3D Printing InfoFilament comparison
POM vs TPE SEBS
Compare printing settings, strength, heat resistance, dated prices and sources.
2 selected · all documented properties
| Property | POM (acetal)ENGINEERING | TPE (SEBS)FLEX |
|---|---|---|
| Market snapshot | ||
| Listing priceUSD/kg; dated snapshots | Not documented | $98.25/kg median; $76.50–$120.00/kg across 2 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] | Styrene-ethylene-butadiene-styrene thermoplastic elastomer — a styrenic rubber, not a polyurethane[3] |
| Densityg/cm³ | 1.41 (extruded POM-C stock)[1] | 1.044 printed part density (BASF Ultrafuse TPS 90A, ISO 1183-1) — the lightest elastomer here[3] |
| Typical priceUSD/kg | Not documented | 1 kg-equivalent spools cluster near 77[4] |
| Price range across brandsUSD/kg | Not documented | 77 for the Recreus 600 g spool; Proto-pasta only lists a 50 g coil, which prices at 120[4][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] | Niche, a handful of specialist brands[3][5][4] |
| Spool sizes & diameters | Not documented | 1.75 and 2.85 mm; 0.05 and 0.6 kg spools[3][4] |
| 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] | Soft-touch overmoulds and skin-contact parts where a non-polyurethane elastomer is wanted[3] |
| Printing Parameters | ||
| Nozzle temperature°C | Not documented | 260–280 (BASF Ultrafuse TPS 90A) — far hotter than any TPU here[3] |
| Bed temperature°C | Not documented | 70–90 (BASF Ultrafuse TPS 90A)[3] |
| Enclosure / chamber requirement1–5 | Not documented | Open frame is fine[3] |
| Bed surface & adhesion aid | Not documented | PEI sheet or painter's tape; Polymaker warns TPU can over-stick and advises a glue stick as a release agent[9][10] |
| Maximum volumetric flow (mm³/s; see test conditions)mm³/s | Not documented | 0.8–2.4 at the 10–30 mm/s BASF specifies on a 0.4 mm nozzle at 0.2 mm layer — the slowest material in this group[3] |
| Overall printing difficulty1–5 | Not documented | Advanced — enclosure, hardware upgrades, tuning[3] |
| 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] | Nozzle 0.4 mm or larger; BASF caps print speed at 10–30 mm/s[3] |
| Hardware Wear & Reliability | ||
| Nozzle hardness required1–4 | Not documented | Brass fine indefinitely[11] |
| Abrasiveness1–5 | Not documented | Non-abrasive[11] |
| Nozzle clog risk1–5 | Not documented | Moderate — needs dry filament and a clean nozzle; BASF caps print speed at 10–30 mm/s and Simplify3D warns that raised feed rates on flexibles most likely end in a jam[9][3] |
| Hotend requirement | Not documented | No special hot-end required, but a direct-drive extruder is (Simplify3D)[9] |
| 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) — BASF states drying is not necessary, unique among the elastomers here[3] |
| Drying temperature & time | Not documented | None — BASF states Ultrafuse TPS 90A arrives in a printable condition and drying is not necessary[3] |
| Symptoms when wet | Not documented | Bubbling and popping at the nozzle, stringing and a rough surface[12] |
| Effect of moisture on strength | Not documented | Not applicable — the SEBS chemistry has no amide or ester linkages to take up water, and BASF specifies no drying at all[3] |
| Storage requirement | Not documented | Sealed with desiccant; often kept in a dryer during the print[12] |
| 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] | Very ductile — bends far before failing[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] | 89 Shore A and 29 Shore D (BASF Ultrafuse TPS 90A, ISO 7619-1)[3] |
| Creep resistance / sustained load1–5 | Not documented | Poor — no SEBS creep test; a printed 95A TPU bar crept from 74.5 to 82.7 mm over 5 days at 1.25 kg[13] |
| Fatigue / repeated-flex resistance1–5 | Not documented | Excellent — living hinges viable[10] |
