3D Printing Info
Nylon & composites · Material guide

Carbon-fibre PA6 (PA6-CF)

A stiff, reinforced engineering material for brackets, tooling and loaded parts.

6 product listings5 brands
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Understand the material

At a glance

Before you print

Setup difficulty
Expert / industrial hardware only — enclosure, hardened nozzle, an 80 °C dry and a printer that can hold the…
Nozzle wear
Highly abrasive — standard CF composite; Polymaker puts brass nozzle life at roughly 9 h
Read conditions and sources ↓
Read the full material overview

The workhorse engineering composite: 102–109 MPa printed XY, HDT to 215 °C at 0.45 MPa and Young's modulus to 8.6 GPa — bought at the price of a 9-hour brass nozzle life and 2.35 % moisture uptake.

Applications

PA6-CF is used when a nylon part must resist bending under load and tolerate more heat than everyday printing plastics. The carbon reinforcement makes it useful for brackets, tooling and machine components that need a definite position rather than a flexible nylon response. The documented trunk-lock replacement below shows a small mechanism repair; larger structural uses require their own load and temperature assessment.

Its main compromise is moisture sensitivity. Carbon fibre does not stop PA6 absorbing water: dry and conditioned specimens can differ sharply in stiffness and strength. A bracket sized from a dry tensile figure can become much more compliant in service. Orient the print for the applied loads, allow for conditioning when checking fit, and distinguish heat-deflection tests from long-term loaded operation.

  • CURE Mannheim steering mounts ↗

    FDM · Fiberon PA6-CF20 filament · Documented case

    Polymaker identifies PA6-CF20 in steering mounts and aerodynamic cores on CURE’s Formula Student car.

Sources
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Representative catalog values. Check the exact grade and its linked conditions before using a setting.

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Properties & source data

72 documented fields

Open a topic to explore the complete data. Each value keeps its original conditions, units and dated sources.

