The spec, design rules, honest limits, and where PA12-CF actually wins · cross-checked against the manufacturer's TDS, written by the team that prints it.
PA12-CF carbon fibre nylon 3D printing service · UK · quoted in 6 hours.
Metal-replacement stiffness at a fraction of the weight · the benchmark carbon-fibre nylon.
Four quick visuals. Start with which material to pick and where PA12-CF works; the engineering detail is at the end if you want it.
Stiff brackets · fixtures · robotics · metal-replacement at < 131°C
Impact = PC-ABS · steam = PEEK · outdoor = ASA · clear = PC
CF aligns with extrusion · drives XY strength + 1.48× anisotropy.
Plan orientation in CAD before slicing · annealing 100°C/16h adds 5-15% tensile.
"James handled the 3D printing for a functional heat resistant component we needed in batch production. He helped dial in the prototype first with their design service, then produced the final batch with really consistent results. Super fast 3D print turnaround and great quality across all the 3D printed parts. Will 100% be coming back."
"We needed a sit-in F1-car for an exhibition to showcase our new racing game. 3D Printing Express took our CAD, optimised it for strength and weight as we had no idea how it all worked! Turned out beautifully. They colour matched the finish and was looking like the real deal. On show day the cockpit ran non-stop, adults and kids jumped in. Multiple visitors asked who built it."
"We ordered a batch of 100 PA-12 parts from 3D Printing Express and could not be happier. Every part arrived consistent, dimensionally accurate, and ready for use straight from the box. The PA-12 gave us the strength and stability we needed for functional testing, with minimal post-processing required. Delivery was on time, communication was excellent, and their QC clearly made a difference."
Near cast aluminium for light-duty brackets. Enough for load-bearing metal replacement in XY.
Covers under-bonnet temperatures. Drops to 105°C at 1.8 MPa load.
Equilibrium water absorption ~1.5% · roughly an order of magnitude less than PA6 or PA66.
Tensile XY / Z (77 / 52 MPa). Design load paths along XY. Higher CF loadings (35%) reach 2.24× for reference.
The use cases where PA12-CF earns its place · stiffness, dimensional stability, chemical resistance up to 131°C HDT, and a printable lead time when CNC or injection moulding can't justify the cost.
Engineering materials are bought on what they can do · sold on what they can't. Pick a different filament if any of these apply to your part.
McLaren published a hydraulic-line bracket printed in PA12-CF in 4 hours vs 2 weeks of CNC machining. Sub-bonnet temperatures, vibration, and weight reduction make this an obvious aluminium-replacement.
Stiffness + low weight is the win. Annealed PA12-CF holds dimensional tolerance through repeated cycles where PLA creeps and ABS warps under heat soak.
Held against aluminium fixtures in harsh shop-floor environments · CF loading prevents the bend-over-time that hits plain nylon under repeated clamping.
1.06 g/cm³ vs 2.7 g/cm³ aluminium · 60% weight reduction at 50% the strength. The right trade for non-flight-critical structures and rapid iteration.
A side-by-side of the three engineering thermoplastics most engineers compare when they're looking at PA12-CF. Pick PA12-CF unless one of the other columns wins your specific row.
Tensile, stiffness, HDT values from manufacturer ISO test specimens (ISO 527, ISO 178, ISO 75). Cost reflects typical UK 2026 filament pricing for engineering grades.
| Property | PA12-CF (here) | PA12 (plain) | PEEK |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tensile strength XY | 77 MPa | 50 MPa | 97 MPa |
| Stiffness (Young's modulus) | 3311 MPa | 1500 MPa | 3600 MPa |
| Heat deflection (HDT 0.45) | 131°C | 108°C | 160°C |
| Steam autoclave (121°C) | No (Tg 55°C) | No (Tg 50°C) | Yes |
| UV resistance (sustained) | Limited | Limited | Limited |
| Strong-acid resistance | Limited | Limited | Excellent |
| Cost per kg (filament) | £90-130 | £40-80 | £500+ |
| Anisotropy | 1.48× | 1.10× | 1.2× |
| Dimensional stability | Excellent | Good | Excellent |
| Best for | Stiff brackets, fixtures, robotics | Tough one-piece parts, hinges | Hot, chemically harsh service |
The most common nylon-process decision. SLS is a different machine entirely · same base polymer, different mechanical profile, different cost structure. Pick the row that matches your job.
