<p>Trimet3d has a Nano diamond PLA with a claimed thermal conductivity 3-5 times that of PLA. The diamonds are sub-microscopic and smooth. See <a href="https://www.tiamet3d.com/product-page/ultra-diamond-pla-1kg" rel="nofollow noreferrer">https://www.tiamet3d.com/product-page/ultra-diamond-pla-1kg</a>
Primarily they seem to be doing it to gain strength.</p>

<p>I would prefer larger diamonds for higher thermal conductivity. It would be ferociously abrasive even for a diamond nozzle.  It would also limit the thermal expansion.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-12-01T19:59:00.387Z
2019-12-01T19:59:00.387Z
Jon
<p>All values are in W/(m*K).</p>

<ul>
<li>PLA: 0.13</li>
<li>HIPS: 0.20</li>
<li>ABS: 0.25</li>
<li>PETG: 0.29</li>
<li>PEEK: 0.25</li>
<li>PLA with copper: 0.25 (<a href="https://www.3dhubs.com/talk/t/thermal-conductivity-of-copper-based-filament-and-ceramic-resin/8798/7" rel="noreferrer">see discussion</a>) </li>
<li>PETG with 40% graphite: 1.70 (ansiotropic)</li>
<li><a href="https://tcpoly.com/products/filaments/" rel="noreferrer">TCPoly</a>: 15</li>
<li>Steel (not a 3dprintable plastic): 10 - 50</li>
</ul>

<p><a href="https://i.sstatic.net/YOsQZ.png" rel="noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/YOsQZ.png" alt="enter image description here"></a>
<a href="https://i.sstatic.net/DmOFV.png" rel="noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/DmOFV.png" alt="enter image description here"></a></p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-09-19T15:24:25.497Z
what is the source of Table 1 and 4?
Trish
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-09-19T22:14:51.277Z
Do you have a source for the amazing performance of TCPoly that's not their marketing materials? :-)
R.. GitHub STOP HELPING ICE
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-09-20T02:47:18.133Z
I'm sorry I havent provided the source for the tables yet. I meant to originally, it just slipped my mind. It's a review of thermoplastic polymers that I havent  been able to refind.
K Mmmm
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-09-20T02:50:22.893Z
And nah I dont know much about TCPoly, except that its base is TPU. If i had to guess, it's TPU and either graphite or carbon nanotubes. Most filaments with this mixture dont bother even measuring thermal conductivity, from what I gather. So it would be interesting to see how TCPoly compares to one of these. TCPoly is kind of expensive, but they say they do provide test prints very quickly which might make it easy to test without having to actually go through the process of printing this unusual material
K Mmmm
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-09-20T02:53:29.483Z
I just dont understand how a material with that high of thermal conductivity could be printed. If it conducts heat, the filament would melt in the cold end, causing jams. I would expect a water cooled hot end to help lot with this, although if you already have that, then that's about 50% of what TCPoly would be good for for.most hobbyists anyway (at the risk of sounding lame, of course this plastic has tons of other applications)
K Mmmm
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-01-12T08:01:56.040Z
I have been looking around for a PETG with 40% carbon as I think it would make a great battery housing for an electric skateboard. It has been difficult to find and they don't list thermal conductivity in specs. Which filament is tested here?
Alexander Mclennan
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-01-12T15:51:52.987Z
I think they probably made the filament from mixing PETG pellets and graphite and maybe some dissolver like acetone (maybe), then put it through something like a Filastruder. I know there are easy methods for doing it online however you should know the filastruder costs like $400 to $500
K Mmmm
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-04-15T02:24:50.643Z
Just pointing out that the list in the answer does not directly correspond to the table images provided. PETG (polyethene terephthalate) with 40% Carbon fibre is not the same material as PI (polyimide) even if the thermal conductances might seem similar between the list 1.7 and table 4, 1.73. Also, TCPoly's **filaments** at best are around 8 W/mK once you actually read their specs, and the thermal conductivity varies per plane extrusion direction. The alleged value of 15 W/mK is given for their proprietary print services.
dquintero
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-04-15T02:24:50.643Z
Also, I did not find a reference to his k value for PLA with copper in the 3DHubs link provided.

Basically, the values provided in his answer could be right, but they are certainly not justified with the sources provided. That said, this information is not simple to find at least for commercial filaments.
dquintero
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-09-19T13:49:20.723Z
2019-09-19T13:49:20.723Z
K Mmmm
<p><strong>Thermal conductivity</strong> is how well a plastic conducts heat. Most plastics don't conduct heat very well at all, which is what allows them to be 3D printed. That being said, there are a lot of potential use cases for highly thermally conductive filament, assuming you could print them. A commonly discussed one is computer heatsinks. Similar heatsinks could also be used for stepper motors and extruders in 3d printing. </p>

<p>To get a good picture which plastics are useful in such an application (like mentioned in question: "<a href="https://3dprinting.stackexchange.com/questions/10881/water-cooling-stepper-motor-with-aluminum-block">Water-cooling stepper motor with aluminum block</a>"), I need to know what is the thermal conductivity of the commonly used thermoplastics.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-09-19T14:46:30.483Z
Answering your own question is a win/win situation for everyone ... however, you should edit your "question" and actually make it a question to conform to how the Q & A actually works. Ask the question within the question, making the body of the question for specifics about the question, then leave a comment about the rest of the fluff. Just a suggestion.
Pᴀᴜʟsᴛᴇʀ2
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-09-20T12:30:59.683Z
Just infuse the plastic with diamond dust :-) .  (If this were possible, it would probably work very well. Diamond is a fantastic thermal conductor)
Carl Witthoft
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-09-20T21:51:18.680Z
I wonder how it would compare to the graphite / graphene / carbon nanotubes values listed below
K Mmmm
<filament><filament-choice>
What is the thermal conductivity of various 3D printing filaments?
K Mmmm
# What is the thermal conductivity of various 3D printing filaments?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2019-09-19)

