3D Printing InfoFilament comparison
POM vs PPA
Compare printing settings, strength, heat resistance, dated prices and sources.
2 selected · all documented properties
| Property | POM (acetal)ENGINEERING | PPA (polyphthalamide)PA |
|---|---|---|
| Market snapshot | ||
| Listing priceUSD/kg; dated snapshots | Not documented | $45.49/kg median; $45.49–$45.49/kg across 1 dated product listings |
| Identity & Market | ||
| Base polymer / chemistry | Polyoxymethylene, normally the copolymer POM-C. Apium's filament grade is POM-C with antistatic additives; no unfilled POM filament was found on sale[1][2] | Polyphthalamide — a semi-aromatic polyamide in which aromatic diacid units replace part of the aliphatic backbone; Raise3D and Bambu Lab both label it high-temperature nylon[3][4] |
| Densityg/cm³ | 1.41 (extruded POM-C stock)[1] | 1.21 (ISO 1183, Siraya Tech Fibreheart PPA)[5] |
| Typical priceUSD/kg | Not documented | One 1 kg listing on the market, at 45[6] |
| Price range across brandsUSD/kg | Not documented | 45 for the only unfilled PPA filament found — Siraya Tech Fibreheart PPA at 1 kg; every other PPA in retail is carbon- or glass-filled[6] |
| Market availability1–5 | 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[2][7][8][9] | Special order, 1–2 makers worldwide — Siraya Tech is the only brand found selling unfilled PPA filament[6] |
| Spool sizes & diameters | Not documented | 1.75 mm, 1 kg[6] |
| Typical applications | Gears, bushings, bearings, conveyor and food-machinery parts; Apium markets its POM-C ESD grade for semiconductor insulators, aerospace fasteners and sliding parts[1][2] | Gears, bearings and tooling that must hold load above the reach of PA6 or PA12, and parts exposed to fuels and industrial chemicals[5] |
| Printing Parameters | ||
| Nozzle temperature°C | Not documented | 280–300 (Siraya Tech)[5] |
| Bed temperature°C | Not documented | 70–80 (Siraya Tech)[5] |
| Enclosure / chamber requirement1–5 | Not documented | Enclosure recommended — Siraya Tech advises an enclosure to hold temperature and limit warping on larger prints[5] |
| Part cooling fan | Not documented | 20–60 % (Siraya Tech)[5] |
| Bed surface & adhesion aid | Not documented | PEI sheet with a glue stick, or a PVP glue coating[5] |
| Overall printing difficulty1–5 | Not documented | Advanced — enclosure, hardware upgrades, tuning; needs a 300 °C-class hot end and a dry spool[5] |
| Extruder requirement | Apium 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[2] | Not documented |
| Hardware Wear & Reliability | ||
| Nozzle hardness required1–4 | Not documented | Brass fine indefinitely — Siraya Tech states a hardened steel nozzle is not needed for the unfilled grade[5] |
| Abrasiveness1–5 | Not documented | Non-abrasive when unfilled[5] |
| Nozzle clog risk1–5 | Not documented | Moderate — needs dry filament and a clean nozzle; Siraya Tech tells users to dry only when moisture symptoms appear, rather than before every print[5] |
| Hotend requirement | Not documented | High-quality metal nozzle, 0.4–1.0 mm; hardened steel not required (Siraya Tech)[5] |
| Moisture Behaviour | ||
| Moisture absorption (hygroscopicity)1–5 | Low (0.1-0.3 %) — extruded POM-C stock takes up 0.18 % in 24 h and 0.80 % at saturation (ASTM D570)[1] | High (0.8–2 %) — Siraya Tech publishes 2.59 % by ISO 62 immersion for the unfilled grade; on the equilibrium basis Bambu Lab uses, its 15 % carbon-filled PPA reaches 1.30 % against 2.35 % for the same maker's PA6-CF[5][4][10] |
