3D Printing InfoWhere it is used
Tough, chemically resistant functional parts; Prusa targets it at impact-loaded and vibration-loaded components
Sources
- Prusament PA11 — material page · 2026-08 · doc
Nylon & composites · Material guide
PA11 (Nylon 11)
Bio-based nylon from castor oil, sitting between PA12 and PA6 for moisture. Prusa's grade posts an interlayer adhesion of 32 MPa and a Z-to-XY tensile ratio of 0.84 — the most isotropic…
Open in interactive comparisonUnderstand the material
At a glance
Before you print
- Setup difficulty
- Advanced — enclosure, hardware upgrades, tuning
- Nozzle wear
- Non-abrasive when unfilled
Read the full material overview
Bio-based nylon from castor oil, sitting between PA12 and PA6 for moisture. Prusa's grade posts an interlayer adhesion of 32 MPa and a Z-to-XY tensile ratio of 0.84 — the most isotropic filament in their range.
Applications
PA11 is valued for tough, durable parts that tolerate handling, flexing and chemical exposure. Its castor-oil-derived chemistry also provides a renewable feedstock route, although bio-based does not mean biodegradable. Arkema documents PA11 across industrial fluid systems; its PCV-line case describes PA11 and specialized PPA solutions replacing bulkier rubber tubing where flexibility, chemical resistance and reduced weight are valuable.
For FDM, toughness and compliance favor clips, impact-prone housings and vibration-loaded parts more than maximum-rigidity fixtures. Moisture still shifts nylon stiffness and fit, and unfilled PA11 heat-deflection performance is much lower than the service envelope of specialized automotive tubing compounds. Print orientation and the bend geometry govern repeated-flex life, so a tough polymer alone does not ensure a durable hinge.
Automotive crankcase-ventilation lines ↗
Automotive tube manufacture; the case page does not identify one processing route · Rilsan PA11 and Rilsan HT PPA application-specific tubing solutions; not unfilled FDM PA11 · Documented case
Arkema documents PA11 and specialized Rilsan HT PPA solutions for PCV lines, where thinner and lighter plastic tubing can replace bulky rubber while addressing flexibility and chemical exposure. The case covers more than one polymer and must not be read as a universal PA11 temperature rating.
Sources
- Prusament PA11 Technical Datasheet v1.0 · 2026-07 · tds
- Prusament PA11 — material page · 2026-08 · doc
- Moisture Conditioning — effect on printed nylon properties · 2026-08 · doc
- PolyMide CoPA Technical Data Sheet V5.4 (dry and wet status blocks) · 2024-11 · tds
Find printable models
Check the model’s material and process notes before choosing a filament.
Plan your printer setup
All print settings ↓Printing quick reference
Representative catalog values. Check the exact grade and its linked conditions before using a setting.
Nozzle temperature (°C)
275 ± 10 (Prusament)
Bed temperature (°C)
100 ± 10 (Prusament)
Enclosure
Enclosure required (passive)
Full value & sources
Enclosure required (passive) — Prusament specifies a 55 ± 5 °C chamber
- Prusament PA11 Technical Datasheet v1.0 · 2026-07 · tds
Drying
—
Full value & sources
—
—Go deeper when you need to
44 documented fieldsProperties & source data
Open a topic to explore the complete data. Each value keeps its original conditions, units and dated sources.
