PA12-CF (Carbon Fiber Reinforced Polyamide 12

Material Profile: PA12CF (Carbon Fibre Reinforced Polyamide 12) for FDM

FDM Engineering Material Technical Report Series — Volume 1 of 16

Compiled from manufacturer technical datasheets and peer-reviewed literature

Abstract—This report presents a consolidated technical profile of PA12CF, a polyamide-12 thermoplastic reinforced with chopped carbon fibre (typically 35 wt%, per Stratasys), used in industrial FDM. Mechanical properties along the principal print orientations (XZ and ZX) are reported with their ASTM test methods, alongside thermal transitions, recommended print parameters, distinguishing characteristics, and representative end-use applications.

Index Terms—additive manufacturing, FDM, carbon-fibre composite, polyamide 12, anisotropy. 

I.  MATERIAL IDENTIFICATION

This section establishes the canonical names and commercial designations under which the material is supplied.

A.  Designation

Trade name (abbreviated): PA12CF; equivalent to Stratasys FDM® Nylon 12CF™. The 'CF' suffix denotes carbon-fibre reinforcement.

B.  Full Chemical Name

Polymer matrix: poly(laurolactam), conventionally Polyamide 12 / Nylon 12 (PA12). Composite: Carbon-fibre reinforced Polyamide 12 (CF/PA12).

C.  Aliases and Alternative Designations

II.  COMPOSITION AND MOLECULAR STRUCTURE

A.  Empirical Chemical Formula

PA12 monomer (laurolactam-derived repeating unit): C₁₂H₂₃NO; polymer: [-(C₁₂H₂₃NO)-]ₙ. Carbon fibre is ≥ 92% elemental carbon.

Fig. 1.  Repeating unit / structural schematic of the polymer matrix.

Fig. 2.  Schematic of dispersed reinforcement / filler in the polymer matrix (not to scale).

B.  Composition Breakdown

TABLE I
 COMPOSITIONAL BREAKDOWN OF PA12CF (TYPICAL / PER SUPPLIER DATASHEET)

III.  MECHANICAL PROPERTIES — XZ PRINT DIRECTION

In the XZ orientation the tensile load is applied parallel to the deposited rasters; for fibre-reinforced grades this is the strongest orientation because the fibres align preferentially along the extrusion direction.

TABLE II
 MECHANICAL PROPERTIES — XZ ORIENTATION (PA12CF)

IV.  MECHANICAL PROPERTIES — ZX PRINT DIRECTION

In the ZX orientation the tensile load is applied perpendicular to the print layers, so failure occurs through inter-layer (Z) bonds. Properties are markedly lower than in XZ — this anisotropy is intrinsic to FDM.

TABLE III
 MECHANICAL PROPERTIES — ZX ORIENTATION (PA12CF)

The XZ:ZX UTS ratio is approximately 2.2:1 and the modulus ratio approximately 3.3:1; these multipliers are typical of short-fibre FDM composites and should be used as design factors when components are subject to multi-axial loading.

V.  RECOMMENDED PRINT PARAMETERS

Values summarised below give consensus operating windows from public datasheets. Specific suppliers may differ within ±10 °C; the supplier datasheet always supersedes this table.

TABLE IV
 RECOMMENDED PRINT TEMPERATURE RANGES FOR PA12CF

VI.  GLASS TRANSITION TEMPERATURE (TG)

Reported / typical Tg: ≈ 41 °C (Stratasys, ASTM D7426-08 by DSC at 20 °C/min).

Tg is the temperature at which the amorphous regions transition from glassy to rubbery. PA12 is semi-crystalline (~25–30%), so parts retain stiffness above Tg up to the heat-deflection temperature, but creep accelerates. Annealing at 80–100 °C × 4–6 h with slow cooling typically increases stiffness by 5–15% and HDT by 10–20 °C, with potential dimensional shrinkage of 0.3–0.7%.

VII.  HEAT DEFLECTION TEMPERATURE (HDT)

Heat deflection temperature is the temperature at which a standard bar deflects 0.25 mm under a specified flexural load (ASTM D648 / ISO 75).

TABLE V
 HEAT DEFLECTION TEMPERATURE OF PA12CF UNDER STANDARD TEST LOADS

VIII.  DISTINGUISHING CHARACTERISTICS AND STANDARDS

A.  Highest stiffness-to-weight ratio in the FDM portfolio

Per Stratasys, PA12CF has the highest flexural strength of any FDM thermoplastic in their range (≈ 142 MPa, XZ). Specific gravity 1.15. Flexural specific stiffness exceeds unfilled PA12 (≈ 1.4 GPa modulus) by ~7×.