| Equilibrium moisture content at ~50 % RH% | Not documented | 2.59 by ISO 62 water immersion (Siraya Tech, unfilled) — an immersion figure, not the 25 °C / 55 % RH equilibrium basis the filled grades are quoted on, so the two are not directly comparable[5] |
| Drying temperature & time | Not documented | 80–100 °C for 4–6 h (Siraya Tech)[5] |
| Symptoms when wet | Not documented | Oozing, bubbles and a rough surface finish (Siraya Tech)[5] |
| Effect of moisture on strength | Not documented | Siraya Tech publishes dry against saturated for the same grade: tensile 70 → 60 MPa, flexural 114 → 87 MPa, HDT at 1.8 MPa 73.5 → 48.5 °C, while Charpy rises 10 → 14.5 kJ/m²[5][6] |
| Storage requirement | Not documented | Dry box below 15 % RH (Siraya Tech)[5] |
| Mechanical Properties | ||
| Tensile strength (XY)MPa | 66.9 at break and 64.1 at yield (extruded POM-C stock, ASTM D638; converted from 9700 and 9300 psi)[1] | 72 at break (printed, ASTM D638, Siraya Tech); the product page quotes 70 dry and 60 saturated[5][6] |
| Young's modulusMPa | 2275 (extruded POM-C stock, ASTM D638; converted from 330,000 psi)[1] | 3600 (printed, ASTM D638, Siraya Tech)[5] |
| Elongation at break% | 40 at break and 9 at yield (extruded POM-C stock, ASTM D638)[1] | 10.5 at break (printed, ASTM D638, Siraya Tech)[5] |
| Flexural strengthMPa | 89.6 (extruded POM-C stock, ASTM D790; converted from 13,000 psi)[1] | 115 (printed, ISO 178, Siraya Tech); 114 dry against 87 saturated on the product page[5][6] |
| Flexural modulusMPa | 2758 (extruded POM-C stock, ASTM D790; converted from 400,000 psi)[1] | 3350 (printed, ISO 178, Siraya Tech)[5] |
| Charpy impact, notchedkJ/m² | Not documented | 10.1 Charpy (printed, ISO 179, Siraya Tech); the data sheet does not state whether the specimen was notched[5] |
| Other impact data | Izod 53 J/m on extruded POM-C stock, converted from 1.0 ft-lb/in[1] | Not documented |
| Brittleness1–5 | Tough — absorbs impact, yields before breaking; extruded stock elongates 40 % before failing. No printed figure is published[1] | Moderate — 10.5 % elongation at break puts it between PA6 and the fibre-filled grades[5] |
| Hardness (scale-specific)Shore A / Shore D / Rockwell | Rockwell 86 (and R120) — the source names only the R scale on extruded POM-C stock (ASTM D785)[1] | Not documented |
| Creep resistance / sustained load1–5 | Not documented | Good — Raise3D cites high creep resistance as a reason to choose the PPA matrix over other nylons[3] |
| Elasticity / flexibility1–5 | Not documented | Rigid — 3.6 GPa tensile modulus[5] |
| Wear resistance & friction | Wear 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[1][2] | Siraya Tech describes the unfilled grade as low-friction and self-lubricating, aimed at gears and bearings[5][6] |
| Thermal Properties | ||
| HDT at 0.45 MPa°C | 158 (extruded POM-C stock, ASTM D648 at 66 psi; converted from 316 °F)[1] | 81 dry and 61 saturated (printed, ISO 75 Method B at 0.45 MPa, Siraya Tech)[5] |
| HDT at 1.8 MPa°C | 110 (extruded POM-C stock, ASTM D648 at 264 psi; converted from 230 °F)[1] | 73.5 dry and 48.5 saturated (printed, ISO 75 Method A at 1.8 MPa, Siraya Tech) — unfilled PPA deflects near its Tg; the 190–227 °C figures quoted for PPA are carbon-filled grades[5][4] |
| Glass transition (Tg)°C | Not documented | 80 (ASTM D3418, Siraya Tech)[5] |
| Melting point / Vicat°C | 165 melting (extruded POM-C stock; converted from 329 °F)[1] | 231 melting point (ASTM D3418) and 230 Vicat (ISO 306), Siraya Tech[5] |
| Continuous service temperature°C | 91 long term and 141 intermittent (extruded POM-C stock; converted from 195 °F and 285 °F)[1] | Not documented |
