3D Printing InfoFilament comparison
Breakaway vs TPU-CF
Compare printing settings, strength, heat resistance, dated prices and sources.
2 selected · all documented properties
| Property | Break-away supportSUPPORT | Carbon-fibre TPUFLEX |
|---|---|---|
| Market snapshot | ||
| Listing priceUSD/kg; dated snapshots | $42.49/kg median; $26.00–$79.98/kg across 4 dated product listings | $107.05/kg median; $107.05–$107.05/kg across 1 dated product listings |
| Identity & Market | ||
| Base polymer / chemistry | Break-away support compounds matched to a specific model material — Polymaker sells separate grades for PLA and for PA12[1][2] | Carbon-fibre reinforced thermoplastic polyurethane at the hard end of the range[3] |
| Densityg/cm³ | 1.22 (PolySupport for PLA) and 1.29 (PolySupport for PA12), ISO 1183[1][2] | 1.22 (Extrudr FLEX HARD CF, ISO 2781)[3] |
| Typical priceUSD/kg | 1 kg-equivalent spools span 26–80; the middle of the market is about 45[4][5][6] | 107 for the only retail listing found (Extrudr 0.5 kg coil, incl. VAT)[7] |
| Price range across brandsUSD/kg | 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[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][8] | 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; 0.5 and 0.75 kg spools[4] | 1.75 mm; 0.5 and 2 kg coils[7] |
| Typical applications | Support that peels off by hand, avoiding the moisture handling and dissolution time that soluble supports demand[1] | Stiffened flexible parts — damping mounts and semi-rigid brackets[3] |
| Printing Parameters | ||
| Nozzle temperature°C | 220–230 (PolySupport for PLA)[1] | 230–260 (Extrudr FLEX HARD CF)[3] |
| Bed temperature°C | 25–60 (PolySupport for PLA)[1] | 50–90 (Extrudr FLEX HARD CF)[3] |
| Enclosure / chamber requirement1–5 | Open frame is fine[1] | 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 | 4–12 at Polymaker's 50–150 mm/s on a 0.4 mm nozzle at 0.2 mm layer[1] | 1.6–8 at the 20–100 mm/s Extrudr specifies on a 0.4 mm nozzle at 0.2 mm layer[3] |
| Overall printing difficulty1–5 | Easy — minor profile tuning[1] | Advanced — enclosure, hardware upgrades, tuning; hardened nozzle needed[3] |
| Extruder requirement | A second extruder or a tool changer[1] | Not documented |
| Hardware Wear & Reliability | ||
| Nozzle hardness required1–4 | Brass fine indefinitely[1] | Hardened steel required — Extrudr marks FLEX HARD CF as needing a hardened nozzle where its unfilled FLEX grades do not[3] |
| Abrasiveness1–5 | Non-abrasive[1] | Highly abrasive — standard CF composite[3] |
| Nozzle clog risk1–5 | 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[1][2] | 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[11][3][9] |
| Hotend requirement | Not documented | No special hot-end required, but a direct-drive extruder is (Simplify3D)[9] |
| Moisture Behaviour | ||
| Moisture absorption (hygroscopicity)1–5 | Moderate — 0.64 % equilibrium water absorption (PolySupport for PLA)[1] | Moderate[12] |
| Equilibrium moisture content at ~50 % RH% | 0.64 equilibrium water absorption (Polymaker PolySupport for PLA)[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[12] |
| Effect of moisture on strength | Not a structural material; no dry-versus-conditioned data is published[12] | Polymaker groups TPU with the highly hygroscopic materials; no dry-versus-conditioned figures are published[12] |
| Storage requirement | Not documented | Sealed with desiccant; often kept in a dryer during the print[12] |
| Mechanical Properties | ||
| 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] |
| Brittleness1–5 | Not documented | Very ductile — bends far before failing[3] |
| Hardness (scale-specific)Shore A / Shore D / Rockwell | Not documented | 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][13] |
| 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 | Not documented | 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 | 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[2] | Not documented |
| HDT at 1.8 MPa°C | 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[2] | Not documented |
| Glass transition (Tg)°C | Not documented | -24 (Extrudr FLEX HARD CF)[3] |
| Melting point / Vicat°C | Vicat 171 (PolySupport for PA12, ISO 306)[2] | 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[10] |
| Chemical resistance | Not documented | Withstands industrial solvents and UV exposure (Polymaker)[10] |
| 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 | Surface resistance above 10^13 ohm/sq (ASTM D257, THERMAX HTS2 and MTS1)[14][15] | Not documented |
| Health & Safety | ||
| Fume toxicity1–5 | Low hazard — minimal VOC and particle emission; none of these materials was in the chamber study[16] | Low hazard — minimal VOC and particle emission; TPU was not among the nine filaments in the chamber study[16] |
| Ventilation / filtration requirement1–5 | Open a window / occasional ventilation[16] | Open a window / occasional ventilation[16] |
| Dust & fibre handling hazard | Not documented | 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[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 | 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[1][2] | Polymaker warns TPU supports are often very difficult to remove[10] |
| Dimensional accuracy & detail | Not documented | Tear strength 165 kN/m (Extrudr FLEX HARD CF, ISO 34-1B)[3] |
| Solvents & Solubility | ||
| Soluble in | None — break-away support is removed mechanically; 3DXTech lists no water or solvent route for it.[17] | DMF, DMSO, NMP and THF dissolve the TPU matrix and leave the fibre; ketones are partial solvents. Laboratory reagents.[18] |
| Softened or crazed by | Not documented | Toluene and benzene swell it up to +50 % by weight at 23 °C; esters swell it severely; ethanol and IPA soften it.[18] |
| Solvent welding & smoothing agent | None — there is no solvent to weld or smooth with.[17] | None practical — the true solvents (DMF, THF, NMP) are laboratory reagents and leave the joint swollen and weak.[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
- PolySupport Technical Data Sheet V5.4 Polymaker · 2024-11 · tds
- PolySupport for PA12 Technical Data Sheet V5.4 Polymaker · 2024-11 · tds
- Extrudr Product Catalogue (DURAPRO PA12 data block) Extrudr · 2025-03 · tds
- 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
- Extrudr TPU FLEX Hard CF — product page (1.75 mm, 0.5 and 2 kg coils, price) Extrudr (FD3D GmbH) · 2026-08 · vendor
- 3DXTech product catalogue 3DXTech · 2026-08 · vendor
- Flexible (TPE/TPU) — Ultimate 3D Printing Materials Guide Simplify3D · 2026-08 · doc
- TPU — material basics Polymaker Wiki · 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
- BambuLab TPU 95A HF vs Qidi TPU 95A HF — results spreadsheet My Tech Fun (Igor Gaspar) · 2024-02 · test
- 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
- THERMAX HTS1 — product page 3DXTech · 2026-08 · vendor
- Elastollan — Chemical properties: swelling and chemical resistance BASF · 2026-08 · tds