Material & market7 fields
Carbon-fibre PA6 (PA6-CF) — Identity & Market
Property and unitPublished value and conditionsSources and dates
Base polymer / chemistryPA6 reinforced with chopped carbon fibre — Polymaker's grade is 20 wt%
2 sources
Density (g/cm³)1.09 (Bambu Lab), 1.17 (Polymaker Fiberon and 3DXTech), ISO 1183
3 sources
Typical price (USD/kg)1 kg-equivalent spools span 39–133; the middle of the market is about 80
4 sources
Price range across brands (USD/kg)39–133 across brands; IEMAI 3D 39, Bambu Lab 43, YXPOLYER 45, Polymaker Fiberon 80, 3DXTech CarbonX 83, Obsidian 133
6 sources
Market availability (1–5)Stocked by most mainstream brands
6 sources
Spool sizes & diameters1.75 and 2.85 mm; 0.5, 0.75, 1 and 2 kg spools
3 sources
Typical applicationsLoad-bearing brackets, tooling and drone frames that must hold strength above 150 °C
2 sources
Print settings10 fields
Carbon-fibre PA6 (PA6-CF) — Printing Parameters
Property and unitPublished value and conditionsSources and dates
Nozzle temperature (°C)260–290 (Bambu Lab); 280–300 (Polymaker Fiberon)
2 sources
Bed temperature (°C)40–50 (Polymaker Fiberon)
1 source
Enclosure / chamber requirement (1–5)Enclosure required (passive) — Bambu Lab specifies a 45–60 °C chamber, Polymaker room temperature
2 sources
Recommended chamber temperature (°C)45–60 (Bambu Lab); room temperature (Polymaker Fiberon)
2 sources
Bed surface & adhesion aidEngineering or high-temperature plate with glue (Bambu Lab)
1 source
Maximum volumetric flow (mm³/s; see test conditions) (mm³/s)8 at Bambu Lab's 100 mm/s cap on a 0.4 mm nozzle at 0.2 mm layer; Polymaker rates its grade to 300 mm/s
3 sources
Bed-adhesion difficulty (1–5)Needs a specific surface plus adhesive
1 source
Stringing / oozing tendency (1–5)Moderate — retraction tuning needed
1 source
Overall printing difficulty (1–5)Expert / industrial hardware only — enclosure, hardened nozzle, an 80 °C dry and a printer that can hold the filament dry throughout
3 sources
Extruder requirement0.6 mm nozzle recommended by Bambu Lab; 0.4 and 0.8 also supported
1 source
Nozzle wear & reliability5 fields
Carbon-fibre PA6 (PA6-CF) — Hardware Wear & Reliability
Property and unitPublished value and conditionsSources and dates
Nozzle hardness required (1–4)Hardened steel required — Polymaker measures brass nozzle life at about 9 h on PA6-CF20 and recommends hardened steel or ruby
1 source
Abrasiveness (1–5)Highly abrasive — standard CF composite; Polymaker puts brass nozzle life at roughly 9 h
1 source
Nozzle clog risk (1–5)Very high — frequent jams without careful setup; the combination of moisture and fibre is the worst case in the dataset
2 sources
Heat-creep / jam sensitivity (1–5)Moderate — good heatbreak cooling needed
1 source
Hotend requirementHardened steel or ruby nozzle plus an all-metal hot end rated to 300 °C
2 sources
Moisture & drying7 fields
Carbon-fibre PA6 (PA6-CF) — Moisture Behaviour
Property and unitPublished value and conditionsSources and dates
Moisture absorption (hygroscopicity) (1–5)Very high (>2 %) — 2.35 % saturated at 25 °C / 55 % RH (Bambu Lab)
1 source
Equilibrium moisture content at ~50 % RH (%)2.35 saturated at 25 °C / 55 % RH (Bambu Lab)
1 source
Drying temperature & time80 °C for 8–12 h (Bambu Lab); 100 °C for 10 h (Polymaker Fiberon)
2 sources
Symptoms when wetPopping and cracking during extrusion, then hard-to-diagnose defects
1 source
Effect of moisture on strengthPolymaker publishes dry and wet printed blocks for PA6-CF20 itself: at 5.30 % moisture tensile falls 109.3 → 54.7 MPa and modulus 8636 → 2508 MPa, while notched Charpy rises 11.0 → 35.6 kJ/m². Fibre reinforcement reduces but does not remove the effect
2 sources
Storage requirementSealed below 20 % RH with desiccant; often needs to stay in a dryer while printing
1 source
Hydrolysis at melt temperaturePolymaker specifies an 80–100 °C dry and storage below 20 % RH; no molecular-weight loss figure is published, and the wet data it does publish is conditioning rather than melt hydrolysis
2 sources
Strength & mechanical properties14 fields
Carbon-fibre PA6 (PA6-CF) — Mechanical Properties
Property and unitPublished value and conditionsSources and dates
Tensile strength (XY) (MPa)102 ± 7 (Bambu Lab) and 109.3 ± 2.4 (Polymaker Fiberon, dry/annealed) printed XY, ISO 527; the Fiberon grade falls to 54.7 ± 1.1 conditioned to 5.30 % moisture; 3DXTech quotes 63 at break
3 sources
Young's modulus (MPa)4430 ± 310 (Bambu Lab) and 8636 ± 211 (Polymaker Fiberon, dry/annealed) printed XY, ISO 527; Fiberon falls to 2508 ± 83 conditioned; 3DXTech quotes 3800
3 sources
Elongation at break (%)5.8 ± 1.6 printed XY, ISO 527 (Bambu Lab); 3DXTech quotes 3 at break
2 sources
Flexural strength (MPa)161.0 ± 3.9 printed XY dry, 64.9 ± 4.9 conditioned, ISO 178 (Polymaker Fiberon); 3DXTech quotes 84
2 sources
Flexural modulus (MPa)7038 ± 205 printed XY dry and 2286 ± 185 conditioned, ISO 178 (Polymaker Fiberon); 3DXTech quotes 3750
2 sources
Charpy impact, notched (kJ/m²)11.0 ± 0.3 printed XY dry and 35.6 ± 1.2 conditioned, ISO 179 notched (Polymaker Fiberon)
1 source
