FDM Material Properties by Manufacturer
A filament technical data sheet is a manufacturer's published test result for one specific product, measured on their specimens by a named standard, which is why two filaments sold under the same polymer name can report very different numbers.
What is the tensile strength and heat resistance of PLA, PETG, ABS, PA-CF and TPU?
There is no single value for any of them. Products sold under one polymer name report substantially different figures, and the test method and load change the answer, so the useful thing to read is the spread on this page rather than one number.
Everything below is a published manufacturer figure, copied from a data sheet that was downloaded and read on 2026-09-06. These are examples of what the market publishes. **They are not our production specifications, and naming a brand here does not mean your order is printed in it.** We do not publish a filament supplier, and a data sheet result is a test on that maker's specimens, not a promise about your finished part.
Three things move these numbers more than most buyers expect. The test load changes a heat figure: the same Fiberon PA6-CF20 reads 215 C at 0.45 MPa and 173 C at 1.80 MPa. Moisture changes a nylon: that same product reports 109.3 MPa dry and 54.7 MPa wet, on the same test, in the same direction. And the specimen matters: Prusament publishes a filament figure and a printed figure for the same spool, and they are not the same number.
If a property is load bearing for your part, do not design to a cell on this page. Tell us the requirement and ask for a review, and we will work to the number that matters to you.
Heat deflection temperature at 1.80 MPa
At the higher ISO 75 load, published figures run from 49 C to 173 C across these products. Carbon filled nylon leads by a wide margin, and TPU spans nearly the whole range on its own depending on which product you buy.
This is the harsher of the two standard loads, and it is the one closer to a part carrying weight while it warms. Read the two TPU rows together: one product reports 78.6 C and another reports 49 C, which is below every PLA figure on this page. That is the same nominal material.
| Material and product | Value | Method and load | Condition as stated |
|---|---|---|---|
| PLA, Prusa Polymers Prusament PLA | 55 C | ISO 75 at 1.80 MPa | Not stated |
| PLA, Polymaker PolyLite PLA | 58 C | ISO 75 at 1.80 MPa | Not stated |
| PETG, Prusa Polymers Prusament PETG | 68 C | ISO 75 at 1.80 MPa | Not stated |
| PETG, Polymaker PolyLite PETG | 75 C | ISO 75 at 1.80 MPa | Not stated |
| PETG, Bambu Lab PETG HF | 62 C | ISO 75 at 1.80 MPa | Specimens annealed and dried at 75 C for 8 h before testing |
| ABS, Polymaker PolyLite ABS | 98 C | ISO 75 at 1.80 MPa | Not stated |
| PA-CF, Prusa Polymers Prusament PA11 Carbon Fiber | 152 C | ISO 75 at 1.80 MPa | Not stated |
| PA-CF, Fiberon FIBERON PA6-CF20 | 173 C | ISO 75 at 1.80 MPa | Not stated |
| TPU, Prusa Polymers Prusament TPU 95A | 78.6 C | ISO 75 at 1.80 MPa | Not stated |
| TPU, UltiMaker TPU 95A | 49 C | ASTM D648 at 1.82 MPa | Not stated |
Heat deflection temperature at 0.45 MPa
At the lighter ISO 75 load the same products read higher, and by very different amounts. Prusament PA11 Carbon Fiber moves 40 degrees between the two loads while its PLA and PETG do not move at all.
This is why a heat figure quoted without its load is not usable. A supplier quoting the 0.45 MPa number and a supplier quoting the 1.80 MPa number can be describing the same spool and appear to disagree by tens of degrees.
| Material and product | Value | Method and load | Condition as stated |
|---|---|---|---|
| PLA, Prusa Polymers Prusament PLA | 55 C | ISO 75 at 0.45 MPa | Not stated |
| PLA, Polymaker PolyLite PLA | 60 C | ISO 75 at 0.45 MPa | Not stated |
| PETG, Prusa Polymers Prusament PETG | 68 C | ISO 75 at 0.45 MPa | Not stated |
| PETG, Polymaker PolyLite PETG | 78 C | ISO 75 at 0.45 MPa | Not stated |
| PETG, Bambu Lab PETG HF | 69 C | ISO 75 at 0.45 MPa | Specimens annealed and dried at 75 C for 8 h before testing |
| ABS, Polymaker PolyLite ABS | 100 C | ISO 75 at 0.45 MPa | Not stated |
| PA-CF, Prusa Polymers Prusament PA11 Carbon Fiber | 192 C | ISO 75 at 0.45 MPa | Not stated |
| PA-CF, Fiberon FIBERON PA6-CF20 | 215 C | ISO 75 at 0.45 MPa | Not stated |
| PA-CF, Markforged Onyx | 145 C | ASTM D648 Method B at 0.45 MPa | Not stated |
| TPU, UltiMaker TPU 95A | 74 C | ASTM D648 at 0.455 MPa | Not stated |
Tensile yield strength on printed specimens, ISO 527
Among the products that publish a tensile YIELD figure on printed specimens, carbon filled nylon is not the strongest. Prusament PA11 Carbon Fiber yields 42 MPa in X-Y, below the same manufacturer's PLA at 51 MPa and PETG at 47 MPa.