| Property | FDM PA12-CF (here) | SLS PA12 (powder-bed) |
|---|---|---|
| Process | Filament extrusion, layer-by-layer | Powder-bed, laser-sintered |
| Tensile strength XY | 77 MPa | 48 MPa |
| Stiffness (Young's modulus) | 3311 MPa | 1700 MPa |
| Tensile anisotropy XY/Z | 1.48× | ~1.1× (near-isotropic) |
| Elongation at break | 4.2% | ~20% (ductile) |
| HDT @ 0.45 MPa | 131°C | 163°C |
| Surface finish · as printed | Layer lines visible · sand or paint for smooth | Matte powder-grain finish, uniform |
| Min wall thickness | 1.2 mm structural | 0.7 mm achievable |
| Internal channels / lattices | Limited (support material) | Excellent (powder is the support) |
| Per-part cost · 1-off | Lower | Higher (machine + powder cost) |
| Per-part cost · batch of 100 | Comparable | Lower (efficient bed packing) |
| Best for | Stiff brackets, fixtures, robotics, CF-stiffness parts | Complex geometry, lattices, near-isotropic strength, batch-of-50+ |
This is 3DPE's standard process for PA12-CF · the equipment and the dried-filament discipline are included, no surcharge. Slicer profile and orientation are tuned per part at quote stage.
File or sketch in. We confirm material, orientation, finish.
Engineer reviewed. Lead time + per-unit cost back inside 24 hours.
Wall thickness, anisotropy, supports flagged before print.
Calibrated machine, dried filament, ISO-spec adherence.
Anneal if needed, sand or paint to spec.
Tracked UK courier, tracking number sent the moment it leaves.
Annealing adds 24 hours to any of the above (16h dwell + cooldown). Lead times start when CAD is signed off · CAD round-trips on rev requests can extend the clock.
Production HVAC vent printed in PA12-CF for an industrial client · CF loading kept the louvre geometry dimensionally stable through factory-floor temperature swings, where prior PA6-GF prints had warped on the second installation cycle.
PA12-CF is carbon-fibre-reinforced polyamide 12 · a long-chain semi-crystalline thermoplastic filament reinforced with 10% chopped carbon fibre by weight. Used in FDM 3D printing as a metal-replacement engineering thermoplastic for stiff, dimensionally-stable parts. The base polymer (PA12) has the lowest moisture absorption of the engineering nylons (~1.5% equilibrium per ISO 62), while the CF reinforcement orients along the print-head direction during extrusion to give 77 MPa tensile strength XY (ISO 527), 131°C HDT at 0.45 MPa (ISO 75), and 1.48× anisotropy (XY/Z ratio). Density is 1.06 g/cm³ · roughly 60% less than aluminium for comparable stiffness in non-impact-loaded service.
"PA12-CF is the material I reach for when a customer asks for an aluminium bracket and the job doesn't justify the lead time. Not because it's stronger · it isn't · but because it's stiff enough, dimensionally stable, half the weight, and printed in a working day. The trick is designing the load path along XY before you slice. Get that right and it earns its place; get it wrong and you fight the anisotropy."
Three questions every engineer Googles when picking PA12-CF · the base polymer chemistry, how the carbon fibre changes it, and what "warp-resistant" actually means in service.
PA12 has 12 carbons between each amide linkage vs 6 in PA6 · fewer water-attackable sites per length means less moisture pickup and less warp.