Other impact dataCharpy unnotched 24.0 ± 1.0 printed XY dry and 73.0 ± 2.0 conditioned, 7.5 ± 2.7 printed Z dry (Polymaker Fiberon); Bambu Lab 40.3 ± 2.5 unnotched, 13.4 ± 1.7 notched
2 sources
Layer adhesion / Z tensile (MPa)48 ± 6 (Bambu Lab) and 54.0 ± 5.2 (Polymaker Fiberon, dry) printed Z, ISO 527; Fiberon falls to 25.5 ± 1.2 conditioned
2 sources
Brittleness (1–5)Moderate
2 sources
Hardness (scale-specific) (Shore A / Shore D / Rockwell)Rockwell M88 / R117 on extruded PA66-GF30 stock (ASTM D785); no figure is published for a carbon-fibre nylon filament
1 source
Creep resistance / sustained load (1–5)Good. Ensinger rates its PA66-CF30 injection-moulding compound for exceptional performance under both static and dynamic loading with 110 °C continuous service; in a printed part the fibre restrains the matrix, but conditioning to equilibrium moisture still softens it
2 sources
Fatigue / repeated-flex resistance (1–5)Good. Ensinger states its PA66-CF30 compound has improved fatigue strength in tension, flexure and compression against unfilled and glass-filled PA66
1 source
Elasticity / flexibility (1–5)Rigid
1 source
Z strength as % of XY (%)47 (Bambu Lab) to 49 (Polymaker Fiberon), printed
2 sources
Heat & temperature8 fields
Carbon-fibre PA6 (PA6-CF) — Thermal Properties
Property and unitPublished value and conditionsSources and dates
HDT at 0.45 MPa (°C)186 (Bambu Lab) and 215 (Polymaker Fiberon), ISO 75 at 0.45 MPa
2 sources
HDT at 1.8 MPa (°C)164 (Bambu Lab) and 173 (Polymaker Fiberon), ISO 75 at 1.8 MPa
2 sources
Glass transition (Tg) (°C)68 (Bambu Lab) to 74.2 (Polymaker Fiberon), DSC; 3DXTech quotes 70
3 sources
Melting point / Vicat (°C)223 melting (Bambu Lab, DSC); Vicat 212 (ISO 306)
1 source
Continuous service temperature (°C)Bounded by heat deflection of 164–173 °C at 1.8 MPa; no loaded-bar service figure is published
2 sources
Annealing response100 °C for 16 h (Polymaker Fiberon)
1 source
Thermal expansion (CTE) (µm/m·K)94 in the XY direction and 180 in Z, measured on XY-built specimens (79 and 148 on XZ/ZX-built specimens), room temperature to 60 °C, ASTM E831. From Stratasys FDM Nylon-CF10, a blended-nylon matrix with 10 wt% carbon fibre — the closest published printed CTE for a carbon-fibre nylon
1 source
Flammability / UL 94Flammable; no UL 94 rating published
1 source
Weather & chemical resistance7 fields
Carbon-fibre PA6 (PA6-CF) — Environment & Chemical
Property and unitPublished value and conditionsSources and dates
UV resistance (1–5)Months outdoors before embrittlement — unstabilised polyamide yellows and chalks under UV
1 source
Chemical resistanceWithstands oils, fuels and alkalis
1 source
Water / humidity resistance in service (1–5)Absorbs water, properties shift
1 source
Food contactNot food-contact certified
1 source
Biodegradability / compostabilityNot biodegradable
1 source
RecyclabilityFibre-filled polyamide is not accepted in household plastic collection
1 source
Electrical & ESD propertiesSurface resistance above 10⁹ ohm/sq — not static-dissipative (3DXTech, ASTM D257)
1 source
Health & safety6 fields
Carbon-fibre PA6 (PA6-CF) — Health & Safety
Property and unitPublished value and conditionsSources and dates
Fume toxicity (1–5)Moderate — measurable VOCs and UFPs, ventilation advised
1 source
VOC emission rate (µg/min)Up to 180 caprolactam, the dominant VOC from nylon and the largest single-VOC rate in the study
1 source
Ultrafine-particle emission rate (particles/min)≈2 × 10⁸ median for nylon — low for particles despite the highest VOC mass measured
1 source
Hazardous species emittedCaprolactam, at up to 180 µg/min from nylon filament
1 source
Ventilation / filtration requirement (1–5)Ventilated room or enclosure recommended
1 source
Dust & fibre handling hazardFibre is bound in the matrix; sanding dust should not be inhaled
1 source
Finishing & post-processing5 fields
Carbon-fibre PA6 (PA6-CF) — Post-Processing
Property and unitPublished value and conditionsSources and dates
Sanding & machiningSands to a matte finish; the fibre makes it cut more cleanly than unfilled nylon
1 source
Gluing & solvent weldingCyanoacrylate; no common solvent welds polyamide
1 source
Vapour / chemical smoothingNo practical vapour smoothing
1 source
Support material pairingPolyDissolve S1 (Polymaker Fiberon)
1 source
Dimensional accuracy & detailConditioned parts grow; Polymaker declines to publish a standard dimensional allowance because it depends on geometry and infill
1 source
Solvents & solubility3 fields
Carbon-fibre PA6 (PA6-CF) — Solvents & Solubility
Property and unitPublished value and conditionsSources and dates
Soluble inFormic acid, phenol, m-cresol and hexafluoroisopropanol dissolve the matrix at 23 °C, leaving the fibre; laboratory reagents.
1 source
Softened or crazed byZinc chloride solutions stress-crack the nylon matrix, alcoholic calcium chloride dissolves it, mineral acids attack it.
1 source
Solvent welding & smoothing agentNone — nylon's only solvents (formic acid, phenol, HFIP) degrade the part, and the fibre blocks surface flow anyway.
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.

