PC with chopped carbon fibre: flexural modulus rises from about 2.1 to 3.5–6.5 GPa and HDT at 1.8 MPa from 93 to 106 °C, and unusually the fibre raises interlayer adhesion rather than…
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Stiff high-temperature structural parts — jigs, drone frames and under-bonnet brackets
PC with chopped carbon fibre: flexural modulus rises from about 2.1 to 3.5–6.5 GPa and HDT at 1.8 MPa from 93 to 106 °C, and unusually the fibre raises interlayer adhesion rather than cutting it.
Carbon-filled PC is chosen primarily to make a heat-resistant part harder to bend. In a camera mount, fixture or mechanical housing, that means locating surfaces can remain aligned under loads that would flex an unfilled part. Prusa demonstrates this engineering role with a fan shroud and the Landy model vehicle mechabox, alongside other mechanical components made from PC Blend Carbon Fiber.
The compromise is reduced capacity for elastic deformation, making thin snap arms and sharply loaded corners less forgiving. Fibre orientation affects stiffness and thermal movement, while interlayer strength still depends on printing conditions. The filament is abrasive and moisture-sensitive, and its PC matrix retains chemical and outdoor-weathering limitations. Carbon reinforcement alone also does not make the part electrically dissipative.
FDM/FFF printing · Prusament PC Blend Carbon Fiber; grade-specific demonstration · Manufacturer-listed applications
Prusa presents the Landy mechabox by 3Dsets as a PC Blend Carbon Fiber example for stressed moving components. The point is a mechanically stiff, heat-resistant housing; it is a manufacturer demonstration rather than an independently validated life test.
FDM/FFF printing · Prusament PC Blend Carbon Fiber; heat resistance must follow that grade and print conditions · Manufacturer-listed applications
Prusa illustrates a fan shroud as a heat-resistant PC Blend Carbon Fiber application. This supports the practical use of reinforced PC around warm equipment without implying suitability at heater-block temperatures.
A motorcycle tail-light and plate mount, shown installed. The uploader reports using carbon-fibre-reinforced polycarbonate.
Listing note: “Mine is printed in carbon fiber reinforced polycarbonate.”
Printables listing uploaded by Ecapox · CC BY 4.0Original listing · Checked 2026-10-17. This is an uploader report, not an independent material test.Source image · Image bytes unchanged; displayed in full.
Representative catalog values. Check the exact grade and its linked conditions before using a setting.
285 ± 10 (Prusament)
285 ± 10 (Prusament)
110 ± 10 (Prusament)
110 ± 10 (Prusament)
Enclosure required (passive)
Enclosure required (passive)
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—Open a topic to explore the complete data. Each value keeps its original conditions, units and dated sources.
| Property and unit | Published value and conditions | Sources and dates |
|---|---|---|
| Base polymer / chemistry | Polycarbonate reinforced with chopped carbon fibre | 2 sources
|
| Density (g/cm³) | 1.22 (Prusament) and 1.36 (3DXTech), ISO 1183 | 2 sources
|
| Typical price (USD/kg) | 1 kg-equivalent spools span 35–117; the middle of the market is about 63 | 5 sources
|
| Price range across brands (USD/kg) | 35–117 across brands; Ambrosia 35, IEMAI 39, YXPOLYER 55, Spectrum PC CF 70, Prusament 94, 3DXTech 117 | 5 sources
|
| Market availability (1–5) | Available from several mainstream brands | 3 sources
|
| Spool sizes & diameters | 1.75 and 2.85 mm; 0.75, 0.8 and 1 kg spools | 2 sources
|
| Typical applications | Stiff high-temperature structural parts — jigs, drone frames and under-bonnet brackets | 2 sources
|
| Diameter tolerance (± mm) | ±0.04 (Prusament PC Blend Carbon Fiber) | 1 source
|
| Property and unit | Published value and conditions | Sources and dates |
|---|---|---|
| Nozzle temperature (°C) | 285 ± 10 (Prusament) | 1 source
|
| Bed temperature (°C) | 110 ± 10 (Prusament) | 1 source
|
| Enclosure / chamber requirement (1–5) | Enclosure required (passive) | 2 sources
|
| Part cooling fan | Off — Prusa allows 0–20 % and warns cooling significantly reduces interlayer adhesion | 1 source
|
| Bed surface & adhesion aid | PEI with a glue stick or a commercial adhesive | 1 source
|
