3D Printing InfoFilament comparison
PP-GF vs TPU-CF
Compare printing settings, strength, heat resistance, dated prices and sources.
2 selected · all documented properties
| Property | Glass-fibre PP (PP-GF)POLYOLEFIN | Carbon-fibre TPUFLEX |
|---|---|---|
| Market snapshot | ||
| Listing priceUSD/kg; dated snapshots | $49.09/kg median; $46.27–$86.01/kg across 3 dated product listings | $107.05/kg median; $107.05–$107.05/kg across 1 dated product listings |
| Identity & Market | ||
| Base polymer / chemistry | Polypropylene reinforced with chopped glass fibre[1][2] | Carbon-fibre reinforced thermoplastic polyurethane at the hard end of the range[3] |
| Densityg/cm³ | 1.12 (Prusament PP Glass Fiber, ISO 1183) — the glass lifts it above water[1] | 1.22 (Extrudr FLEX HARD CF, ISO 2781)[3] |
| Typical priceUSD/kg | 1 kg-equivalent spools cluster near 49[4][5][6] | 107 for the only retail listing found (Extrudr 0.5 kg coil, incl. VAT)[7] |
| Price range across brandsUSD/kg | 46-86 across brands; BCN3D PP GF30 46 at 700 g, BASF Ultrafuse PP GF30 49 at 2.2 kg, Prusament PP Glass Fiber 86 at 850 g[4][5][6] | One listing only: EUR 49.56 incl. VAT per 0.5 kg coil, direct from Extrudr; no reseller or second brand found[7] |
| Market availability1–5 | Available from several mainstream brands[4][5][6] | Niche, a handful of specialist brands — Extrudr's FLEX HARD CF is the only carbon-filled flexible with a published datasheet found here[3] |
| Spool sizes & diameters | 1.75 and 2.85 mm; 700 g, 850 g and 2.2 kg spools[4][5][6] | 1.75 mm; 0.5 and 2 kg coils[7] |
| Typical applications | Stiff, chemically resistant parts where PP-CF's cost or conductivity is unwanted[2] | Stiffened flexible parts — damping mounts and semi-rigid brackets[3] |
| Diameter tolerance± mm | ±0.04 (Prusament)[1] | Not documented |
| Printing Parameters | ||
| Nozzle temperature°C | 245 ± 10 (Prusament) — 25 °C below the carbon-fibre grade[1][8] | 230–260 (Extrudr FLEX HARD CF)[3] |
| Bed temperature°C | 95 ± 10 (Prusament)[1] | 50–90 (Extrudr FLEX HARD CF)[3] |
| Enclosure / chamber requirement1–5 | Enclosure recommended — Simplify3D lists an enclosure as a hardware requirement and Polymaker advises one below 70 °C ambient to stop warping and cracking[9][10] | Open frame is fine[3] |
| Part cooling fan | Off — Prusa runs 0 % except 100 % on bridges[1] | Not documented |
| 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[11][12] |
| Maximum volumetric flow (mm³/s; see test conditions)mm³/s | 4 at Prusa's 50 mm/s cap on a 0.4 mm nozzle at 0.2 mm layer[1][13] | 1.6–8 at the 20–100 mm/s Extrudr specifies on a 0.4 mm nozzle at 0.2 mm layer[3] |
| Warping tendency1–5 | High — enclosure needed for reliable large parts; Prusa recommends a brim[1] | Not documented |
| Bed-adhesion difficulty1–5 | Very difficult — special plates or slurry required[1] | Not documented |
| Overall printing difficulty1–5 | Advanced — enclosure, hardware upgrades, tuning; hardened nozzle mandatory[1] | Advanced — enclosure, hardware upgrades, tuning; hardened nozzle needed[3] |
| Extruder requirement | Prusa states a hardened nozzle is necessary and recommends a brim[1] | Not documented |
| Hardware Wear & Reliability | ||
| Nozzle hardness required1–4 | Hardened steel required[1] | Hardened steel required — Extrudr marks FLEX HARD CF as needing a hardened nozzle where its unfilled FLEX grades do not[3] |
| Abrasiveness1–5 | Highly abrasive — standard GF composite[1] | Highly abrasive — standard CF composite[3] |
| Nozzle clog risk1–5 | Moderate — needs dry filament and a clean nozzle; Prusa lists higher risk of nozzle clogging for glass-filled composites[14] | High — jams from moisture, heat creep or particles; a flexible base plus chopped carbon fibre, which Prusa lists as a higher nozzle-clogging risk, and Extrudr requires a hardened nozzle[14][3][11] |