10% chopped CF aligns along extrusion direction during deposition · drives the 1.48× XY/Z anisotropy ratio.
PA12 1.5% at saturation per ISO 62 vs PA6 ~3% in humid storage · dimensions hold under UK conditions.
Polyamide 12 (PA12) is a long-chain semi-crystalline thermoplastic. Compared to more common nylons like PA6 or PA66, the longer carbon chain between amide groups gives PA12 a lower melting point, far lower water absorption, better dimensional stability, and better chemical resistance. That last trait is why PA12 is widely used in fuel-system tubing · it handles petrol, diesel, and most engine-bay chemistry without swelling or cracking.
Crystallinity matters for FDM printing. Fully amorphous polymers tend to warp less but creep under load. Semi-crystalline polymers like PA12 resist creep but are more prone to shrinkage as the print cools. PA12's balance is what makes it the engineering-thermoplastic baseline.
Our stocked grade is 10% carbon fibre by weight, milled to short segments (hundreds of microns, not continuous strands). The fibres orient along the print-head direction as the molten filament extrudes. That orientation is what drives anisotropy · XY (in the print plane) inherits most of the fibre-alignment strength, while Z (layer-to-layer) relies on polymer-to-polymer bonding with minimal fibre-bridging across layers.
The 10% loading is a deliberate balance. Higher CF loadings (15%, 20%, 35%) give more stiffness but make the print brittle, increase nozzle wear dramatically, and can reduce layer bonding. 10% is the sweet spot for parts that want engineering-grade stiffness without the printing penalties of heavy loadings.
Traditional PA6 and PA66 absorb moisture aggressively (up to 3% by weight under humid UK storage). That moisture hydrolyses the polymer chain, degrades mechanical properties, and causes dimensional drift. the longer PA12 backbone reduces this behaviour by an order of magnitude · which is why our stocked PA12-CF holds geometry across large or complex prints that would warp and split in PA6-CF.
Values measured to the ISO standards cited in the right-hand column, on the manufacturer's own injection-moulded test specimens · directly comparable to other engineering thermoplastics.
| Property | XY · print plane | Z · build axis | Wet · XY / Z · post-immersion | Unit | Standard |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mechanical · dry status | |||||
| Tensile strength | 77.4 | 52.2 | 71.7 / 42.1 | MPa | ISO 527 |
| Young's modulus | 3311 | 1806 | 3132 / 1622 | MPa | ISO 527 |
| Elongation at break | 4.2 | 5.0 | 5.3 / 5.3 | % | ISO 527 |
| Flexural strength | 112.4 | 69.8 | 91.8 / 52.2 | MPa | ISO 178 |
| Flexural modulus | 2886 | 1452 | 2652 / 1145 | MPa | ISO 178 |
| Charpy impact (notched, XY) | 9.5 | · | 10.2 (wet · rises slightly) | kJ/m² | ISO 179 · Fiberon PA12-CF10 TDS V1.1 |
| Charpy impact (unnotched, XY) | 33.7 | 27.6 | 41.2 / 20.6 | kJ/m² | ISO 179 |
| Thermal | |||||
| Heat deflection (HDT @ 0.45 MPa) | 131 | °C | ISO 75 | ||
| Heat deflection (HDT @ 1.8 MPa) | 105 | °C | ISO 75 | ||
| Glass transition temperature (Tg) | 55 | °C | DSC, 10°C/min | ||
| Melting temperature (Tm) | 171 | °C | DSC lab figure · not the print temperature or the in-service softening limit (see HDT/Tg) | ||
| Vicat softening temperature | 170.2 | °C | ISO 306 | ||
| Decomposition temperature | 445.2 | °C | TGA, 20°C/min | ||
| Physical | |||||
| Density | 1.06 | g/cm³ @ 23°C | ISO 1183 | ||
| Carbon-fibre content | 10 | % by weight | manufacturer spec | ||
| Equilibrium water absorption | 1.5 | % | ISO 62 | ||
| UL94 flame rating | HB at 1.5mm | · | UL 94 | ||
| Surface resistivity | >10¹² | Ω/sq (insulator) | ANSI ESD S11.11 | ||
| Processing | |||||
| Recommended print temperature | 280-300 (optimum 285) | °C | manufacturer spec | ||
| Recommended bed temperature | 40-50 | °C | manufacturer spec | ||
| Drying conditions | 100°C / 10h before printing | · | manufacturer spec | ||
| Annealing | 100°C / 16h post-print (recommended) | · | manufacturer spec | ||
Tensile load > 30 MPa: orient with load in the XY plane (Z bonds are 33% weaker · 52 vs 77 MPa). Below 20 MPa, orientation is less critical.