Material & market6 fields
| Property and unit | Published value and conditions | Sources and dates |
|---|---|---|
| Base polymer / chemistry | Polyamide 11, polymerised from castor-oil-derived aminoundecanoic acid — a bio-based nylon | 2 sources
|
| Density (g/cm³) | 1.02 (ISO 1183) | 1 source
|
| Market availability (1–5) | Niche, a handful of specialist brands | 1 source
|
| Spool sizes & diameters | 1.75 mm; 1 kg spools | 1 source
|
| Typical applications | Tough, chemically resistant functional parts; Prusa targets it at impact-loaded and vibration-loaded components | 1 source
|
| Diameter tolerance (± mm) | ±0.02 (Prusament) | 1 source
|
Print settings7 fields
| Property and unit | Published value and conditions | Sources and dates |
|---|---|---|
| Nozzle temperature (°C) | 275 ± 10 (Prusament) | 1 source
|
| Bed temperature (°C) | 100 ± 10 (Prusament) | 1 source
|
| Enclosure / chamber requirement (1–5) | Enclosure required (passive) — Prusament specifies a 55 ± 5 °C chamber | 1 source
|
| Recommended chamber temperature (°C) | 55 ± 5 (Prusament) | 1 source
|
| Bed surface & adhesion aid | PA nylon sheet (Prusament) | 1 source
|
| Overall printing difficulty (1–5) | Advanced — enclosure, hardware upgrades, tuning | 2 sources
|
| Extruder requirement | Prusa printed its test specimens with a high-flow CHT nozzle | 1 source
|
Nozzle wear & reliability3 fields
| Property and unit | Published value and conditions | Sources and dates |
|---|---|---|
| Nozzle hardness required (1–4) | Brass fine indefinitely for unfilled grades | 1 source
|
| Abrasiveness (1–5) | Non-abrasive when unfilled | 1 source
|
| Nozzle clog risk (1–5) | High — jams from moisture, heat creep or particles | 1 source
|
Moisture & drying5 fields
| Property and unit | Published value and conditions | Sources and dates |
|---|---|---|
| Moisture absorption (hygroscopicity) (1–5) | High (0.8–2 %) — Prusa measures 0.46 % after 7 days at 22 % RH, but PA11 sits between PA12 and PA6 in the family | 2 sources
|
| Equilibrium moisture content at ~50 % RH (%) | 0.26 after 24 h and 0.46 after 7 days (Prusa Polymers method) | 1 source
|
| Symptoms when wet | Popping and cracking during extrusion, then hard-to-diagnose defects | 1 source
|
| Effect of moisture on strength | Prusa publishes no dry-versus-conditioned columns; the CoPA reference shows the PA-family response — stiffness and strength fall sharply, impact and elongation rise | 2 sources
|
| Storage requirement | Sealed below 20 % RH with desiccant | 1 source
|
Strength & mechanical properties11 fields
| Property and unit | Published value and conditions | Sources and dates |
|---|---|---|
| Tensile strength (XY) (MPa) | 38.3 ± 0.8 printed horizontal and 39.5 ± 0.5 printed vertical at yield, ISO 527-1 | 1 source
|
| Young's modulus (MPa) | 1200 printed, both orientations, ISO 527-1 | 1 source
|
| Elongation at break (%) | 5.6 ± 0.1 at yield, printed, ISO 527-1 | 1 source
|
| Flexural modulus (MPa) | 1100 printed horizontal and 1000 printed vertical, ISO 178 | 1 source
|
| Charpy impact, notched (kJ/m²) | 12.9 ± 2.1 printed horizontal and 11.7 ± 1.2 printed vertical, ISO 179-1 notched | 1 source
|
| Layer adhesion / Z tensile (MPa) | 32 ± 1 (Prusa Polymers interlayer adhesion test) — the highest interlayer figure Prusa publishes for any of its filaments | 1 source
|
| Brittleness (1–5) | Tough — absorbs impact, yields before breaking | 1 source
|
| Hardness (scale-specific) (Shore A / Shore D / Rockwell) | 70 Shore D (Prusa Polymers method) | 1 source
|
| Fatigue / repeated-flex resistance (1–5) | Excellent — living hinges viable | 1 source
|
| Elasticity / flexibility (1–5) | Semi-flexible | 1 source
|
| Z strength as % of XY (%) | 84 — Prusa publishes a tensile anisotropy coefficient of 0.84, the ratio of Z to XY tensile strength | 1 source
|
Heat & temperature2 fields
| Property and unit | Published value and conditions | Sources and dates |
|---|---|---|
| HDT at 0.45 MPa (°C) | 58.7 (ISO 75, 0.45 MPa) | 1 source
|
| HDT at 1.8 MPa (°C) | 49.9 (ISO 75, 1.8 MPa) | 1 source
|
Weather & chemical resistance2 fields