| Hotend requirement | Not documented | No special hot-end required, but a direct-drive extruder is (Simplify3D)[11] |
| Moisture Behaviour | ||
| Moisture absorption (hygroscopicity)1–5 | Low (0.1–0.3 %) — 0.11 % at both 24 h and 7 days, higher than the carbon-fibre grade's 0.04 % but still very low[1][8] | Moderate[15] |
| Equilibrium moisture content at ~50 % RH% | 0.11 after 24 h and 0.11 after 7 days at 24 °C / 22 % RH (Prusa Polymers)[1] | Not documented |
| Drying temperature & time | Not documented | 60 °C for 6 h (Extrudr FLEX HARD CF)[3] |
| Symptoms when wet | Not documented | Bubbling and popping at the nozzle, stringing and a rough surface[15] |
| Effect of moisture on strength | Not applicable in practice at 0.11 % equilibrium uptake[1] | Polymaker groups TPU with the highly hygroscopic materials; no dry-versus-conditioned figures are published[15] |
| Storage requirement | No special storage needed[1] | Sealed with desiccant; often kept in a dryer during the print[15] |
| Mechanical Properties | ||
| Tensile strength (XY)MPa | 46.6 ± 1.3 filament tensile yield (Prusament, ISO 527) — more than double the carbon-fibre grade's 21[1][8] | Not documented |
| Young's modulusMPa | Not documented | 35 (Extrudr FLEX HARD CF, ISO 527-2/5A/500)[3] |
| Elongation at break% | Not documented | 380 ultimate elongation (Extrudr FLEX HARD CF, ISO 527-2/5A/500), against 490 for the unfilled FLEX HARD[3] |
| Charpy impact, notchedkJ/m² | 7.9 ± 0.4 printed horizontal and 9.9 ± 0.8 printed vertical XZ (ISO 179-1, notched)[1] | Not documented |
| Brittleness1–5 | Moderate[1] | Very ductile — bends far before failing[3] |
| Hardness (scale-specific)Shore A / Shore D / Rockwell | Rockwell R102 (and M95) on extruded unfilled PP stock (ASTM D785); no figure is published for a glass-fibre PP filament[16] | 70 Shore D (Extrudr FLEX HARD CF, ISO 868), against 58 Shore D for the unfilled FLEX HARD[3] |
| Creep resistance / sustained load1–5 | Not documented | Below average — no CF-grade creep test; the grade is 70 Shore D where a 95A TPU bar crept from 74.5 to 82.7 mm over 5 days at 1.25 kg[3][17] |
| Fatigue / repeated-flex resistance1–5 | Not documented | Good — 380 % ultimate elongation and a damping application set (Extrudr cites longboard wheels), below the unfilled grades[3] |
| Elasticity / flexibility1–5 | Rigid[1] | Semi-flexible[3] |
| Wear resistance & friction | Not documented | Abrasion 26 mm³ (Extrudr FLEX HARD CF, ISO 4649-A) — the same as the unfilled FLEX HARD[3] |
| Thermal Properties | ||
| HDT at 0.45 MPa°C | 138.3 (ISO 75, 0.45 MPa)[1] | Not documented |
| HDT at 1.8 MPa°C | 112.6 (ISO 75, 1.8 MPa)[1] | Not documented |
| Glass transition (Tg)°C | Not documented | -24 (Extrudr FLEX HARD CF)[3] |
| Melting point / Vicat°C | Not documented | Vicat A 140 (Extrudr FLEX HARD CF, ISO 306)[3] |
| Environment & Chemical | ||
| UV resistance1–5 | Not documented | Good — years with some colour shift; Polymaker lists UV exposure among the conditions TPU withstands[12] |
| Chemical resistance | Excellent against acids, alkalis and most solvents[10] | Withstands industrial solvents and UV exposure (Polymaker)[12] |
| Water / humidity resistance in service1–5 | Excellent — essentially unaffected[1] | Not documented |
| Food contact | Not documented | Not food safe without specific certification (Polymaker)[12] |
| Biodegradability / compostability | Not documented | Not biodegradable[12] |
| Recyclability | Not documented | Not accepted in household plastic collection[12] |
| Health & Safety | ||
