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3D Printing Filaments
Filament showdown

Nylon vs PC: which filament should you use?

Per-kg price, temperatures, food contact and a worked cost example for the same part printed in Nylon and PC. Plus a verdict on the five dimensions that matter when picking between them.

Specs side by side

Nylon

Typical price
~$45.00/kg
Print temperature
240–270 °C
Bed temperature
70–90 °C
Enclosed chamber
Recommended
Food-safe
No
Difficulty
★★★★★

PC

Typical price
~$45.00/kg
Print temperature
260–300 °C
Bed temperature
100–120 °C
Enclosed chamber
Recommended
Food-safe
No
Difficulty
★★★★★

Same part, different filament

50 g part, 6 h print time on a Bambu Lab A1 (the reference printer at 130 W) with 8% failure rate. Only the filament price changes between columns.

Nylon

  • Filament$2.25
  • Energy$0.14
  • Unit Cost$2.74
  • Final Consumer Price$11.93

PC

  • Filament$2.25
  • Energy$0.14
  • Unit Cost$2.74
  • Final Consumer Price$11.93

Verdict by dimension

  • Cheaper per kg

    Tie

    Both filaments land within the noise threshold for this dimension.

  • Easier to print

    Tie

    Both filaments land within the noise threshold for this dimension.

  • Lower print temperature

    Nylon

    Nylon prints at 240–270 °C vs 260–300 °C for PC — less wear on the hotend and easier on basic printers.

  • Open-frame friendly

    Tie

    Both filaments land within the noise threshold for this dimension.

  • Food contact

    Tie

    Both filaments land within the noise threshold for this dimension.

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