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Product listings and datasheets

6 listings

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 6 products from 5 brands
IEMAI 3DCF-PA639.00 USD/kg

$39.00 / 1 kg spool, store.iemai3d.com, Aug 2026

IEMAI's published figures are identical to Bambu Lab's PA6-CF data sheet, so the two are the same compound rather than independent measurements.

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IEMAI 3D CF-PA6 — product-specific figures
Density (g/cm³)1.09 (ISO 1183)
Equilibrium moisture content at ~50 % RH (%)2.35 saturated at 25 °C / 55 % RH
Tensile strength (XY) (MPa)102 ± 7 (printed XY, ISO 527)
HDT at 1.8 MPa (°C)164 (ISO 75 at 1.8 MPa)
Bambu LabPA6-CF42.99 USD/kg

$42.99 / 1 kg spool, us.store.bambulab.com, Aug 2026

HDT 186 °C at 0.45 MPa; saturated water absorption 2.35 %.

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Bambu Lab PA6-CF — product-specific figures
Density (g/cm³)1.09 (ISO 1183)
Nozzle temperature (°C)260–290
Bed temperature (°C)80–100
Equilibrium moisture content at ~50 % RH (%)2.35 saturated at 25 °C / 55 % RH
Tensile strength (XY) (MPa)102 ± 7 (printed XY, ISO 527)
Young's modulus (MPa)4430 ± 310 (printed XY, ISO 527); Z 2170
Elongation at break (%)5.8 ± 1.6 (printed XY, ISO 527); Z 3.7
Flexural strength (MPa)151 ± 8 (printed XY, ISO 178); Z 80
Flexural modulus (MPa)5460 ± 280 (printed XY, ISO 178); Z 2240
Charpy impact, notched (kJ/m²)13.4 ± 1.7 (printed XY, ISO 179, notched)
Other impact dataCharpy unnotched 40.3 kJ/m² XY, 15.5 kJ/m² Z (printed, ISO 179)
Layer adhesion / Z tensile (MPa)48 ± 6 (printed Z, ISO 527)
Z strength as % of XY (%)47 (printed Z 48 vs XY 102, ISO 527)
HDT at 0.45 MPa (°C)186 (ISO 75, 0.45 MPa)
HDT at 1.8 MPa (°C)164 (ISO 75, 1.8 MPa)
Glass transition (Tg) (°C)68 (DSC)
Melting point / Vicat (°C)223 melting (DSC); Vicat 212 (ISO 306)
YXPOLYERPA6 CF-Black44.99 USD/kg

$44.99 / 1 kg spool, yxpolyer.com, Aug 2026

Stated 15 % carbon fibre; no technical data sheet is published. YXPOLYER publishes no specification of any kind for this filament: the product page carries marketing bullets only, and yxpolyer.com has no downloads, data-sheet or technical section.

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PolymakerFiberon PA6-CF2079.98 USD/kg

$39.99 / 0.5 kg spool = $79.98/kg, Polymaker product catalogue, Aug 2026

Handle fiberon-pa6-cf20. 20 wt% carbon fibre; Young's modulus 8637 MPa printed XY. Brass nozzle life about 9 h.

