturated at 25 °C / 55 % RH[4]Negligible (<0.1 % EMC) — fluoropolymers are essentially non-hygroscopic[2]
Equilibrium moisture content at ~50 % RH%0.46 saturated at 25 °C / 55 % RH (Bambu Lab)[4]Not documented
Effect of moisture on strengthPolymaker 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[15]Not applicable in practice — 3DXTech states drying is not required for PVDF, so there is no moisture-driven strength loss to measure[11]
Mechanical Properties
Tensile strength (XY)MPa32 ± 3 printed XY, ISO 527 (Bambu Lab); colorFabb quotes 61.5 by ISO 527 on its own specimens[4][5]51 at break (printed XY, ISO 527)[2]
Young's modulusMPa2030 ± 210 printed XY, ISO 527 (Bambu Lab); colorFabb 2960[4][5]2450 (printed XY, ISO 527)[2]
Elongation at break%8.6 ± 1.2 printed XY, ISO 527 (Bambu Lab); colorFabb 10.5 at break[4][5]25 at break (printed XY, ISO 527)[2]
Flexural strengthMPa76 ± 4 printed XY, ISO 178 (Bambu Lab)[4]50 (printed XY, ISO 178)[2]
Flexural modulusMPa2640 ± 130 printed XY, ISO 178 (Bambu Lab); colorFabb 3295[4][5]1800 (printed XY, ISO 178)[2]
Charpy impact, notchedkJ/m²2.8 (colorFabb, ISO 179-1/1eA) and 8.8 ± 1.7 (Bambu Lab, ISO 179) printed XY, notched[4][5]Not documented
Other impact dataCharpy unnotched 27.3 (Bambu Lab) and 30.8 (colorFabb), printed, ISO 179[4][5]Izod 133 J/m on extruded PVDF stock, converted from 2.49 ft-lb/in (ASTM D256)[16]
Layer adhesion / Z tensileMPa26 ± 3 printed Z, ISO 527 (Bambu Lab)[4]Not documented
Brittleness1–5Brittle — snaps with little warning[4]Tough — absorbs impact, yields before breaking[2]
Hardness (scale-specific)Shore A / Shore D / RockwellNot documentedRockwell M79 on extruded PVDF stock (ASTM D785)[16]
Creep resistance / sustained load1–5Poor — no glow-grade creep test; plain printed PLA sagged from 12 to 16.2–21.8 mm over 5 days at 1.25 kg[17][18][19]Not documented
Fatigue / repeated-flex resistance1–5Poor — 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[20][4]Not documented
Elasticity / flexibility1–5Rigid[4]Slightly flexible in thin sections[2]
Z strength as % of XY%81 by tensile, 72 by flexural (printed, Bambu Lab)[4]Not documented
Thermal Properties
HDT at 0.45 MPa°C55 (ISO 75, 0.45 MPa)[4]149 on extruded PVDF stock (ASTM D648 at 66 psi; converted from 300 °F)[16]
HDT at 1.8 MPa°C52 (ISO 75, 1.8 MPa)[4]113 on extruded PVDF stock (ASTM D648 at 264 psi; converted from 235 °F)[16]
Glass transition (Tg)°C55 (DSC)[4]Not documented
Melting point / Vicat°C155 peak melt (DSC); colorFabb quotes above 155 by ISO 3146-C[4][5]170 melting (ISO 11357)[2]
Continuous service temperature°CNot documented149 long term and short term on extruded PVDF stock (converted from 300 °F)[16]
Thermal expansion (CTE)µm/m·KNot documented127.8 (extruded PVDF stock, ASTM D696; source states 7.1e-5 in/in/°F) — the highest thermal expansion of any engineering polymer in this dataset[16]
Flammability / UL 94Not documentedUL 94 V-0 on extruded PVDF stock; Ensinger lists inherent flame resistance[16]
Environment & Chemical
UV resistance1–5Degrades within weeks outdoors[21]Excellent — designed for permanent outdoor use; Ensinger lists good UV and weather resistance and high gamma radiation resistance for PVDF stock[2][16]
Chemical resistanceNot documentedOutstanding — resistant to most acids, solvents and oxidising agents, which is the reason to use it[2]
Water / humidity resistance in service1–5Not documentedExcellent — essentially unaffected[2]
Health & Safety
Fume toxicity1–5Low hazard — minimal VOC and particle emission[22]Very high — toxic decomposition products; local exhaust mandatory. Above 315 °C thermal decomposition yields hydrofluoric acid, hydrogen cyanide and carbon monoxide[3]
Hazardous species emittedNot documentedAbove 315 °C: hydrofluoric acid, hydrogen cyanide, phenols, carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide and dense smoke. HF is extremely corrosive, its skin burns may not be immediately visible or painful, and exposure can be fatal by skin absorption, inhalation or ingestion[3]