B.  Low moisture absorption (relative to other nylons)

PA12 has the longest aliphatic methylene segment of common nylons (11 CH₂ groups between amides), giving the lowest equilibrium moisture uptake (~1.3–1.8% at 23 °C / 50 %RH, vs ~6–9% for PA6). Filament still requires drying before printing.

C.  Chemical resistance

Resistant to alkalis, alcohols, oils, salts, and most automotive fluids per Stratasys. Attacked by strong mineral acids and some halogenated solvents at elevated temperature.

D.  UV / weathering testing

Stratasys reports controlled UV exposure per ASTM G154 (1000 h fluorescent UV: 8 h at 60 °C UV + 4 h water condensation). UV-exposed ZX coupons show < 10% reduction in tensile strength versus unexposed control.

E.  Flammability

Standard PA12CF is not flame-retardant rated; UL 94 ratings for unmodified Nylon 12 are typically HB. Flame-retardant grades such as ABS-FR0 or PPS should be selected when V-0 is required.

IX.  REPRESENTATIVE APPLICATIONS

PA12CF is typically deployed in the following applications:

1)  Aerospace tooling and brackets: Lightweight production-aid tooling and non-critical interior brackets; case studies include NASA and Rapid PSI.

(Source : Stratasys)

2)  Automotive overhead-conveyor tooling: General Motors substituted PA12CF for metal in overhead-conveyor end-effectors (Stratasys case study, 2018).

3)  Soft-jaw machining fixtures: CNC work-holding where polymer hardness avoids marring the workpiece while CF stiffness maintains location accuracy.

4)  End-of-arm tooling (EOAT) for robotics: Pick-and-place grippers and vacuum manifolds; CF stiffness reduces deflection at robot speed.

(Source : Facfox)

5)  Recreational and motorsport components: Utah Trikes (Stratasys case study) integrated PA12CF parts into recumbent trike production.

6)  UAV / drone airframes: Cited in research literature as a lightweight structural choice for fixed-wing and multirotor frames.

Photographs of representative parts in these applications are not reproduced here for copyright reasons; the table below provides direct manufacturer / case-study URLs where original imagery and project descriptions can be viewed.

TABLE VI
 SUGGESTED IMAGE / CASE-STUDY SOURCES

X.  REFERENCES

[1]  Stratasys, “FDM® Nylon 12CF™ Material Data Sheet,” MDS_FDM_Nylon12CF_0921a, 2021. https://www.stratasys.com/en/materials/materials-catalog/fdm-materials/nylon-12cf/

[2]  GoProto Inc., “FDM Nylon 12CF Spec Sheet,” 2018. https://uptivemfg.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/GoProto-FDM_Nylon12-CF-Data-Sheet.pdf

[3]  BigRep GmbH, “PA12 CF — Nylon filament with carbon fibers,” 2024. https://bigrep.com/filaments/pa12-cf/

[4]  3DXTech, “CarbonX™ PA12+CF Carbon-Fiber Reinforced Nylon 12 Filament,” 2024. https://www.3dxtech.com/

[5]  Bambu Lab, “PAHT-CF (PA12 base) product page,” 2024. https://us.store.bambulab.com/products/paht-cf

[6]  ASTM D638-14, “Standard Test Method for Tensile Properties of Plastics,” ASTM International, 2014.

[7]  ASTM D790-17, “Standard Test Methods for Flexural Properties of Unreinforced and Reinforced Plastics,” ASTM International, 2017.

[8]  ASTM D256-10, “Standard Test Methods for Determining the Izod Pendulum Impact Resistance of Plastics,” ASTM International, 2018.

[9]  ASTM D648-18, “Standard Test Method for Deflection Temperature of Plastics Under Flexural Load,” ASTM International, 2018.

[10]  ASTM G154-16, “Standard Practice for Operating Fluorescent UV Lamp Apparatus for Exposure of Nonmetallic Materials,” ASTM International, 2016.

[11]  F. Calignano et al., “Experimental Study and ANN Development for Modeling Tensile and Surface Quality of Fiber-Reinforced Nylon Composites (PA12-CF) by FDM,” Polymers, 2025. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12157311/