That result surprises people, and it is the clearest argument on this page against ranking a polymer family by one word. Carbon fibre fill buys stiffness and heat resistance. It does not automatically buy tensile strength.
| Material and product | Value | Orientation | Method and condition |
|---|---|---|---|
| PLA, Prusa Polymers Prusament PLA | 51 +/- 3 MPa | X-Y | ISO 527-1. Printed on an i3 MK3, 0.20 mm layers, 2 perimeters, 100 percent infill. Not annealed. |
| PLA, Prusa Polymers Prusament PLA | 59 +/- 2 MPa | Z | ISO 527-1. Same specimens, vertical orientation. |
| PETG, Prusa Polymers Prusament PETG | 47 +/- 2 MPa | X-Y | ISO 527-1. Printed on an i3 MK3, 0.20 mm layers, 2 perimeters, 100 percent infill. Not annealed. |
| PETG, Prusa Polymers Prusament PETG | 50 +/- 1 MPa | Z | ISO 527-1. Same specimens, vertical orientation. |
| PA-CF, Prusa Polymers Prusament PA11 Carbon Fiber | 42 +/- 1 MPa | X-Y | ISO 527-1. Printed on an i3 MK3S, 0.20 mm layers, 2 perimeters, 100 percent infill. |
| PA-CF, Prusa Polymers Prusament PA11 Carbon Fiber | 49 +/- 2 MPa | Z | ISO 527-1. Same specimens, vertical orientation. |
Tensile strength on printed specimens, ISO 527
Other manufacturers publish a tensile STRENGTH figure rather than a yield figure. These are a different measurement and belong in their own table, and within it one PETG reads 50.8 MPa while another reads 34 MPa.
Comparing a value from this table against a value from the yield table above is the single most common way a material comparison goes wrong. The labels differ because the measurements differ.
The two Fiberon rows are the same product, the same standard and the same direction, separated only by moisture. Nylon absorbs water from the air, and the published penalty here is roughly half the strength.
| Material and product | Value | Orientation | Method and condition |
|---|---|---|---|
| PLA, Polymaker PolyLite PLA | 52.3 +/- 0.3 MPa | X-Y | ISO 527. Printed at 230 C, 2 shells, 100 percent infill. No annealing stated. |
| PLA, Polymaker PolyLite PLA | 40.5 +/- 0.5 MPa | Z | ISO 527. Same specimens, Z orientation. |
| PETG, Polymaker PolyLite PETG | 50.8 +/- 0.9 MPa | X-Y | ISO 527. Printed at 240 C, 2 shells, 100 percent infill. |
| PETG, Bambu Lab PETG HF | 34 +/- 4 MPa | X-Y | ISO 527. Specimens annealed and dried at 75 C for 8 h. |
| ABS, Polymaker PolyLite ABS | 33.4 +/- 0.6 MPa | X-Y | ISO 527. Printed at 260 C, bed 90 C, chamber 90 C, 100 percent infill. |
| PA-CF, Fiberon FIBERON PA6-CF20 | 109.3 +/- 2.4 MPa | X-Y | ISO 527. DRY. Specimens annealed at 100 C for 16 h. |
| PA-CF, Fiberon FIBERON PA6-CF20 | 54.7 +/- 1.1 MPa | X-Y | ISO 527. WET. Annealed, then immersed in water at 60 C for 48 h. Stated moisture content 5.30 percent. |
What this means when you specify a part
Use these figures to understand how wide the range is, not to pick a design value. If a temperature or a load actually matters, state the requirement and ask for a review rather than designing to a published cell.
- Ask for the load with any heat figure. A number without 0.45 MPa or 1.80 MPa attached does not tell you which test it came from.
- Ask whether a tensile figure is yield or at break, and whether the specimen was printed or was the raw filament.
- For nylon and carbon filled nylon, ask about moisture state. Dry and conditioned figures on the same data sheet can differ by half.
- Treat orientation as a design decision, not a footnote. Several sheets here publish a lower figure in Z than in X-Y for the same product.
- Use [our material selector](/tools/material-selector) to narrow the choice by job, then [ask for a review](/quote) with the real requirement.
What this page does not tell you
- These are published manufacturer figures for named products. They are not our production specifications and they do not state which filament any order is printed in.
- A data sheet value is measured on that manufacturer's specimens, printed on their machine with their settings. Your part has different geometry, different infill, different orientation and a different thermal history.
- This page does not average, normalize or reconcile the sources. Where two products disagree, the disagreement is the finding.
- Coverage is uneven because only documents that were opened and read appear here. ABS is represented by a single product. Several figures recorded in our internal source audit are deliberately absent because nobody here has opened those documents.
- Nothing on this page is a measurement made by us. We publish no test results of our own.
When to print a test coupon instead
When a temperature, a load or a fit decides whether the part works, a printed test coupon in the actual material beats every number on this page. Send the file through a review request and state the requirement. A person reviews your request and follows up by email.