**Thermal conductivity** is how well a plastic conducts heat. Most plastics don't conduct heat very well at all, which is what allows them to be 3D printed. That being said, there are a lot of potential use cases for highly thermally conductive filament, assuming you could print them. A commonly discussed one is computer heatsinks. Similar heatsinks could also be used for stepper motors and extruders in 3d printing.

To get a good picture which plastics are useful in such an application (like mentioned in question: "[Water-cooling stepper motor with aluminum block](https://3dprinting.stackexchange.com/questions/10881/water-cooling-stepper-motor-with-aluminum-block)"), I need to know what is the thermal conductivity of the commonly used thermoplastics.

**Tags:** filament, filament-choice

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: Answering your own question is a win/win situation for everyone ... however, you should edit your "question" and actually make it a question to conform to how the Q & A actually works. Ask the question within the question, making the body of the question for specifics about the question, then leave a comment about the rest of the fluff. Just a suggestion.  
> **username_2**: Just infuse the plastic with diamond dust :-) .  (If this were possible, it would probably work very well. Diamond is a fantastic thermal conductor)  
> **username_0**: I wonder how it would compare to the graphite / graphene / carbon nanotubes values listed below  

---

## 2 answers

### Answer by username_0 on 2019-09-19. Score: 5 | Accepted answer

All values are in W/(m\*K).

* PLA: 0.13
* HIPS: 0.20
* ABS: 0.25
* PETG: 0.29
* PEEK: 0.25
* PLA with copper: 0.25 ([see discussion](https://www.3dhubs.com/talk/t/thermal-conductivity-of-copper-based-filament-and-ceramic-resin/8798/7))
* PETG with 40% graphite: 1.70 (ansiotropic)
* [TCPoly](https://tcpoly.com/products/filaments/): 15
* Steel (not a 3dprintable plastic): 10 - 50

[![enter image description here](https://i.sstatic.net/YOsQZ.png)](https://i.sstatic.net/YOsQZ.png)
[![enter image description here](https://i.sstatic.net/DmOFV.png)](https://i.sstatic.net/DmOFV.png)

> **Comments:**
> **username_4**: what is the source of Table 1 and 4?  
> **username_5**: Do you have a source for the amazing performance of TCPoly that's not their marketing materials? :-)  
> **username_0**: I'm sorry I havent provided the source for the tables yet. I meant to originally, it just slipped my mind. It's a review of thermoplastic polymers that I havent  been able to refind.  
> **username_0**: And nah I dont know much about TCPoly, except that its base is TPU. If i had to guess, it's TPU and either graphite or carbon nanotubes. Most filaments with this mixture dont bother even measuring thermal conductivity, from what I gather. So it would be interesting to see how TCPoly compares to one of these. TCPoly is kind of expensive, but they say they do provide test prints very quickly which might make it easy to test without having to actually go through the process of printing this unusual material  
> **username_0**: I just dont understand how a material with that high of thermal conductivity could be printed. If it conducts heat, the filament would melt in the cold end, causing jams. I would expect a water cooled hot end to help lot with this, although if you already have that, then that's about 50% of what TCPoly would be good for for.most hobbyists anyway (at the risk of sounding lame, of course this plastic has tons of other applications)  
> **username_6**: I have been looking around for a PETG with 40% carbon as I think it would make a great battery housing for an electric skateboard. It has been difficult to find and they don't list thermal conductivity in specs. Which filament is tested here?  
> **username_0**: I think they probably made the filament from mixing PETG pellets and graphite and maybe some dissolver like acetone (maybe), then put it through something like a Filastruder. I know there are easy methods for doing it online however you should know the filastruder costs like $400 to $500  
> **username_7**: Just pointing out that the list in the answer does not directly correspond to the table images provided. PETG (polyethene terephthalate) with 40% Carbon fibre is not the same material as PI (polyimide) even if the thermal conductances might seem similar between the list 1.7 and table 4, 1.73. Also, TCPoly's **filaments** at best are around 8 W/mK once you actually read their specs, and the thermal conductivity varies per plane extrusion direction. The alleged value of 15 W/mK is given for their proprietary print services.  
> **username_7**: Also, I did not find a reference to his k value for PLA with copper in the 3DHubs link provided.  Basically, the values provided in his answer could be right, but they are certainly not justified with the sources provided. That said, this information is not simple to find at least for commercial filaments.  

---

### Answer by username_3 on 2019-12-01. Score: 0

Trimet3d has a Nano diamond PLA with a claimed thermal conductivity 3-5 times that of PLA. The diamonds are sub-microscopic and smooth. See <https://www.tiamet3d.com/product-page/ultra-diamond-pla-1kg>
Primarily they seem to be doing it to gain strength.

I would prefer larger diamonds for higher thermal conductivity. It would be ferociously abrasive even for a diamond nozzle. It would also limit the thermal expansion.


---