Sub-1 mm walls can snap cold under load · 0.8 mm is cosmetic only · 1.2 mm or thicker for structural parts.
Above 45° from vertical needs support material · plan part orientation to keep critical surfaces support-free.
Tight-tolerance ±0.1 mm achievable on small parts with calibration · ask before finalising CAD.
Removes 0.1-0.3 mm per surface · pre-paint prep or stand-alone hand-feel polish.
Anneal IF service temp > 60°C OR sustained load OR thermal cycling. Skip IF prototype, indoor, no temperature swings. Costs ~1% Z shrinkage, XY ≤0.1%.
Adds 0.05-0.15 mm per surface · sand 800 grit first, primer + topcoat · for colour-matched exterior parts.
Vapour fuses the matrix without flattening exposed carbon · glossy but textured · sand + paint instead.
Every value on this page traces to an ISO test method. We don't quote derived numbers without naming the standard.
No offshore subcontracting. Files, prints, and couriers all stay in the UK.
Send three things: peak load (N or MPa), peak service temperature (°C), and chemical exposure. our team come back inside 24 hours with material, orientation, and post-process recommendation · if plain PA12, PC-ABS, PETG-GF, or PEEK fits better, we say so.
our team review every brief before quote. No ticket queue, no account managers.
According to the Fiberon PA12-CF10 TDS, PA12-CF10 reaches Young's modulus 3311 ± 135 MPa (XY) per ISO 527 with HDT 131 °C @ 0.45 MPa and Tm 171 °C · essentially moisture-immune (−5.4% wet stiffness drop, the smallest in the nylon family).
Less than you'd expect. The carbon fibres stiffen it but the PA12 matrix keeps some toughness. Not as ductile as plain PA12 · thin walls under 1 mm can snap cold. Design around the XY load path rather than the Z axis. Annealing helps; sub-zero service does not.
Less than PA6 or PA66, thanks to the long-chain nylon 12 backbone. Equilibrium water absorption is ~1.5% (per ISO 62) · roughly an order of magnitude less than PA6/66. Dried to spec (100°C for 10h) and printed promptly, it holds dimensions reliably. Storage in a sealed dry-box between jobs extends shelf life.
Tg is 55°C per the manufacturer TDS (DSC, 10°C/min). Above Tg, amorphous regions of the polymer soften and stiffness drops · the practical service ceiling for structural use. Carbon-fibre reinforcement does not significantly change Tg.
77 MPa XY tensile is lower than typical cast aluminium (~150 MPa). Where PA12-CF wins: weight (1.06 vs 2.7 g/cm³), lead time (days vs weeks), no tooling cost, corrosion-free service, geometry-flexibility (lattice infills, internal channels). The case is not "stronger" but "good-enough at half the weight, ten times faster, no minimum order."
Hardened-steel or ruby-tip. Carbon-fibre filament destroys a brass nozzle in roughly 9 hours of print time per the manufacturer. We run hardened-steel on every CF print as standard, included in the quote · no surcharge, no surprise.
