3D Printing InfoFilament comparison
POM vs PVDF
Compare printing settings, strength, heat resistance, dated prices and sources.
2 selected · all documented properties
| Property | POM (acetal)ENGINEERING | PVDFENGINEERING |
|---|---|---|
| Market snapshot | ||
| Listing priceUSD/kg; dated snapshots | Not documented | $250.67/kg median; $250.67–$250.67/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] | Polyvinylidene fluoride — a semi-crystalline fluoropolymer[3][4] |
| Densityg/cm³ | 1.41 (extruded POM-C stock)[1] | 1.71 (ISO 1183) — the densest unfilled filament in the dataset[3] |
| Typical priceUSD/kg | Not documented | 1 kg-equivalent spools cluster near 251[5] |
| Price range across brandsUSD/kg | Not documented | 251 at 3DXTech's 750 g pricing — the most expensive material in the whole dataset[5] |
| 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][6][7][8] | Special order, 1–2 makers worldwide[5][9] |
| Spool sizes & diameters | Not documented | 1.75 and 2.85 mm; 750 g spools[5] |
| 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] | Chemical-plant fittings, semiconductor handling and parts needing outstanding UV and chemical resistance[3] |
| Printing Parameters | ||
| Bed temperature°C | Not documented | 70–110 (3DXTech FluorX)[3] |
| Enclosure / chamber requirement1–5 | Not documented | Enclosure required (passive)[3] |
| Warping tendency1–5 | Not documented | High — enclosure needed for reliable large parts[3] |
| Overall printing difficulty1–5 | Not documented | Expert / industrial hardware only[3][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] | Not documented |
| Hardware Wear & Reliability | ||
| Nozzle hardness required1–4 | Not documented | Brass fine indefinitely for unfilled grades[3] |
| Abrasiveness1–5 | Not documented | Non-abrasive when unfilled[3] |
| Nozzle clog risk1–5 | Not documented | Low — 3DXTech lists no special nozzle concerns, no minimum layer height and states drying is not required[9] |
| Other hardware wear | Not documented | Hydrogen fluoride released on overheating is extremely corrosive and will attack hotend and enclosure metalwork as well as people[4] |
| 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] | Negligible (<0.1 % EMC) — fluoropolymers are essentially non-hygroscopic[3] |
| Effect of moisture on strength | Not documented | Not applicable in practice — 3DXTech states drying is not required for PVDF, so there is no moisture-driven strength loss to measure[9] |
| 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] | 51 at break (printed XY, ISO 527)[3] |
| Young's modulusMPa | 2275 (extruded POM-C stock, ASTM D638; converted from 330,000 psi)[1] | 2450 (printed XY, ISO 527)[3] |
| Elongation at break% | 40 at break and 9 at yield (extruded POM-C stock, ASTM D638)[1] | 25 at break (printed XY, ISO 527)[3] |
| Flexural strengthMPa | 89.6 (extruded POM-C stock, ASTM D790; converted from 13,000 psi)[1] | 50 (printed XY, ISO 178)[3] |
| Flexural modulusMPa | 2758 (extruded POM-C stock, ASTM D790; converted from 400,000 psi)[1] | 1800 (printed XY, ISO 178)[3] |
| Other impact data | Izod 53 J/m on extruded POM-C stock, converted from 1.0 ft-lb/in[1] | Izod 133 J/m on extruded PVDF stock, converted from 2.49 ft-lb/in (ASTM D256)[10] |
| Brittleness1–5 | Tough — absorbs impact, yields before breaking; extruded stock elongates 40 % before failing. No printed figure is published[1] | Tough — absorbs impact, yields before breaking[3] |
| 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] | Rockwell M79 on extruded PVDF stock (ASTM D785)[10] |
| Elasticity / flexibility1–5 | Not documented | Slightly flexible in thin sections[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] | Not documented |
| Thermal Properties | ||
| HDT at 0.45 MPa°C | 158 (extruded POM-C stock, ASTM D648 at 66 psi; converted from 316 °F)[1] | 149 on extruded PVDF stock (ASTM D648 at 66 psi; converted from 300 °F)[10] |
| HDT at 1.8 MPa°C | 110 (extruded POM-C stock, ASTM D648 at 264 psi; converted from 230 °F)[1] | 113 on extruded PVDF stock (ASTM D648 at 264 psi; converted from 235 °F)[10] |
