3D Printing Info

Filament comparison

PLA-PHA vs POM

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

PLA/PHA blend guidePOM (acetal) guide

2 selected · all documented properties

Open these two in the interactive comparisonMore PLA-PHA comparisonsMore POM comparisons
PLA-PHA vs POM — documented properties and sources
PropertyPLA/PHA blendPLAPOM (acetal)ENGINEERING
Market snapshot
Listing priceUSD/kg; dated snapshots$76.40/kg median; $76.40–$76.40/kg across 1 dated product listingsNot documented
Identity & Market
Base polymer / chemistryPLA blended with polyhydroxyalkanoate, a bacterially fermented bio-polyester[1]Polyoxymethylene, normally the copolymer POM-C. Apium's filament grade is POM-C with antistatic additives; no unfilled POM filament was found on sale[2][3]
Densityg/cm³1.2 (ISO 1183)[1]1.41 (extruded POM-C stock)[2]
Market availability1–5Niche, a handful of specialist brands[1][4]Special order, 1-2 makers worldwide — Apium sells a POM-C ESD filament through its own shop and states its printers are the only ones able to process POM-C; no POM filament appears in the 3DJAKE or igo3d product sitemaps, at MatterHackers or at Printed Solid[3][5][6][7]
Spool sizes & diameters1.75 and 2.85 mm; 750 g and 2200 g spools[1]Not documented
Typical applicationsGeneral-purpose printing where PLA's brittleness is the limiting factor[1]Gears, bushings, bearings, conveyor and food-machinery parts; Apium markets its POM-C ESD grade for semiconductor insulators, aerospace fasteners and sliding parts[2][3]
Printing Parameters
Nozzle temperature°C195–220 (colorFabb)[1]Not documented
Bed temperature°C50–60 (colorFabb)[1]Not documented
Enclosure / chamber requirement1–5Open frame is fine[1]Not documented
Part cooling fan0–100 %; colorFabb states the blend runs on both heated and unheated beds[1][8]Not documented
Maximum volumetric flow (mm³/s; see test conditions)mm³/s3.2–8 at colorFabb's 40–100 mm/s, on a 0.4 mm nozzle at 0.2 mm layer[8][9]Not documented
Overall printing difficulty1–5Beginner — prints on any machine out of the box[1]Not documented
Extruder requirementNot documentedApium states that the adaptive heating system on its industrial machines is what makes POM-C printable, and that no other 3D printer can process it[3]
Hardware Wear & Reliability
Nozzle hardness required1–4Brass fine indefinitely[1]Not documented
Abrasiveness1–5Non-abrasive[1]Not documented
Nozzle clog risk1–5Very low — unfilled PLA blend; Prusa lists no drybox and no hardened nozzle for PLA[10]Not documented
Moisture Behaviour
Moisture absorption (hygroscopicity)1–5Moderate — the PLA matrix takes up 0.40–0.51 % saturated; colorFabb publishes no figure for the blend[11][12]Low (0.1-0.3 %) — extruded POM-C stock takes up 0.18 % in 24 h and 0.80 % at saturation (ASTM D570)[2]
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[13]Not documented
Mechanical Properties
Tensile strength (XY)MPa62–64 (ISO 527-1A, colorFabb; two grades quoted)[1]66.9 at break and 64.1 at yield (extruded POM-C stock, ASTM D638; converted from 9700 and 9300 psi)[2]
Young's modulusMPa2960–3070 (ISO 527-1A, colorFabb)[1]2275 (extruded POM-C stock, ASTM D638; converted from 330,000 psi)[2]
Elongation at break%4 and 11 (ISO 527-1A, colorFabb; two grades quoted)[1]40 at break and 9 at yield (extruded POM-C stock, ASTM D638)[2]
Flexural strengthMPaNot documented89.6 (extruded POM-C stock, ASTM D790; converted from 13,000 psi)[2]
Flexural modulusMPa2500–3300 flexural modulus (ISO 178, colorFabb)[1]2758 (extruded POM-C stock, ASTM D790; converted from 400,000 psi)[2]
Charpy impact, notchedkJ/m²2.8–3.7 (ISO 179, notched, colorFabb)[1]Not documented
Other impact dataNot documentedIzod 53 J/m on extruded POM-C stock, converted from 1.0 ft-lb/in[2]
Brittleness1–5Moderate — colorFabb positions the blend as tougher and less brittle than its generic PLA grades[1]Tough — absorbs impact, yields before breaking; extruded stock elongates 40 % before failing. No printed figure is published[2]
Hardness (scale-specific)Shore A / Shore D / RockwellNot documentedRockwell 86 (and R120) — the source names only the R scale on extruded POM-C stock (ASTM D785)[2]
Creep resistance / sustained load1–5Poor — no PLA/PHA creep test; plain printed PLA sagged from 12 to 16.2–21.8 mm over 5 days at 1.25 kg[14][15][16]Not documented
Fatigue / repeated-flex resistance1–5Below average — no S-N curve for the blend; colorFabb positions it as tougher and less brittle than its generic PLA, which ran 38 000–49 000 cycles at 30 % of tensile strength[17][1]Not documented
Elasticity / flexibility1–5Rigid[1]Not documented
Wear resistance & frictionNot documentedWear factor 65e-10 in3*min/(ft*lb*h) and a dynamic coefficient of friction of 0.21 at 40 psi and 50 fpm (ASTM D3702, extruded stock) — the properties that make acetal the default gear and bushing plastic; Apium lists good sliding properties as the reason for its grade[2][3]
Thermal Properties
HDT at 0.45 MPa°CNot documented158 (extruded POM-C stock, ASTM D648 at 66 psi; converted from 316 °F)[2]
HDT at 1.8 MPa°CNot documented110 (extruded POM-C stock, ASTM D648 at 264 psi; converted from 230 °F)[2]
Melting point / Vicat°CAbove 155 melting (ISO 3146-C)[1]165 melting (extruded POM-C stock; converted from 329 °F)[2]
Continuous service temperature°CNot documented91 long term and 141 intermittent (extruded POM-C stock; converted from 195 °F and 285 °F)[2]
Thermal expansion (CTE)µm/m·KNot documented84.6 (extruded POM-C stock, ASTM D696; source states 4.7e-5 in/in/°F)[2]
Flammability / UL 94Not documentedUL 94 HB on extruded POM-C stock[2]
Environment & Chemical
UV resistance1–5Degrades within weeks outdoors[18]Not documented
Chemical resistanceNot documentedGood chemical resistance, particularly to bases; Apium lists resistance to bases as a headline property[2][3]
Water / humidity resistance in service1–5Not documentedGood — minor absorption; 0.80 % water at saturation (ASTM D570, extruded stock)[2]
Biodegradability / compostabilitycolorFabb states the PHA component is 100 % biodegradable[1]Not documented
Electrical & ESD propertiesNot documentedVolume resistance 1e14 ohm-cm, dielectric strength 500 V/mil and dielectric constant 3.7 at 60 Hz on extruded stock (ASTM D257, D149, D150); Apium's filament grade adds antistatic agents[2][3]
Health & Safety
Fume toxicity1–5Low hazard — minimal VOC and particle emission[19]Not documented
Ventilation / filtration requirement1–5None needed in a normal room[19]Not documented
Post-Processing
Sanding & machiningNot documentedEasy to machine — Ensinger lists machinability as a headline property of POM-C stock[2]
Solvents & Solubility
Soluble inChloroform dissolves the PLA phase (10 % w/v, 2–4 h at 23 °C); THF and DMF need 65 °C. Laboratory reagents.[20]Hexafluoroisopropanol dissolves it at room temperature; NMP and DMF only when hot. Laboratory reagents.[21]
Softened or crazed byAcetone, ethyl acetate and toluene plasticise it but dissolve <1 % even at 65 °C; submersion in acetone crazes and destroys parts.[20][22]Acids, oxidants, halogens and hot concentrated zinc chloride attack it; alcohols, ketones and esters do not.[21][23]
Solvent welding & smoothing agentChloroform vapour smooths and welds PLA at the cost of tensile strength; acetone does not smooth it at all.[24][22]None — no solvent softens POM below its melting point, which is why it is bolted or heat-welded rather than glued.[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