| Warping tendency (1–5) | High — enclosure needed for reliable large parts; the fibre reduces warping against unfilled PC | 2 sources
|
| Bed-adhesion difficulty (1–5) | Needs a specific surface plus adhesive | 2 sources
|
| Stringing / oozing tendency (1–5) | Moderate — retraction tuning needed; Polymaker flags stringing as a common PC problem | 1 source
|
| Overall printing difficulty (1–5) | Advanced — enclosure, hardware upgrades, tuning; hardened nozzle mandatory | 2 sources
|
| Property and unit | Published value and conditions | Sources and dates |
|---|---|---|
| Nozzle hardness required (1–4) | Hardened steel required | 1 source
|
| Abrasiveness (1–5) | Highly abrasive — standard CF composite | 1 source
|
| Nozzle clog risk (1–5) | High — jams from moisture, heat creep or particles; PC already absorbs water from the air and 3DXTech adds a hardened 0.4 mm minimum nozzle, 0.25 mm layers and a 120 °C pre-dry | 3 sources
|
| Heat-creep / jam sensitivity (1–5) | Slightly sensitive | 1 source
|
| Hotend requirement | All-metal hot end required (Simplify3D) | 1 source
|
| Property and unit | Published value and conditions | Sources and dates |
|---|---|---|
| Moisture absorption (hygroscopicity) (1–5) | Low (0.1–0.3 %) — the PC matrix takes up 0.15–0.25 % and 3DXTech specifies a 120 °C, 4 h pre-dry | 3 sources
|
| Equilibrium moisture content at ~50 % RH (%) | 0.11 after 7 days at 24 °C / 22 % RH (Prusa Polymers) | 1 source
|
| Symptoms when wet | Bubbling and popping at the nozzle, stringing and a rough surface | 1 source
|
| Effect of moisture on strength | No dry-versus-conditioned figures are published. Polymaker calls PC highly hygroscopic and requires a 70–80 °C dry for 6–8 h; run wet, the loss shows as surface defects and poor layer adhesion | 2 sources
|
| Storage requirement | Airtight containers with desiccant to prevent reabsorption | 1 source
|
| Property and unit | Published value and conditions | Sources and dates |
|---|---|---|
| Tensile strength (XY) (MPa) | 64 ± 3 printed horizontal and 70 ± 3 printed vertical at yield, ISO 527-1 (Prusament); 3DXTech quotes 73 at break | 2 sources
|
| Young's modulus (MPa) | 2600 printed horizontal and 3200 printed vertical, ISO 527-1 (Prusament); 3DXTech quotes 6980 | 2 sources
|
| Elongation at break (%) | 4.6 at yield printed horizontal (Prusament); 3DXTech quotes 2.1 at break | 2 sources
|
| Flexural strength (MPa) | 94 ± 3 printed horizontal and 130 ± 2 printed vertical, ISO 178 (Prusament); 3DXTech quotes 85 | 2 sources
|
| Flexural modulus (MPa) | 3500 printed horizontal and 4200 printed vertical, ISO 178 (Prusament); 3DXTech quotes 6540 | 2 sources
|
| Charpy impact, notched (kJ/m²) | 12 ± 1 printed horizontal and 17 ± 2 printed vertical, ISO 179-1 notched (Prusament) | 1 source
|
| Other impact data | Charpy unnotched 32 ± 5 printed horizontal and 35 ± 4 printed vertical (Prusament, ISO 179-1) | 1 source
|
| Layer adhesion / Z tensile (MPa) | 23 ± 2 (Prusa Polymers interlayer adhesion test) — above the 21 ± 2 of unfilled Prusament PC Blend | 2 sources
|
| Brittleness (1–5) | Moderate | 2 sources
|
| Hardness (scale-specific) (Shore A / Shore D / Rockwell) | 83 Shore D (Prusa Polymers method), against 79 for unfilled Prusament PC Blend | 2 sources
|
| Creep resistance / sustained load (1–5) | Excellent — holds load for years. Room-temperature tensile creep of moulded unfilled PC ran unbroken at 41 MPa until the test was stopped; short carbon fibre raises the flexural modulus from about 2.1 to 3.5-6.5 GPa, which reduces creep strain further | 2 sources |
| Fatigue / repeated-flex resistance (1–5) | Good. No fatigue test data was found for a carbon-fibre PC filament; the unfilled polymer is rated Good on the same scale | 1 source |
| Elasticity / flexibility (1–5) | Rigid | 1 source
|
| Property and unit | Published value and conditions | Sources and dates |
|---|---|---|
| HDT at 0.45 MPa (°C) | 114 (ISO 75, 0.45 MPa, Prusament) | 1 source
|
| HDT at 1.8 MPa (°C) | 106 (ISO 75, 1.8 MPa, Prusament), against 93 for unfilled Prusament PC Blend | 2 sources
|
| Glass transition (Tg) (°C) | 127 (3DXTech, DSC) | 1 source
|
| Continuous service temperature (°C) | 113 — Prusa publishes this as the temperature resistance of Prusament PC Blend | 1 source
|
| Property and unit | Published value and conditions | Sources and dates |