| Melting point / Vicat°C | 165 melting (extruded POM-C stock; converted from 329 °F)[1] | 170 melting (ISO 11357)[3] |
| Continuous service temperature°C | 91 long term and 141 intermittent (extruded POM-C stock; converted from 195 °F and 285 °F)[1] | 149 long term and short term on extruded PVDF stock (converted from 300 °F)[10] |
| Thermal expansion (CTE)µm/m·K | 84.6 (extruded POM-C stock, ASTM D696; source states 4.7e-5 in/in/°F)[1] | 127.8 (extruded PVDF stock, ASTM D696; source states 7.1e-5 in/in/°F) — the highest thermal expansion of any engineering polymer in this dataset[10] |
| Flammability / UL 94 | UL 94 HB on extruded POM-C stock[1] | UL 94 V-0 on extruded PVDF stock; Ensinger lists inherent flame resistance[10] |
| Environment & Chemical | ||
| UV resistance1–5 | Not documented | Excellent — designed for permanent outdoor use; Ensinger lists good UV and weather resistance and high gamma radiation resistance for PVDF stock[3][10] |
| Chemical resistance | Good chemical resistance, particularly to bases; Apium lists resistance to bases as a headline property[1][2] | Outstanding — resistant to most acids, solvents and oxidising agents, which is the reason to use it[3] |
| Water / humidity resistance in service1–5 | Good — minor absorption; 0.80 % water at saturation (ASTM D570, extruded stock)[1] | Excellent — essentially unaffected[3] |
| 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 |
| Health & Safety | ||
| Fume toxicity1–5 | Not documented | Very high — toxic decomposition products; local exhaust mandatory. Above 315 °C thermal decomposition yields hydrofluoric acid, hydrogen cyanide and carbon monoxide[4] |
| Hazardous species emitted | Not documented | Above 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[4] |
| Ventilation / filtration requirement1–5 | Not documented | Local exhaust to outside / fume hood — the SDS states local exhaust is preferred[4] |
| Dust & fibre handling hazard | Not documented | Molten 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[4] |
| Post-Processing | ||
| Sanding & machining | Easy to machine — Ensinger lists machinability as a headline property of POM-C stock[1] | Not documented |
| Dimensional accuracy & detail | Not documented | The processing window sits well below the 315 °C decomposition threshold, so nozzle temperature must be controlled rather than raised to chase flow[3][4] |
| Solvents & Solubility | ||
| Soluble in | Hexafluoroisopropanol dissolves it at room temperature; NMP and DMF only when hot. Laboratory reagents.[11] | THF, MEK, DMF, DMAc, NMP, DMSO and trimethyl phosphate dissolve 5–10 wt% at ambient — Arkema's active solvents, all lab reagents.[12] |
| Softened or crazed by | Acids, oxidants, halogens and hot concentrated zinc chloride attack it; alcohols, ketones and esters do not.[11][13] | Acetone, MIBK, cyclohexanone, butyl acetate and glycol ethers swell it; alkalis above pH 12 attack the homopolymer.[12][14] |
| 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.[11] | None for the workshop — the active solvents (NMP, DMAc, DMF) are laboratory reagents used for casting membranes, not joints.[12] |
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
- FluorX PVDF Technical Data Sheet v3 3DXTech · 2026-08 · tds
- FluorX PVDF Safety Data Sheet v1.1 3DXTech · 2026-08 · msds
- 3DXTech product catalogue 3DXTech · 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
- FluorX PVDF — product page 3DXTech · 2026-08 · vendor
- TECAFLON PVDF natural — stock shape properties Ensinger · 2026-08 · tds
- Resistance of Ultramid, Ultraform and Ultradur to chemicals (TI-KTU/AS-28 e) BASF · 2000-10 · tds
- Kynar PVDF — Design properties: solubility and irradiation (active and latent solvents) Arkema · 2026-08 · tds
- Chemical resistance — resistance of Ensinger plastics to chemicals (DIN 50 014, 23/50) Ensinger · 2026-08 · tds
- Kynar PVDF resin — chemical and fuel resistance Arkema · 2026-08 · tds