3D Printing InfoFilament comparison
POM vs PVA
Compare printing settings, strength, heat resistance, dated prices and sources.
2 selected · all documented properties
| Property | POM (acetal)ENGINEERING | PVA (soluble support)SUPPORT |
|---|---|---|
| Market snapshot | ||
| Listing priceUSD/kg; dated snapshots | Not documented | $65.98/kg median; $42.00–$96.00/kg across 5 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] | Polyvinyl alcohol — a water-soluble support polymer[3][4] |
| Densityg/cm³ | 1.41 (extruded POM-C stock)[1] | 0.6–0.9 (3DXTech AquaTek, ISO 1183) and 1.13 (Polymaker PolyDissolve S1)[3][4] |
| Typical priceUSD/kg | Not documented | 1 kg-equivalent spools span 42–96; the middle of the market is about 66[5][6][7][8] |
| Price range across brandsUSD/kg | Not documented | 42–96 across brands; IEMAI 3D E-WATER 42, YXPOLYER 55, Reli3D 66 at 500 g, Polymaker PolyDissolve S1 67 at 750 g, 3DXTech AquaTek 96 at 750 g in 1.75 mm[5][6][7][9][8] |
| 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][10][11][12] | Stocked by most mainstream brands[5][6][7][9][8] |
| Spool sizes & diameters | Not documented | 1.75 and 2.85 mm; 0.5 and 0.75 kg spools[5][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] | Dissolvable support for PLA, TPU, PVB and PETG — Polymaker names those four for PolyDissolve S1[4] |
| Printing Parameters | ||
| Nozzle temperature°C | Not documented | 215–225 (Polymaker PolyDissolve S1)[4] |
| Bed temperature°C | Not documented | 25–60 (Polymaker PolyDissolve S1)[4] |
| Enclosure / chamber requirement1–5 | Not documented | Open frame is fine[4] |
| Part cooling fan | Not documented | Part cooling fan required (Simplify3D)[13] |
| Bed surface & adhesion aid | Not documented | PEI sheet or painter's tape[13] |
| Maximum volumetric flow (mm³/s; see test conditions)mm³/s | Not documented | 4–12 at Polymaker's 50–150 mm/s on a 0.4 mm nozzle at 0.2 mm layer[4] |
| Bed-adhesion difficulty1–5 | Not documented | Sticks to most surfaces[13] |
| Stringing / oozing tendency1–5 | Not documented | Moderate — retraction tuning needed[13] |
| Overall printing difficulty1–5 | Not documented | Intermediate — dry filament and a tuned profile; PVA is unusable once it has taken up moisture[14][4] |
| 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] | A second extruder or a tool changer; PVA is a support material, not a model material[4] |
| Hardware Wear & Reliability | ||
| Nozzle hardness required1–4 | Not documented | Brass fine indefinitely[4] |
| Abrasiveness1–5 | Not documented | Non-abrasive[4] |
| Nozzle clog risk1–5 | Not documented | Very high — frequent jams without careful setup; wet PVA foams and carbonises in the nozzle[14] |
| Heat-creep / jam sensitivity1–5 | Not documented | High — all-metal hotend and strong cooling needed; Simplify3D warns PVA clogs if the nozzle is left hot while not extruding[13] |
| Hotend requirement | Not documented | No special hot-end required, but the nozzle must not be parked hot[13] |
| 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] | Very high (>2 %) — Polymaker measures 10.21 % equilibrium water absorption, by far the highest in the dataset[4] |
| Equilibrium moisture content at ~50 % RH% | Not documented | 10.21 equilibrium water absorption (Polymaker PolyDissolve S1)[4] |
| Symptoms when wet | Not documented | Bubbling and popping at the nozzle, stringing and a rough surface; with PVA this progresses to clogging[14] |
| Effect of moisture on strength | Not documented | Polymaker groups PVA with nylon as the most moisture-prone class and says it often has to stay in a dryer while printing; there is no published dry-versus-conditioned strength comparison because PVA is not a structural material[14] |
| Storage requirement | Not documented | Sealed with desiccant at all times; PVA takes up water faster than any other filament here[14][4] |
| 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] | Not documented |
| Young's modulusMPa | 2275 (extruded POM-C stock, ASTM D638; converted from 330,000 psi)[1] | Not documented |
| Elongation at break% | 40 at break and 9 at yield (extruded POM-C stock, ASTM D638)[1] | Not documented |
| Flexural strengthMPa | 89.6 (extruded POM-C stock, ASTM D790; converted from 13,000 psi)[1] | Not documented |
| Flexural modulusMPa | 2758 (extruded POM-C stock, ASTM D790; converted from 400,000 psi)[1] | Not documented |
| 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] | Not documented |
| 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 | Poor — deforms under load at room temperature; PVA is not used structurally[3] |
| Fatigue / repeated-flex resistance1–5 | Not documented | Poor — fails after a few cycles[3] |