  1. PLA/PHA technical data sheet colorFabb · 2026-08 · tds
  2. TECAFORM AH natural (POM-C) — stock shape properties Ensinger · 2026-08 · tds
  3. POM-C ESD 3D printing — material page Apium 3D Technologies · 2026-08 · doc
  4. woodFill technical data sheet colorFabb · 2026-08 · tds
  5. 3DJAKE product catalogue 3DJAKE · 2026-08 · vendor
  6. igo3d product sitemap (17452 product URLs) igo3d · 2026-08 · vendor
  7. Printed Solid product catalogue Printed Solid · 2026-08 · vendor
  8. glowFill technical data sheet colorFabb · 2026-08 · tds
  9. Max volumetric speed Prusa Knowledge Base · 2026-08 · doc
  10. Filament Material Guide Prusa Knowledge Base · 2026-08 · doc
  11. Bambu Filament Technical Data Sheet V3.0 — PLA Basic Bambu Lab · 2026-08 · tds
  12. PolyLite PLA Technical Data Sheet V5.4 Polymaker · 2024-11 · tds
  13. Wet Filament — signs, causes and drying Polymaker Wiki · 2026-08 · doc
  14. BambuLab PLA Basic vs PLA Tough vs PLA-CF — results spreadsheet My Tech Fun (Igor Gaspar) · 2026-08 · test
  15. Polymaker PLA Pro vs PLA-CF — results spreadsheet My Tech Fun (Igor Gaspar) · 2026-08 · test
  16. Carbon Fiber PLA vs META-PLA vs PLA+ vs PLA by Sunlu — results spreadsheet My Tech Fun (Igor Gaspar) · 2026-08 · test
  17. Mechanical Properties of Additively Manufactured Polymeric Materials — PLA and PETG — For Biomechanical Applications Polymers 16(13):1868 · 2024-06 · paper
  18. PLA — material guide Prusa Knowledge Base · 2026-08 · doc
  19. 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
  20. Solubility Study of Ingeo Biopolymer Grades in Common Organic Solvents (NWPD003) NatureWorks · 2019-10 · tds
  21. Resistance of Ultramid, Ultraform and Ultradur to chemicals (TI-KTU/AS-28 e) BASF · 2000-10 · tds
  22. Improve your 3D prints with chemical smoothing Prusa Research · 2026-08 · doc
  23. Chemical resistance — resistance of Ensinger plastics to chemicals (DIN 50 014, 23/50) Ensinger · 2026-08 · tds
  24. 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