Sources
- Prusament PLA technical data sheet, Prusa Polymers
Version 1.1, last update 16-02-2022. HDT 55 C at both 0.45 and 1.80 MPa (ISO 75). Tensile yield for FILAMENT 57 +/- 1 MPa (ISO 527). A separate printed-specimen table gives tensile yield 51 +/- 3 MPa horizontal and 59 +/- 2 MPa vertical (ISO 527-1), printed on an i3 MK3 at 0.20 mm, 2 perimeters, 100 percent infill, not annealed. Interlayer adhesion 17 +/- 3 MPa. States its own results are for information and comparison.
- PolyLite PLA technical data sheet, Polymaker
V5.4. HDT 58 C at 1.8 MPa and 60 C at 0.45 MPa (ISO 75). Printed-specimen tensile STRENGTH (not yield) 52.3 +/- 0.3 MPa X-Y and 40.5 +/- 0.5 MPa Z (ISO 527). Glass transition 61 C. Reached through the Polymaker wiki page, which links this PDF as its data sheet.
- Prusament PETG technical data sheet, Prusa Polymers
Version 1.1, last update 16-02-2022. HDT 68 C at both 0.45 and 1.80 MPa (ISO 75). Tensile yield for FILAMENT 46 +/- 1 MPa. Printed-specimen tensile yield 47 +/- 2 MPa horizontal, 50 +/- 1 MPa vertical (ISO 527-1). Interlayer adhesion 18 +/- 4 MPa.
- PolyLite PETG technical data sheet, Polymaker
V5.4. HDT 75 C at 1.8 MPa and 78 C at 0.45 MPa (ISO 75). Printed-specimen tensile strength 50.8 +/- 0.9 MPa X-Y and 42.8 +/- 2.8 MPa Z (ISO 527). Glass transition 81 C.
- Bambu PETG HF technical data sheet, Bambu Lab
Technical Data Sheet V1.0. HDT 62 C at 1.8 MPa and 69 C at 0.45 MPa (ISO 75). Printed-specimen tensile strength 34 +/- 4 MPa X-Y and 23 +/- 4 MPa Z (ISO 527). States all specimens were annealed and dried at 75 C for 8 h before testing, while also advising against annealing PETG HF prints. States its values are for design reference and comparison only.
- PolyLite ABS technical data sheet, Polymaker
V5.5. HDT 98 C at 1.8 MPa and 100 C at 0.45 MPa (ISO 75). Printed-specimen tensile strength 33.4 +/- 0.6 MPa X-Y and 29.7 +/- 0.3 MPa Z (ISO 527), printed in a 90 C chamber. Glass transition 101 C. The only ABS datasheet opened for this page.
- Prusament PA11 Carbon Fiber technical data sheet, Prusa Polymers
Version 1.0, last update 29-06-2022. HDT 192 C at 0.45 MPa and 152 C at 1.80 MPa (ISO 75), a 40 degree gap between the two loads on one product. Tensile yield for FILAMENT 61 +/- 3 MPa. Printed-specimen tensile yield 42 +/- 1 MPa horizontal and 49 +/- 2 MPa vertical, which is BELOW this same manufacturer's PLA and PETG on the same test.
- FIBERON PA6-CF20 technical data sheet, Fiberon
V1.1. HDT 173 C at 1.8 MPa and 215 C at 0.45 MPa (ISO 75). Publishes DRY and WET mechanical tables for the same product: printed tensile strength 109.3 +/- 2.4 MPa X-Y dry, and 54.7 +/- 1.1 MPa X-Y wet after immersion at 60 C for 48 h to 5.30 percent moisture. Same product, same test, roughly half the strength. States its values must not be used for design specifications.
- Prusament TPU 95A technical data sheet, Prusa Polymers
Version 1.0, last update 29-05-2025. HDT 78.6 C at 1.80 MPa (ISO 75); this sheet publishes NO 0.45 MPa figure. Vicat A 101.6 C. Printed-specimen tensile strength 41.4 +/- 1.3 MPa, measured to ISO 37, which is a rubber standard and not comparable with the ISO 527 figures used for the rigid materials. Shore A 92.
- UltiMaker TPU 95A technical data sheet, UltiMaker
Version 4.002, 19 November 2018. HDT 74 C at 0.455 MPa and 49 C at 1.82 MPa (ASTM D648). The 49 C figure is lower than every PLA value on this page, on a material usually described as more heat tolerant than PLA. Tensile stress at break 39 MPa, at yield 8.6 MPa (ASTM D638). The sheet prints the 0.455 MPa row as 'Heat detection', read here as a typo for deflection.
- Composites data sheet, REV 5.0, Markforged
REV 5.0, 08/01/2021. Onyx, a chopped carbon fibre filled nylon: tensile stress at yield 40 MPa, at break 37 MPa (ASTM D638), HDT 145 C at 0.45 MPa (ASTM D648 Method B). Markforged Nylon on the same sheet yields 51 MPa, higher than its own carbon filled grade. States the data is representative and subject to change, and must not be used to establish design or specification limits.
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Published 6 September 2026.