| Elasticity / flexibility1–5 | Not documented | Rubbery / highly elastic[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] | Abrasion 111 mm³ (ISO 4649) — the poorest abrasion resistance in this group, well behind TPU[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 |
| Melting point / Vicat°C | 165 melting (extruded POM-C stock; converted from 329 °F)[1] | 242–249 melting (BASF Ultrafuse TPS 90A, ISO 11357-3)[3] |
| Continuous service temperature°C | 91 long term and 141 intermittent (extruded POM-C stock; converted from 195 °F and 285 °F)[1] | Not documented |
| 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 | ||
| UV resistance1–5 | Not documented | Good — years with some colour shift; Polymaker lists UV exposure among the conditions TPU withstands[10] |
| Chemical resistance | Good chemical resistance, particularly to bases; Apium lists resistance to bases as a headline property[1][2] | Withstands industrial solvents and UV exposure (Polymaker)[10] |
| Water / humidity resistance in service1–5 | Good — minor absorption; 0.80 % water at saturation (ASTM D570, extruded stock)[1] | Excellent — essentially unaffected[3] |
| Food contact | Not documented | Not food safe without specific certification (Polymaker)[10] |
| Biodegradability / compostability | Not documented | Not biodegradable[10] |
| Recyclability | Not documented | Not accepted in household plastic collection[10] |
| 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 | Low hazard — minimal VOC and particle emission; TPU was not among the nine filaments in the chamber study[14] |
| Ventilation / filtration requirement1–5 | Not documented | Open a window / occasional ventilation[14] |
| Post-Processing | ||
| Sanding & machining | Easy to machine — Ensinger lists machinability as a headline property of POM-C stock[1] | Difficult to sand or smooth; Polymaker limits post-processing to trimming or tumbling[10] |
| Gluing & solvent welding | Not documented | Cyanoacrylate bonds TPU; no common solvent welds it[10] |
| Vapour / chemical smoothing | Not documented | No practical vapour smoothing[10] |
| Support material pairing | Not documented | Polymaker warns TPU supports are often very difficult to remove[10] |
| Solvents & Solubility | ||
| Soluble in | Hexafluoroisopropanol dissolves it at room temperature; NMP and DMF only when hot. Laboratory reagents.[15] | Toluene dissolves SEBS at room temperature — Kraton quotes solution viscosity at 25 % mass in toluene, 25 °C.[16] |
| Softened or crazed by | Acids, oxidants, halogens and hot concentrated zinc chloride attack it; alcohols, ketones and esters do not.[15][17] | Soaking in hydrocarbon solvents and oils deteriorates it; short exposures are tolerated. Resists water, acids and bases.[16] |
| 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.[15] | Toluene will weld it, though the joint stays soft; no workshop-safe agent, and vapour smoothing is not practical.[16] |
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
- Ultrafuse TPS 90A Technical Data Sheet (Version 1.1, SEBS) BASF Forward AM · 2020-12 · tds
- Recreus product catalogue Recreus · 2026-08 · vendor
- Proto-pasta product catalogue Proto-pasta · 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
- Flexible (TPE/TPU) — Ultimate 3D Printing Materials Guide Simplify3D · 2026-08 · doc
- TPU — material basics Polymaker Wiki · 2026-08 · doc
- Extrudr Product Catalogue (DURAPRO PA12 data block) Extrudr · 2025-03 · tds
- Wet Filament — signs, causes and drying Polymaker Wiki · 2026-08 · doc
- BambuLab TPU 95A HF vs Qidi TPU 95A HF — results spreadsheet My Tech Fun (Igor Gaspar) · 2024-02 · test
- 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
- KRATON polymers Grade Range — chemical resistance and toluene solution data Kraton Corporation · 2025-07 · tds
- Chemical resistance — resistance of Ensinger plastics to chemicals (DIN 50 014, 23/50) Ensinger · 2026-08 · tds