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Polymaker Fiberon PA6-CF20 — product-specific figures
Density (g/cm³)1.17 (ISO 1183)
Nozzle temperature (°C)280–300
Bed temperature (°C)40–50
Equilibrium moisture content at ~50 % RH (%)3.3 equilibrium water absorption
Tensile strength (XY) (MPa)109.3 ± 2.4 (printed XY, ISO 527)
Young's modulus (MPa)8636.5 ± 211.4 (printed XY, ISO 527)
Elongation at break (%)2.1 ± 0.2 dry (printed XY, ISO 527); Z 1.9
Flexural strength (MPa)161.0 ± 3.9 dry (printed XY, ISO 178); Z 71.3
Flexural modulus (MPa)7037.6 ± 205.4 dry (printed XY, ISO 178); Z 2975.3
Charpy impact, notched (kJ/m²)11.0 ± 0.3 dry (printed XY, ISO 179, notched); 35.6 wet
Other impact dataCharpy unnotched 24.0 kJ/m² XY, 7.5 kJ/m² Z (printed dry, ISO 179)
Layer adhesion / Z tensile (MPa)54.0 ± 5.2 dry (printed Z, ISO 527); 25.5 wet
Z strength as % of XY (%)49 (printed Z 54.0 vs XY 109.3 dry, ISO 527)
HDT at 0.45 MPa (°C)215 (ISO 75, 0.45 MPa)
HDT at 1.8 MPa (°C)173 (ISO 75, 1.8 MPa)
Glass transition (Tg) (°C)74.2 (DSC)
Melting point / Vicat (°C)218.5 melting (DSC); Vicat 219.2 (ISO 306)
Flammability / UL 94UL 94 HB at 1.5 mm
Electrical & ESD propertiesSurface resistivity >10^12 Ω (ANSI/ESD S11.11)
3DXTechCarbonX Nylon 6+CF (Gen3)83.33 USD/kg

$62.50 / 750 g spool = $83.33/kg, printedsolid.com product catalogue, Aug 2026

Handle 3dxtech-carbonx-nylon-6-cf-750g.

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3DXTech CarbonX Nylon 6+CF (Gen3) — product-specific figures
Density (g/cm³)1.17 (ISO 1183)
Nozzle temperature (°C)275 (TDS printed-specimen condition)
Bed temperature (°C)80 (TDS printed-specimen condition)
Tensile strength (XY) (MPa)63 at break (ISO 527)
Young's modulus (MPa)3800 (printed XY, ISO 527)
Elongation at break (%)3 at break (printed XY, ISO 527)
Flexural strength (MPa)84 (printed XY, ISO 178)
Flexural modulus (MPa)3750 (printed XY, ISO 178)
HDT at 0.45 MPa (°C)147 (ISO 75, 0.45 MPa)
Glass transition (Tg) (°C)70 (DSC)
Electrical & ESD propertiesSurface resistance >10^9 Ω/sq (ASTM D257)
3DXTechObsidian Nylon 6+CF V2133.32 USD/kg

$99.99 / 750 g spool = $133.32/kg, 3dxtech.com product catalogue, Aug 2026

Handle obsidian-nylon-6-cf-v2.

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3DXTech Obsidian Nylon 6+CF V2 — product-specific figures
Density (g/cm³)1.2 (ISO 1183)
Nozzle temperature (°C)275 (TDS printed-specimen condition)
Tensile strength (XY) (MPa)23.8 (printed flat XY, ASTM D638); edge 31.0
Young's modulus (MPa)730.8 (printed flat XY, ASTM D638); edge 1510
Flexural strength (MPa)33.9 (printed edge, ASTM D790)
Flexural modulus (MPa)1048.0 (printed edge, ASTM D790)
Other impact dataIzod unnotched 854 J/m (printed flat, ASTM D256)
Layer adhesion / Z tensile (MPa)23.4 (printed vertical Z, ASTM D638)
Z strength as % of XY (%)98 (printed Z 23.4 vs flat XY 23.8, ASTM D638)
HDT at 0.45 MPa (°C)147 (ISO 75, 0.45 MPa)

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