|---|---|---|
| UV resistance (1–5) | Degrades within weeks outdoors unless stabilised | 1 source
|
| Chemical resistance | Withstands oils, solvents and fuels; Polymaker rates it good against weak acids | 1 source
|
| Food contact | Bisphenol-A polycarbonate is not offered as food-contact filament | 1 source
|
| Biodegradability / compostability | Not biodegradable | 1 source
|
| Recyclability | Mechanically recyclable but not accepted in household plastic collection | 1 source
|
| Electrical & ESD properties | Surface resistance above 10⁹ ohm/sq — not static-dissipative (3DXTech, ASTM D257) | 1 source
|
| Property and unit | Published value and conditions | Sources and dates |
|---|---|---|
| Fume toxicity (1–5) | Moderate — measurable VOCs and UFPs, ventilation advised | |
| Ultrafine-particle emission rate (particles/min) | ≈4 × 10¹⁰ median — the highest ultrafine-particle rate of the nine filaments in the chamber study, above every ABS tested | |
| Ventilation / filtration requirement (1–5) | Ventilated room or enclosure recommended | |
| Dust & fibre handling hazard | Carbon fibre is bound in the matrix; sanding dust should not be inhaled | 1 source
|
| Property and unit | Published value and conditions | Sources and dates |
|---|---|---|
| Sanding & machining | Sands and machines well; the toughness means it cuts rather than chips | 1 source
|
| Gluing & solvent welding | Cyanoacrylate; dichloromethane solvent-welds PC but is a laboratory reagent | 1 source
|
| Vapour / chemical smoothing | No practical vapour smoothing | 1 source
|
| Support material pairing | Prints its own supports; 3DXTech sells a dedicated PC break-away support | 1 source
|
| Property and unit | Published value and conditions | Sources and dates |
|---|---|---|
| Soluble in | Dichloromethane and chloroform dissolve the matrix and leave the fibre; DMF and dioxane do the same (Covestro). | 1 source |
| Softened or crazed by | Methanol, butyl acetate, ether, 1 % NaOH and phthalate plasticisers stress-crack it; acetone, MEK and xylene swell it. | 1 source |
| Solvent welding & smoothing agent | Dichloromethane cement welds the resin, but the fibre keeps the joint from flowing closed. Controlled carcinogen. | 1 source |
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.
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.
$34.99 / 1 kg spool (1 kg net, 1.75 mm), filastruder.com, Aug 2026
Handle ambrosia-pc-cf-filament-copy. Filastruder states the blend contains approximately 10 % PETG, so it is a PC/PETG-CF alloy rather than a straight PC-CF.
Open product listing ↗| Density (g/cm³) | 1.21 (ISO 1183) | |
|---|---|---|
| Spool sizes & diameters | 1 kg net; 1.75 mm | |
| Diameter tolerance (± mm) | 0.03 | |
| Nozzle temperature (°C) | 250–290 (Ambrosia recommends 270) | |
| Bed temperature (°C) | 100–115 (Ambrosia recommends 110) | |
| Recommended chamber temperature (°C) | 40–120 (Ambrosia recommends 60) | |
| Part cooling fan | 0–70 %, depending on cooling capability | |
| Equilibrium moisture content at ~50 % RH (%) | <0.2 at 23 °C over 24 h (ISO 62) | |
| Tensile strength (XY) (MPa) | 40 (ISO 527; specimen type not stated) | |
| Elongation at break (%) | 7.5–8.5 (ISO 527; specimen type not stated) | |
| Flexural strength (MPa) | 85 (ISO 178; specimen type not stated) | |
| Flexural modulus (MPa) | 2400 (specimen type not stated) | |
| HDT at 0.45 MPa (°C) | 120 (ISO 75, 0.455 MPa) |
$39.00 / 1 kg spool, store.iemai3d.com, Aug 2026 (regular price $42.00)
Open product listing ↗| Density (g/cm³) | 1.38 (ISO 1183) |
|
|---|---|---|
| Tensile strength (XY) (MPa) | 72 (ISO 527, at break) |
|
| Young's modulus (MPa) | 6205 (ISO 527) |
|
| Elongation at break (%) | 2.5 (ISO 527) |
|
| Flexural strength (MPa) | 92 (ISO 178) |
|
| Flexural modulus (MPa) | 5880 (ISO 178) |
|
| HDT at 0.45 MPa (°C) | 135 (ISO 75, 0.45 MPa) |
|
| Glass transition (Tg) (°C) | 143 (DSC) |
|
| Electrical & ESD properties | Surface resistance above 10⁹ ohm/sq — not static-dissipative (ASTM D257) |
|
$54.99 / 1 kg spool, yxpolyer.com, Aug 2026
15 % carbon fibre; vendor claims heat resistance to 140 °C. A 50 g sample spool is listed at $14.99. YXPOLYER's product page claims heat resistance up to 140 °C but names no test method; no density, tolerance or mechanical data is published.
