3D Printing Info

Filament comparison

POM vs Breakaway

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

POM (acetal) guideBreak-away support guide

2 selected · all documented properties

Open these two in the interactive comparisonMore POM comparisonsMore Breakaway comparisons
POM vs Breakaway — documented properties and sources
PropertyPOM (acetal)ENGINEERINGBreak-away supportSUPPORT
Market snapshot
Listing priceUSD/kg; dated snapshotsNot documented$42.49/kg median; $26.00–$79.98/kg across 4 dated product listings
Identity & Market
Base polymer / chemistryPolyoxymethylene, 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]Break-away support compounds matched to a specific model material — Polymaker sells separate grades for PLA and for PA12[3][4]
Densityg/cm³1.41 (extruded POM-C stock)[1]1.22 (PolySupport for PLA) and 1.29 (PolySupport for PA12), ISO 1183[3][4]
Typical priceUSD/kgNot documented1 kg-equivalent spools span 26–80; the middle of the market is about 45[5][6][7]
Price range across brandsUSD/kgNot documented26–80 across brands and grades; IEMAI 3D E-REMOVE 26, Polymaker PolySupport for PLA 40 at 750 g, YXPOLYER 45, PolySupport for PA12 80 at 500 g[5][6][7]
Market availability1–5Special 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][8][9][10]Available from several mainstream brands[5][11]
Spool sizes & diametersNot documented1.75 and 2.85 mm; 0.5 and 0.75 kg spools[5]
Typical applicationsGears, bushings, bearings, conveyor and food-machinery parts; Apium markets its POM-C ESD grade for semiconductor insulators, aerospace fasteners and sliding parts[1][2]Support that peels off by hand, avoiding the moisture handling and dissolution time that soluble supports demand[3]
Printing Parameters
Nozzle temperature°CNot documented220–230 (PolySupport for PLA)[3]
Bed temperature°CNot documented25–60 (PolySupport for PLA)[3]
Enclosure / chamber requirement1–5Not documentedOpen frame is fine[3]
Maximum volumetric flow (mm³/s; see test conditions)mm³/sNot documented4–12 at Polymaker's 50–150 mm/s on a 0.4 mm nozzle at 0.2 mm layer[3]
Overall printing difficulty1–5Not documentedEasy — minor profile tuning[3]
Extruder requirementApium 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[3]
Hardware Wear & Reliability
Nozzle hardness required1–4Not documentedBrass fine indefinitely[3]
Abrasiveness1–5Not documentedNon-abrasive[3]
Nozzle clog risk1–5Not documentedModerate — needs dry filament and a clean nozzle; Polymaker specifies a 55 °C dry for the PLA grade and warns brass nozzle life falls to about 9 h on the PA12 grade[3][4]
Moisture Behaviour
Moisture absorption (hygroscopicity)1–5Low (0.1-0.3 %) — extruded POM-C stock takes up 0.18 % in 24 h and 0.80 % at saturation (ASTM D570)[1]Moderate — 0.64 % equilibrium water absorption (PolySupport for PLA)[3]
Equilibrium moisture content at ~50 % RH%Not documented0.64 equilibrium water absorption (Polymaker PolySupport for PLA)[3]
Effect of moisture on strengthNot documentedNot a structural material; no dry-versus-conditioned data is published[12]
Mechanical Properties
Tensile strength (XY)MPa66.9 at break and 64.1 at yield (extruded POM-C stock, ASTM D638; converted from 9700 and 9300 psi)[1]Not documented
Young's modulusMPa2275 (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 strengthMPa89.6 (extruded POM-C stock, ASTM D790; converted from 13,000 psi)[1]Not documented
Flexural modulusMPa2758 (extruded POM-C stock, ASTM D790; converted from 400,000 psi)[1]Not documented
Other impact dataIzod 53 J/m on extruded POM-C stock, converted from 1.0 ft-lb/in[1]Not documented
Brittleness1–5Tough — 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 / RockwellRockwell 86 (and R120) — the source names only the R scale on extruded POM-C stock (ASTM D785)[1]Not documented
Wear resistance & frictionWear 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°C158 (extruded POM-C stock, ASTM D648 at 66 psi; converted from 316 °F)[1]43 (ISO 75, 0.45 MPa, PolySupport for PA12). Polymaker's sheet prints a higher figure at the higher load, which is physically inverted; treat both HDT numbers as approximate[4]
HDT at 1.8 MPa°C110 (extruded POM-C stock, ASTM D648 at 264 psi; converted from 230 °F)[1]53 (ISO 75, 1.8 MPa, PolySupport for PA12) — printed above the 0.45 MPa figure on Polymaker's own sheet, which cannot be right; treat both as approximate[4]
Melting point / Vicat°C165 melting (extruded POM-C stock; converted from 329 °F)[1]Vicat 171 (PolySupport for PA12, ISO 306)[4]
Continuous service temperature°C91 long term and 141 intermittent (extruded POM-C stock; converted from 195 °F and 285 °F)[1]Not documented
Thermal expansion (CTE)µm/m·K84.6 (extruded POM-C stock, ASTM D696; source states 4.7e-5 in/in/°F)[1]Not documented
Flammability / UL 94UL 94 HB on extruded POM-C stock[1]Not documented
Environment & Chemical
Chemical resistanceGood chemical resistance, particularly to bases; Apium lists resistance to bases as a headline property[1][2]Not documented
Water / humidity resistance in service1–5Good — minor absorption; 0.80 % water at saturation (ASTM D570, extruded stock)[1]Not documented
Electrical & ESD propertiesVolume 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, THERMAX HTS2 and MTS1)[13][14]
Health & Safety
Fume toxicity1–5Not documentedLow hazard — minimal VOC and particle emission; none of these materials was in the chamber study[15]
Ventilation / filtration requirement1–5Not documentedOpen a window / occasional ventilation[15]
Post-Processing
Sanding & machiningEasy to machine — Ensinger lists machinability as a headline property of POM-C stock[1]Not documented
Support material pairingNot documentedThis is the support material. Polymaker publishes an adhesion matrix per model material, from very good to unusable, because break-away supports only work against the polymer they were matched to[3][4]
Solvents & Solubility
Soluble inHexafluoroisopropanol dissolves it at room temperature; NMP and DMF only when hot. Laboratory reagents.[16]None — break-away support is removed mechanically; 3DXTech lists no water or solvent route for it.[17]
Softened or crazed byAcids, oxidants, halogens and hot concentrated zinc chloride attack it; alcohols, ketones and esters do not.[16][18]Not documented
Solvent welding & smoothing agentNone — no solvent softens POM below its melting point, which is why it is bolted or heat-welded rather than glued.[16]None — there is no solvent to weld or smooth with.[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