Our stocked grade is 1.48× tensile (77 MPa XY / 52 MPa Z). Higher CF loadings push the ratio higher · Stratasys FDM Nylon 12CF (35% CF) runs 2.24×. Design load paths along XY whenever possible. Z-axis bonding is polymer-to-polymer with minimal fibre bridging.
Our stocked grade is rated UL94 HB at 1.5mm wall (the lowest horizontal-burn rating). For self-certification applications needing UL94 V-0 or V-2 (vertical burn), we stock UL-rated alternative grades on request.
Annealing is controlled heat treatment after printing (100°C for 16 hours per the TDS) that relaxes residual stresses and increases crystallinity. Gains 5 to 15% tensile strength and HDT. Causes up to ~1% Z-axis shrinkage, XY essentially unchanged. Recommended for structural and hot-service parts; optional for cosmetic or low-stress geometry.
Short-term outdoor exposure is fine. Sustained outdoor UV degrades nylons · PA12-CF yellows and embrittles over months of direct sunlight. For sustained outdoor use (vehicle trim, drone housings, marine mounts, exterior signage), choose ASA (UV-stabilised by chemistry), UV-stabilised PC, or PA12-CF with a 2K UV-resistant overcoat.
PA12-CF inherits PA12's chemical resistance · the matrix dominates, the carbon fibre is chemically inert. Excellent for fuel-system, hydraulic, and shop-floor chemistry. Match your specific exposure below before specifying.
| Chemical / family | Resistance | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Petrol / gasoline | Excellent | Native PA12 fuel-line application |
| Diesel | Excellent | Including B20+ biodiesel blends |
| Engine oil, gear oil, hydraulic oil | Excellent | All standard service grades |
| Brake fluid (DOT 3 / 4 / 5.1 glycol) | Excellent | DOT 5 silicone also fine |
| Coolant / antifreeze (ethylene glycol) | Excellent | Including diluted service coolant |
| Methanol, ethanol, IPA | Excellent | Cleaning + assembly OK |
| Detergents, soap, weak alkalis | Excellent | Workshop wash-down OK |
| Sea water / saline solution | Excellent | Short-to-medium term immersion |
| Hydrogen peroxide ≤ 6% | Good | Stronger H₂O₂ attacks long-term |
| Acetone | Limited | Surface attack + softening over hours |
| MEK, toluene, xylene | Limited | Brief contact only · no soak |
| Strong alkalis (NaOH > 10%) | Limited | Polymer-chain hydrolysis risk |
| Weak organic acids (acetic, citric) | Limited | Slow attack over weeks |
| Hot water (sustained > 80°C) | Limited | Hydrolysis over months |
| Strong acids (sulphuric, HCl, nitric) | Fails | Polymer chain breakdown |
| Chlorinated solvents long-term (TCE, DCM) | Fails | Solvent crazing + dissolution |
| Phenols | Fails | Strong PA12 solvent |
| Formic acid | Fails | Industry-standard PA12 solvent |
Ratings reflect long-term immersion / sustained exposure. Brief contact (cleaning wipes, splashes) is more forgiving than the table suggests. For mission-critical chemical service, request a 7-day immersion sample before committing the design.
Standard PA12-CF10 is insulative · the 10 wt% carbon-fibre content sits below the percolation threshold for conductivity. Surface resistivity is >10¹² Ω/sq (insulator). For ESD-sensitive applications (electronics enclosures, PCB handling jigs) we stock specific ESD-rated grades on request.
Plain PA12 (no carbon-fibre) is more ductile and handles impact better than PA12-CF · the CF stiffens the matrix but reduces toughness. For high-impact service, PC-ABS is a step up in impact strength and remains stiff enough for structural use. For elastic / cushioning service, TPU. Brief us with the load case and we'll pick the right grade · the spec on this page is for the stiff-and-stable use case, not the tough-under-impact use case.
You'll hear back from our team within 24 hours · with material-fit check, ISO-referenced spec, and lead time on every quote.