Open product listing ↗| Base polymer / chemistry | PC with 15 % carbon fibre |
|
|---|
$17.54 / 250 g spool = $70.16/kg excluding VAT, 3djake.com, Aug 2026
Carbon black, 1.75 mm, 250 g. The mechanical block of this sheet (76 MPa tensile at yield, >100 % elongation to ASTM D638, 70 kg·cm/cm notched Izod) reads as base-resin data rather than printed-part data and is not recorded as specs.
Open product listing ↗| Base polymer / chemistry | PC 275 formulation with 10 % carbon fibre |
|
|---|---|---|
| Density (g/cm³) | 1.22 (ASTM D792) |
|
| Nozzle temperature (°C) | 270–290 |
|
| Bed temperature (°C) | 80 or above |
|
| Enclosure / chamber requirement (1–5) | Enclosure recommended for larger prints |
|
| Part cooling fan | 0–20 % |
|
| Nozzle hardness required (1–4) | Hardened steel required — ruby or hardened nozzle specified |
|
| Drying temperature & time | At least 6 h at 75 °C in a hot-air oven |
|
| HDT at 0.45 MPa (°C) | 140 (ASTM D648, 0.45 MPa) |
|
| HDT at 1.8 MPa (°C) | 129 (ASTM D648, 1.81 MPa) |
|
| Melting point / Vicat (°C) | Vicat 150 (ASTM D1525) |
|
$74.99 / 800 g spool with NFC = $93.74/kg, printedsolid.com product catalogue, Aug 2026
Handle prusament-pc-blend-carbon-fiber-black-800g. Interlayer adhesion 23 ± 2 MPa, above the unfilled blend's 21.
Open product listing ↗| Density (g/cm³) | 1.22 (Prusa Polymers method) |
|
|---|---|---|
| Diameter tolerance (± mm) | ±0.04 |
|
| Nozzle temperature (°C) | 285 ± 10 |
|
| Bed temperature (°C) | 110 ± 10 |
|
| Equilibrium moisture content at ~50 % RH (%) | 0.11 after 7 days at 24 °C / 22 % RH |
|
| Tensile strength (XY) (MPa) | 64 ± 3 at yield (printed horizontal, ISO 527-1); vertical xz 70 |
|
| Young's modulus (MPa) | 2600 ± 100 (printed horizontal, ISO 527-1); vertical xz 3200 |
|
| Elongation at break (%) | 4.6 ± 0.4 at yield (printed horizontal, ISO 527-1) |
|
| Flexural strength (MPa) | 94 ± 3 (printed horizontal, ISO 178); vertical xz 130 |
|
| Flexural modulus (MPa) | 3500 ± 200 (printed horizontal, ISO 178); vertical xz 4200 |
|
| Charpy impact, notched (kJ/m²) | 12 ± 1 (printed horizontal, ISO 179-1, notched); vertical xz 17 |
|
| Other impact data | Charpy unnotched 32 kJ/m² horizontal, 35 kJ/m² vertical xz (ISO 179-1) |
|
| Layer adhesion / Z tensile (MPa) | 23 ± 2 (Prusa Polymers interlayer adhesion test) |
|
| Hardness (scale-specific) (Shore A / Shore D / Rockwell) | 83 Shore D |
|
| Z strength as % of XY (%) | 36 (interlayer adhesion 23 vs printed horizontal tensile 64) |
|
| HDT at 0.45 MPa (°C) | 114 (ISO 75, 0.45 MPa) |
|
| HDT at 1.8 MPa (°C) | 106 (ISO 75, 1.8 MPa) |
|
$88.00 / 750 g spool = $117.33/kg, 3dxtech.com product catalogue, Aug 2026
Handle carbonx-ezpc-cf-1. Tensile modulus 6980 MPa and flexural modulus 6540 MPa.
Open product listing ↗| Density (g/cm³) | 1.36 (ISO 1183) |
|
|---|---|---|
| Nozzle temperature (°C) | 275 (TDS printed-specimen condition) |
|
| Bed temperature (°C) | 95 (TDS printed-specimen condition) |
|
| Tensile strength (XY) (MPa) | 73 at break (printed XY, ISO 527) |
|
| Young's modulus (MPa) | 6980 (ISO 527) |
|
| Elongation at break (%) | 2.1 at break (printed XY, ISO 527) |
|
| Flexural strength (MPa) | 85 (printed XY, ISO 178) |
|
| Flexural modulus (MPa) | 6540 (ISO 178) |
|
| HDT at 0.45 MPa (°C) | 119 (ISO 75, 0.45 MPa) |
|
| Glass transition (Tg) (°C) | 127 (DSC) |
|
| Electrical & ESD properties | Surface resistance >10^9 Ω/sq (ASTM D257) |
|
Compare specific grades and connect test results to part design.
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