| 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] | 3DXTech marks tensile strength, modulus and elongation as not applicable for its PVA support grade — it is not characterised as a structural material[3] |
| Thermal Properties | ||
| HDT at 0.45 MPa°C | 158 (extruded POM-C stock, ASTM D648 at 66 psi; converted from 316 °F)[1] | Not documented |
| HDT at 1.8 MPa°C | 110 (extruded POM-C stock, ASTM D648 at 264 psi; converted from 230 °F)[1] | Not documented |
| Glass transition (Tg)°C | Not documented | 60 (3DXTech AquaTek, DSC)[3] |
| Melting point / Vicat°C | 165 melting (extruded POM-C stock; converted from 329 °F)[1] | Not documented |
| Continuous service temperature°C | 91 long term and 141 intermittent (extruded POM-C stock; converted from 195 °F and 285 °F)[1] | Bounded by a glass transition of 60 °C[3] |
| 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] | Flammable; no UL 94 rating published[3] |
| Environment & Chemical | ||
| UV resistance1–5 | Not documented | Degrades within weeks outdoors, and dissolves in rain long before UV matters[4] |
| Chemical resistance | Good chemical resistance, particularly to bases; Apium lists resistance to bases as a headline property[1][2] | Dissolves in water; unusable in any wet or humid service environment[4][13] |
| Water / humidity resistance in service1–5 | Good — minor absorption; 0.80 % water at saturation (ASTM D570, extruded stock)[1] | Dissolves or disintegrates — by design[4][3] |
| Food contact | Not documented | Not offered as a food-contact material[3] |
| Biodegradability / compostability | Not documented | PVA is water-soluble and biodegrades in wastewater treatment, but Simplify3D notes disposal should follow local guidance[13] |
| Recyclability | Not documented | Dissolved PVA goes to drain rather than to recycling[13] |
| 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] | Surface resistance above 10^13 ohm/sq (ASTM D257, 3DXTech AquaTek PVA)[3] |
| Health & Safety | ||
| Fume toxicity1–5 | Not documented | Low hazard — minimal VOC and particle emission; none of these materials was in the chamber study[15] |
| Ventilation / filtration requirement1–5 | Not documented | Open a window / occasional ventilation[15] |
| Post-Processing | ||
| Sanding & machining | Easy to machine — Ensinger lists machinability as a headline property of POM-C stock[1] | Not sanded — it is dissolved away rather than finished[13] |
| Gluing & solvent welding | Not documented | Not applicable — PVA is a sacrificial support[13] |
| Vapour / chemical smoothing | Not documented | Water is the solvent; no vapour smoothing is used[4] |
| Support material pairing | Not documented | This is the support material; Polymaker pairs PolyDissolve S1 with PLA, TPU, PVB and PETG[4] |
| Solvents & Solubility | ||
| Soluble in | Hexafluoroisopropanol dissolves it at room temperature; NMP and DMF only when hot. Laboratory reagents.[16] | Water — tap water works cold, warm moving water is faster; 6–12 h typical, changing the water every few hours.[17][18] |
| Softened or crazed by | Acids, oxidants, halogens and hot concentrated zinc chloride attack it; alcohols, ketones and esters do not.[16][19] | Nothing else: polyvinyl alcohol resists organic solvents, so an IPA or acetone rinse leaves the support intact.[20] |
| 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.[16] | None — water dissolves PVA rather than welding it, and no solvent gives it a smoothed surface.[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
- 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
- AquaTek PVA Water Soluble Support Technical Data Sheet v1.0 3DXTech · 2026-08 · tds
- PolyDissolve S1 Technical Data Sheet V5.4 Polymaker · 2024-11 · tds
- 3DXTech product catalogue 3DXTech · 2026-08 · vendor
- Polymaker product catalogue Polymaker · 2026-08 · vendor
- YXPOLYER PVA 1 kg — product page YXPOLYER · 2026-08 · vendor
- IEMAI 3D E-WATER water-soluble support filament — store page IEMAI 3D · 2026-08 · vendor
- Reli3D PVA Filament 1.75 mm 500 g Natural — Amazon listing Amazon.com · 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
- PVA — Ultimate 3D Printing Materials Guide Simplify3D · 2026-08 · doc
- Wet Filament — signs, causes and drying Polymaker Wiki · 2026-08 · doc
- 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
- Resistance of Ultramid, Ultraform and Ultradur to chemicals (TI-KTU/AS-28 e) BASF · 2000-10 · tds
- PolyDissolve S1 — Polymaker Wiki Polymaker · 2026-08 · doc
- 3DXTech AquaTek PVA product page 3DXTech · 2026-08 · vendor
- Chemical resistance — resistance of Ensinger plastics to chemicals (DIN 50 014, 23/50) Ensinger · 2026-08 · tds
- Polyvinyl alcohol — KURARAY POVAL application guide Kuraray · 2026-08 · tds