| Property and unit | Published value and conditions | Sources and dates |
|---|---|---|
| Water / humidity resistance in service (1–5) | Absorbs water, properties shift | 1 source
|
| Biodegradability / compostability | Bio-based — the monomer comes from castor oil | 1 source
|
Health & safety5 fields
| Property and unit | Published value and conditions | Sources and dates |
|---|---|---|
| Fume toxicity (1–5) | Moderate — measurable VOCs and UFPs, ventilation advised | |
| VOC emission rate (µg/min) | Up to 180 caprolactam, the dominant VOC from nylon; total VOC reached nearly 200 µg/min, the highest of the nine filaments tested | |
| Ultrafine-particle emission rate (particles/min) | ≈2 × 10⁸ median — low for ultrafine particles despite the highest VOC mass of any filament tested | |
| Hazardous species emitted | Caprolactam, at up to 180 µg/min from nylon filament — the largest single-VOC emission rate measured in the study | |
| Ventilation / filtration requirement (1–5) | Ventilated room or enclosure recommended |
Solvents & solubility3 fields
| Property and unit | Published value and conditions | Sources and dates |
|---|---|---|
| Soluble in | Dissolved at 23 °C by formic acid, phenol, m-cresol, 96 % sulphuric acid or hexafluoroisopropanol — all laboratory reagents. | 2 sources |
| Softened or crazed by | Mineral acids, oxidants, halogens and zinc chloride solutions attack the amide bond; ordinary solvents do not (BASF, PA6/66). | 1 source |
| Solvent welding & smoothing agent | None — nylon's only solvents are formic acid, phenol and HFIP, all of which degrade the part they wet. | 1 source |
How to read these values
Values describe representative grades, not every spool. Manufacturer datasheets and independent tests retain their source labels and dates. Printed orientation, test method, conditioning and formulation can change results. Unknown values are —. A listed use is not a certification. Shore A, Shore D and Rockwell hardness are separate scales.
Find a specific filament
1 listingProduct listings and datasheets
Historical USD/kg snapshots. Read each listing’s sale/from qualifiers, spool mass, source date, shipping and tax notes. Product figures are separate from the material summary.
Browse 1 product from 1 brand
Prusa PolymersPrusament PA11 Carbon Fiber194.98 USD/kg
$155.98 / 800 g = $194.98/kg, 3djake.com, Aug 2026
The carbon-fibre grade; Prusa's unfilled PA11 shares the same datasheet family but no open unfilled listing was found to price. Carbon-fibre filled. The category data comes from Prusa's unfilled Prusament PA11 datasheet; no unfilled PA11 spool was found on sale at any retailer checked.
Open product listing ↗- Nylon PA12 — product listing · 2026-08 · vendor
- Technical datasheet — Prusament PA11 Carbon Fiber, version 1.0 · 2026-08 · tds
| Density (g/cm³) | 1.11 (ISO 1183) |
|
|---|---|---|
| Diameter tolerance (± mm) | 0.04 |
|
| Nozzle temperature (°C) | 285 ± 5 |
|
| Bed temperature (°C) | 110 ± 10 |
|
| Part cooling fan | 20 % part cooling |
|
| Equilibrium moisture content at ~50 % RH (%) | 0.50 after 7 days at 24 °C / 22 % RH (0.20 after 24 h) |
|
| Tensile strength (XY) (MPa) | 42 ± 1 yield printed horizontal, 49 ± 2 printed vertical xz (ISO 527-1) |
|
| Young's modulus (MPa) | 2500 printed horizontal, 3300 printed vertical xz (ISO 527-1) |
|
| Elongation at break (%) | 3.3 ± 0.2 at yield, printed horizontal (ISO 527-1) |
|
| Flexural strength (MPa) | 63 ± 2 printed horizontal, 103 ± 3 vertical xz (ISO 178) |
|
| Flexural modulus (MPa) | 3000 printed horizontal, 6200 vertical xz (ISO 178) |
|
| Charpy impact, notched (kJ/m²) | 12 ± 2 printed horizontal, 17 ± 1 vertical xz (ISO 179-1, edgewise) |
|
| Other impact data | Charpy unnotched 30 ± 4 kJ/m² horizontal, 51 ± 4 vertical xz (ISO 179-1) |
|
| Layer adhesion / Z tensile (MPa) | 20 ± 5 interlayer adhesion (Prusa Polymers method) |
|
| Hardness (scale-specific) (Shore A / Shore D / Rockwell) | 77 Shore D (Prusa Polymers method, filament) |
|
| HDT at 0.45 MPa (°C) | 192 (ISO 75, 0.45 MPa) |
|
| HDT at 1.8 MPa (°C) | 152 (ISO 75, 1.8 MPa) |
|