  1. TECAFORM AH natural (POM-C) — stock shape properties Ensinger · 2026-08 · tds
  2. POM-C ESD 3D printing — material page Apium 3D Technologies · 2026-08 · doc
  3. PolySupport Technical Data Sheet V5.4 Polymaker · 2024-11 · tds
  4. PolySupport for PA12 Technical Data Sheet V5.4 Polymaker · 2024-11 · tds
  5. Polymaker product catalogue Polymaker · 2026-08 · vendor
  6. YXPOLYER Breakaway Support Filament 1 kg Black — product page YXPOLYER · 2026-08 · vendor
  7. IEMAI 3D E-REMOVE breakaway support filament — store page IEMAI 3D · 2026-08 · vendor
  8. 3DJAKE product catalogue 3DJAKE · 2026-08 · vendor
  9. igo3d product sitemap (17452 product URLs) igo3d · 2026-08 · vendor
  10. Printed Solid product catalogue Printed Solid · 2026-08 · vendor
  11. 3DXTech product catalogue 3DXTech · 2026-08 · vendor
  12. Wet Filament — signs, causes and drying Polymaker Wiki · 2026-08 · doc
  13. THERMAX HTS2 Break Away Support Technical Data Sheet v1.0 3DXTech · 2026-08 · tds
  14. THERMAX MTS1 Break Away Support Technical Data Sheet v1.0 3DXTech · 2026-08 · tds
  15. 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
  16. Resistance of Ultramid, Ultraform and Ultradur to chemicals (TI-KTU/AS-28 e) BASF · 2000-10 · tds
  17. THERMAX HTS1 — product page 3DXTech · 2026-08 · vendor
  18. Chemical resistance — resistance of Ensinger plastics to chemicals (DIN 50 014, 23/50) Ensinger · 2026-08 · tds