3D Printing InfoFilament comparison
PPA vs Breakaway
Compare printing settings, strength, heat resistance, dated prices and sources.
2 selected · all documented properties
| Property | PPA (polyphthalamide)PA | Break-away supportSUPPORT |
|---|---|---|
| Market snapshot | ||
| Listing priceUSD/kg; dated snapshots | $45.49/kg median; $45.49–$45.49/kg across 1 dated product listings | $42.49/kg median; $26.00–$79.98/kg across 4 dated product listings |
| Identity & Market | ||
| Base polymer / chemistry | Polyphthalamide — a semi-aromatic polyamide in which aromatic diacid units replace part of the aliphatic backbone; Raise3D and Bambu Lab both label it high-temperature nylon[1][2] | Break-away support compounds matched to a specific model material — Polymaker sells separate grades for PLA and for PA12[3][4] |
| Densityg/cm³ | 1.21 (ISO 1183, Siraya Tech Fibreheart PPA)[5] | 1.22 (PolySupport for PLA) and 1.29 (PolySupport for PA12), ISO 1183[3][4] |
| Typical priceUSD/kg | One 1 kg listing on the market, at 45[6] | 1 kg-equivalent spools span 26–80; the middle of the market is about 45[7][8][9] |
| Price range across brandsUSD/kg | 45 for the only unfilled PPA filament found — Siraya Tech Fibreheart PPA at 1 kg; every other PPA in retail is carbon- or glass-filled[6] | 26–80 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[7][8][9] |
| Market availability1–5 | Special order, 1–2 makers worldwide — Siraya Tech is the only brand found selling unfilled PPA filament[6] | Available from several mainstream brands[7][10] |
| Spool sizes & diameters | 1.75 mm, 1 kg[6] | 1.75 and 2.85 mm; 0.5 and 0.75 kg spools[7] |
| Typical applications | Gears, bearings and tooling that must hold load above the reach of PA6 or PA12, and parts exposed to fuels and industrial chemicals[5] | Support that peels off by hand, avoiding the moisture handling and dissolution time that soluble supports demand[3] |
| Printing Parameters | ||
| Nozzle temperature°C | 280–300 (Siraya Tech)[5] | 220–230 (PolySupport for PLA)[3] |
| Bed temperature°C | 70–80 (Siraya Tech)[5] | 25–60 (PolySupport for PLA)[3] |
| Enclosure / chamber requirement1–5 | Enclosure recommended — Siraya Tech advises an enclosure to hold temperature and limit warping on larger prints[5] | Open frame is fine[3] |
| Part cooling fan | 20–60 % (Siraya Tech)[5] | Not documented |
| Bed surface & adhesion aid | PEI sheet with a glue stick, or a PVP glue coating[5] | Not documented |
| 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[3] |
| Overall printing difficulty1–5 | Advanced — enclosure, hardware upgrades, tuning; needs a 300 °C-class hot end and a dry spool[5] | Easy — minor profile tuning[3] |
| Extruder requirement | Not documented | A second extruder or a tool changer[3] |
| Hardware Wear & Reliability | ||
| Nozzle hardness required1–4 | Brass fine indefinitely — Siraya Tech states a hardened steel nozzle is not needed for the unfilled grade[5] | Brass fine indefinitely[3] |
| Abrasiveness1–5 | Non-abrasive when unfilled[5] | Non-abrasive[3] |
| Nozzle clog risk1–5 | Moderate — needs dry filament and a clean nozzle; Siraya Tech tells users to dry only when moisture symptoms appear, rather than before every print[5] | Moderate — 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] |
| Hotend requirement | High-quality metal nozzle, 0.4–1.0 mm; hardened steel not required (Siraya Tech)[5] | Not documented |
| Moisture Behaviour | ||
| Moisture absorption (hygroscopicity)1–5 | High (0.8–2 %) — Siraya Tech publishes 2.59 % by ISO 62 immersion for the unfilled grade; on the equilibrium basis Bambu Lab uses, its 15 % carbon-filled PPA reaches 1.30 % against 2.35 % for the same maker's PA6-CF[5][2][11] | Moderate — 0.64 % equilibrium water absorption (PolySupport for PLA)[3] |
| Equilibrium moisture content at ~50 % RH% | 2.59 by ISO 62 water immersion (Siraya Tech, unfilled) — an immersion figure, not the 25 °C / 55 % RH equilibrium basis the filled grades are quoted on, so the two are not directly comparable[5] | 0.64 equilibrium water absorption (Polymaker PolySupport for PLA)[3] |
| Drying temperature & time | 80–100 °C for 4–6 h (Siraya Tech)[5] | Not documented |
| Symptoms when wet | Oozing, bubbles and a rough surface finish (Siraya Tech)[5] | Not documented |
| Effect of moisture on strength | Siraya Tech publishes dry against saturated for the same grade: tensile 70 → 60 MPa, flexural 114 → 87 MPa, HDT at 1.8 MPa 73.5 → 48.5 °C, while Charpy rises 10 → 14.5 kJ/m²[5][6] | Not a structural material; no dry-versus-conditioned data is published[12] |
| Storage requirement | Dry box below 15 % RH (Siraya Tech)[5] | Not documented |
| Mechanical Properties | ||
| Tensile strength (XY)MPa | 72 at break (printed, ASTM D638, Siraya Tech); the product page quotes 70 dry and 60 saturated[5][6] | Not documented |
| Young's modulusMPa | 3600 (printed, ASTM D638, Siraya Tech)[5] | Not documented |