| Annealing response | Not documented | Siraya Tech's product page offers annealing for strength while its own data sheet says annealing is not recommended because the print can warp; on its 15 % carbon-filled PPA, annealing lifts HDT at 1.8 MPa from 82.5 to 119 °C[5][6][11] |
| Thermal expansion (CTE)µm/m·K | 84.6 (extruded POM-C stock, ASTM D696; source states 4.7e-5 in/in/°F)[1] | Not documented |
| Flammability / UL 94 | UL 94 HB on extruded POM-C stock[1] | Not documented |
| Environment & Chemical | ||
| Chemical resistance | Good chemical resistance, particularly to bases; Apium lists resistance to bases as a headline property[1][2] | Withstands fuels, oils and industrial chemicals; Bambu Lab rates semi-aromatic nylon better than general nylon against weak acids, weak alkalis and most organic solvents[5][4] |
| Water / humidity resistance in service1–5 | Good — minor absorption; 0.80 % water at saturation (ASTM D570, extruded stock)[1] | Absorbs water, properties shift — a saturated specimen loses about 15 % of its tensile strength and 25 °C of heat-deflection temperature[5][6] |
| Electrical & ESD properties | Volume 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[1][2] | Not documented |
| Post-Processing | ||
| Sanding & machining | Easy to machine — Ensinger lists machinability as a headline property of POM-C stock[1] | Not documented |
| Support material pairing | Not documented | Compatible with quick-release support materials (Siraya Tech)[5] |
| Solvents & Solubility | ||
| Soluble in | Hexafluoroisopropanol dissolves it at room temperature; NMP and DMF only when hot. Laboratory reagents.[12] | Dissolved at 23 °C by formic acid, phenol, m-cresol, 96 % sulphuric acid or hexafluoroisopropanol — all laboratory reagents.[13] |
| Softened or crazed by | Acids, oxidants, halogens and hot concentrated zinc chloride attack it; alcohols, ketones and esters do not.[12][14] | Mineral acids, oxidants, halogens and zinc chloride solutions attack the amide bond; ordinary solvents do not.[13] |
| Solvent welding & smoothing agent | None — no solvent softens POM below its melting point, which is why it is bolted or heat-welded rather than glued.[12] | None — nylon's only solvents are formic acid, phenol and HFIP, all of which degrade the part they wet.[13] |
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
- TECAFORM AH natural (POM-C) — stock shape properties Ensinger · 2026-08 · tds
- POM-C ESD 3D printing — material page Apium 3D Technologies · 2026-08 · doc
- Raise3D Industrial PPA CF Technical Data Sheet V2.0 Raise3D · 2022-04 · tds
- Bambu Filament Technical Data Sheet V1.0 — PPA-CF Bambu Lab · 2026-08 · tds
- Siraya Tech Fibreheart PPA Technical Data Sheet Siraya Tech · 2026-08 · tds
- Siraya Tech Fibreheart PPA Filament — product page Siraya Tech · 2026-08 · vendor
- 3DJAKE product catalogue 3DJAKE · 2026-08 · vendor
- igo3d product sitemap (17452 product URLs) igo3d · 2026-08 · vendor
- Printed Solid product catalogue Printed Solid · 2026-08 · vendor
- Bambu Filament Technical Data Sheet V3.0 — PA6-CF Bambu Lab · 2026-08 · tds
- Siraya Tech Fibreheart PPA-CF Technical Data Sheet Siraya Tech · 2026-08 · tds
- Resistance of Ultramid, Ultraform and Ultradur to chemicals (TI-KTU/AS-28 e) BASF · 2000-10 · tds
- Ultramid Nylon Chemical Resistance guide (unmodified PA6 B27E and PA66 A27E) BASF · 2026-08 · tds
- Chemical resistance — resistance of Ensinger plastics to chemicals (DIN 50 014, 23/50) Ensinger · 2026-08 · tds