| Fume toxicity1–5 | Low hazard — minimal VOC and particle emission. Inferred: no polyolefin was among the nine filaments in the Azimi chamber study, so this is a family-level judgement rather than a measurement[18] | Low hazard — minimal VOC and particle emission; TPU was not among the nine filaments in the chamber study[18] |
| Ventilation / filtration requirement1–5 | Open a window / occasional ventilation. Inferred — no polyolefin was measured in the chamber study[18] | Open a window / occasional ventilation[18] |
| Dust & fibre handling hazard | Glass fibre is bound in the matrix; avoid inhaling sanding dust[1] | Carbon fibre is bound in the matrix; sanding dust should not be inhaled[3] |
| Post-Processing | ||
| Sanding & machining | Not documented | Difficult to sand or smooth; Polymaker limits post-processing to trimming or tumbling[12] |
| Gluing & solvent welding | Not documented | Cyanoacrylate bonds TPU; no common solvent welds it[12] |
| Vapour / chemical smoothing | Not documented | No practical vapour smoothing[12] |
| Support material pairing | Not documented | Polymaker warns TPU supports are often very difficult to remove[12] |
| Dimensional accuracy & detail | Not documented | Tear strength 165 kN/m (Extrudr FLEX HARD CF, ISO 34-1B)[3] |
| Solvents & Solubility | ||
| Soluble in | None at room temperature; chloroform dissolves the matrix at 60 °C and xylene at about 118 °C, leaving the fibre.[19][20] | DMF, DMSO, NMP and THF dissolve the TPU matrix and leave the fibre; ketones are partial solvents. Laboratory reagents.[21] |
| Softened or crazed by | Xylene, decalin, CCl4 and chlorobenzene are heavily absorbed at 20 °C; oleum, chlorosulphonic acid and bromine destroy it.[19] | Toluene and benzene swell it up to +50 % by weight at 23 °C; esters swell it severely; ethanol and IPA soften it.[21] |
| Solvent welding & smoothing agent | None — nothing softens PP at room temperature, so joints have to be welded thermally rather than chemically.[19] | None practical — the true solvents (DMF, THF, NMP) are laboratory reagents and leave the joint swollen and weak.[21] |
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
- Prusament PP Glass Fiber Technical Datasheet v1.0 Prusa Polymers · 2024-11 · tds
- Prusament PP Glass Fiber — material page Prusa Polymers · 2026-08 · doc
- Extrudr Product Catalogue (DURAPRO PA12 data block) Extrudr · 2025-03 · tds
- BASF Ultrafuse PP GF30 Black 2.85 mm 2.200 g igo3d · 2026-08 · vendor
- BCN3D PP GF30 Black 2.85 mm 700 g igo3d · 2026-08 · vendor
- Prusa Prusament PP Glass Fiber Natural (NFC), 1.75 mm / 850 g 3DJAKE · 2026-08 · vendor
- Extrudr TPU FLEX Hard CF — product page (1.75 mm, 0.5 and 2 kg coils, price) Extrudr (FD3D GmbH) · 2026-08 · vendor
- Prusament PP Carbon Fiber Technical Datasheet v1.0 Prusa Polymers · 2024-11 · tds
- Polypropylene — Ultimate 3D Printing Materials Guide Simplify3D · 2026-08 · doc
- PP — material basics Polymaker Wiki · 2026-08 · doc
- Flexible (TPE/TPU) — Ultimate 3D Printing Materials Guide Simplify3D · 2026-08 · doc
- TPU — material basics Polymaker Wiki · 2026-08 · doc
- Max volumetric speed Prusa Knowledge Base · 2026-08 · doc
- Composite materials filled with carbon, kevlar or glass Prusa Knowledge Base · 2026-08 · doc
- Wet Filament — signs, causes and drying Polymaker Wiki · 2026-08 · doc
- TECAFINE PP natural — stock shape properties Ensinger · 2026-08 · tds
- 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
- Pro-fax and Moplen polypropylene — Chemical Resistance Guide (20, 60 and 100 °C) LyondellBasell · 2026-08 · tds
- US 5,278,282 Polymer recycling by selective dissolution — xylene dissolution temperatures Nauman & Lynch, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute · 1994-01 · paper
- Elastollan — Chemical properties: swelling and chemical resistance BASF · 2026-08 · tds