| Elongation at break% | 10.5 at break (printed, ASTM D638, Siraya Tech)[5] | Not documented |
| Flexural strengthMPa | 115 (printed, ISO 178, Siraya Tech); 114 dry against 87 saturated on the product page[5][6] | Not documented |
| Flexural modulusMPa | 3350 (printed, ISO 178, Siraya Tech)[5] | Not documented |
| Charpy impact, notchedkJ/m² | 10.1 Charpy (printed, ISO 179, Siraya Tech); the data sheet does not state whether the specimen was notched[5] | Not documented |
| Brittleness1–5 | Moderate — 10.5 % elongation at break puts it between PA6 and the fibre-filled grades[5] | Not documented |
| Creep resistance / sustained load1–5 | Good — Raise3D cites high creep resistance as a reason to choose the PPA matrix over other nylons[1] | Not documented |
| Elasticity / flexibility1–5 | Rigid — 3.6 GPa tensile modulus[5] | Not documented |
| Wear resistance & friction | Siraya Tech describes the unfilled grade as low-friction and self-lubricating, aimed at gears and bearings[5][6] | Not documented |
| Thermal Properties | ||
| HDT at 0.45 MPa°C | 81 dry and 61 saturated (printed, ISO 75 Method B at 0.45 MPa, Siraya Tech)[5] | 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°C | 73.5 dry and 48.5 saturated (printed, ISO 75 Method A at 1.8 MPa, Siraya Tech) — unfilled PPA deflects near its Tg; the 190–227 °C figures quoted for PPA are carbon-filled grades[5][2] | 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] |
| Glass transition (Tg)°C | 80 (ASTM D3418, Siraya Tech)[5] | Not documented |
| Melting point / Vicat°C | 231 melting point (ASTM D3418) and 230 Vicat (ISO 306), Siraya Tech[5] | Vicat 171 (PolySupport for PA12, ISO 306)[4] |
| Annealing response | Siraya Tech's product page offers annealing for strength while its own data sheet says annealing is not recommended because the print can warp; on its 15 % carbon-filled PPA, annealing lifts HDT at 1.8 MPa from 82.5 to 119 °C[5][6][13] | Not documented |
| Environment & Chemical | ||
| Chemical resistance | Withstands fuels, oils and industrial chemicals; Bambu Lab rates semi-aromatic nylon better than general nylon against weak acids, weak alkalis and most organic solvents[5][2] | Not documented |
| Water / humidity resistance in service1–5 | Absorbs water, properties shift — a saturated specimen loses about 15 % of its tensile strength and 25 °C of heat-deflection temperature[5][6] | Not documented |
| Electrical & ESD properties | Not documented | Surface resistance above 10^13 ohm/sq (ASTM D257, THERMAX HTS2 and MTS1)[14][15] |
| Health & Safety | ||
| Fume toxicity1–5 | Not documented | Low hazard — minimal VOC and particle emission; none of these materials was in the chamber study[16] |
| Ventilation / filtration requirement1–5 | Not documented | Open a window / occasional ventilation[16] |
| Post-Processing | ||
| Support material pairing | Compatible with quick-release support materials (Siraya Tech)[5] | This 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 in | Dissolved at 23 °C by formic acid, phenol, m-cresol, 96 % sulphuric acid or hexafluoroisopropanol — all laboratory reagents.[17] | None — break-away support is removed mechanically; 3DXTech lists no water or solvent route for it.[18] |
| Softened or crazed by | Mineral acids, oxidants, halogens and zinc chloride solutions attack the amide bond; ordinary solvents do not.[17] | Not documented |
| Solvent welding & smoothing agent | None — nylon's only solvents are formic acid, phenol and HFIP, all of which degrade the part they wet.[17] | None — there is no solvent to weld or smooth with.[18] |
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
- Raise3D Industrial PPA CF Technical Data Sheet V2.0 Raise3D · 2022-04 · tds
- Bambu Filament Technical Data Sheet V1.0 — PPA-CF Bambu Lab · 2026-08 · tds
- PolySupport Technical Data Sheet V5.4 Polymaker · 2024-11 · tds
- PolySupport for PA12 Technical Data Sheet V5.4 Polymaker · 2024-11 · tds
- Siraya Tech Fibreheart PPA Technical Data Sheet Siraya Tech · 2026-08 · tds
- Siraya Tech Fibreheart PPA Filament — product page Siraya Tech · 2026-08 · vendor
- Polymaker product catalogue Polymaker · 2026-08 · vendor
- YXPOLYER Breakaway Support Filament 1 kg Black — product page YXPOLYER · 2026-08 · vendor
- IEMAI 3D E-REMOVE breakaway support filament — store page IEMAI 3D · 2026-08 · vendor
- 3DXTech product catalogue 3DXTech · 2026-08 · vendor
- Bambu Filament Technical Data Sheet V3.0 — PA6-CF Bambu Lab · 2026-08 · tds
- Wet Filament — signs, causes and drying Polymaker Wiki · 2026-08 · doc
- Siraya Tech Fibreheart PPA-CF Technical Data Sheet Siraya Tech · 2026-08 · tds
- THERMAX HTS2 Break Away Support Technical Data Sheet v1.0 3DXTech · 2026-08 · tds
- THERMAX MTS1 Break Away Support Technical Data Sheet v1.0 3DXTech · 2026-08 · tds
- 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
- Ultramid Nylon Chemical Resistance guide (unmodified PA6 B27E and PA66 A27E) BASF · 2026-08 · tds
- THERMAX HTS1 — product page 3DXTech · 2026-08 · vendor