Ventilation / filtration requirement1–5None needed in a normal room[22]Local exhaust to outside / fume hood — the SDS states local exhaust is preferred[3]
Dust & fibre handling hazardNot documentedMolten polymer causes thermal burns and must not be pulled off the skin. If HF is detected during a decomposition event, cut the heat but keep the extraction running, ventilate, and clear non-essential people from the area[3]
Post-Processing
Support material pairingSupport for PLA (Bambu Lab)[4]Not documented
Dimensional accuracy & detailGlow brightness rises with wall thickness; 0.2 mm nozzles are not usable[13]The processing window sits well below the 315 °C decomposition threshold, so nozzle temperature must be controlled rather than raised to chase flow[2][3]
Solvents & Solubility
Soluble inChloroform dissolves the PLA matrix (10 % w/v, 2–4 h at 23 °C) and leaves the filler as loose sludge; laboratory reagent.[23]THF, MEK, DMF, DMAc, NMP, DMSO and trimethyl phosphate dissolve 5–10 wt% at ambient — Arkema's active solvents, all lab reagents.[24]
Softened or crazed byAcetone, ethyl acetate and toluene plasticise the matrix but dissolve <1 % even at 65 °C; acetone submersion crazes parts.[23][25]Acetone, MIBK, cyclohexanone, butyl acetate and glycol ethers swell it; alkalis above pH 12 attack the homopolymer.[24][26]
Solvent welding & smoothing agentChloroform vapour attacks only the resin fraction, so the filler is left standing proud; no workshop-safe agent exists.[27][25]None for the workshop — the active solvents (NMP, DMAc, DMF) are laboratory reagents used for casting membranes, not joints.[24]

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

  1. Safety Data Sheet SDS20251127A12 — Bambu PLA Glow Bambu Lab · 2025-11 · msds
  2. FluorX PVDF Technical Data Sheet v3 3DXTech · 2026-08 · tds
  3. FluorX PVDF Safety Data Sheet v1.1 3DXTech · 2026-08 · msds
  4. Bambu Filament Technical Data Sheet — PLA Glow Bambu Lab · 2026-08 · tds
  5. glowFill technical data sheet colorFabb · 2026-08 · tds
  6. PLA Glow — product page Bambu Lab US Store · 2026-08 · vendor
  7. Panchroma Luminous PLA — product page Polymaker Shop · 2026-08 · vendor
  8. 3DXTech product catalogue 3DXTech · 2026-08 · vendor
  9. ELEGOO product catalogue ELEGOO · 2026-08 · vendor
  10. Filament PM PLA GlowJet technical data sheet Filament PM (Plasty Mladec) · 2026-08 · tds
  11. FluorX PVDF — product page 3DXTech · 2026-08 · vendor
  12. Polymaker product catalogue Polymaker · 2026-08 · vendor
  13. PLA Usage Guide Bambu Lab Wiki · 2026-08 · doc
  14. Nozzles — material and compatibility Bambu Lab Wiki · 2026-08 · doc
  15. Wet Filament — signs, causes and drying Polymaker Wiki · 2026-08 · doc
  16. TECAFLON PVDF natural — stock shape properties Ensinger · 2026-08 · tds
  17. BambuLab PLA Basic vs PLA Tough vs PLA-CF — results spreadsheet My Tech Fun (Igor Gaspar) · 2026-08 · test
  18. Polymaker PLA Pro vs PLA-CF — results spreadsheet My Tech Fun (Igor Gaspar) · 2026-08 · test
  19. Carbon Fiber PLA vs META-PLA vs PLA+ vs PLA by Sunlu — results spreadsheet My Tech Fun (Igor Gaspar) · 2026-08 · test
  20. Mechanical Properties of Additively Manufactured Polymeric Materials — PLA and PETG — For Biomechanical Applications Polymers 16(13):1868 · 2024-06 · paper
  21. PLA — material guide Prusa Knowledge Base · 2026-08 · doc
  22. 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
  23. Solubility Study of Ingeo Biopolymer Grades in Common Organic Solvents (NWPD003) NatureWorks · 2019-10 · tds
  24. Kynar PVDF — Design properties: solubility and irradiation (active and latent solvents) Arkema · 2026-08 · tds
  25. Improve your 3D prints with chemical smoothing Prusa Research · 2026-08 · doc
  26. Kynar PVDF resin — chemical and fuel resistance Arkema · 2026-08 · tds
  27. 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