PLA vs. PAI
Both PLA and PAI are thermoplastics. There are 15 material properties with values for both materials. Properties with values for just one material (13, in this case) are not shown.
For each property being compared, the top bar is PLA and the bottom bar is PAI.
Metric UnitsUS Customary Units
Mechanical Properties
| Elastic (Young's, Tensile) Modulus, GPa | 3.5 | |
| 4.0 to 8.3 |
| Elongation at Break, % | 6.0 | |
| 3.0 to 12 |
| Flexural Modulus, GPa | 4.0 | |
| 4.0 to 6.8 |
| Flexural Strength, MPa | 80 | |
| 160 to 320 |
| Tensile Strength: Ultimate (UTS), MPa | 50 | |
| 100 to 180 |
Thermal Properties
| Glass Transition Temperature, °C | 60 | |
| 280 |
| Maximum Temperature: Mechanical, °C | 50 | |
| 260 |
| Specific Heat Capacity, J/kg-K | 1800 | |
| 910 to 1000 |
| Thermal Conductivity, W/m-K | 0.13 | |
| 0.26 to 0.53 |
Otherwise Unclassified Properties
| Density, g/cm3 | 1.3 | |
| 1.4 to 1.6 |
Common Calculations
| Stiffness to Weight: Axial, points | 1.6 | |
| 1.6 to 3.2 |
| Stiffness to Weight: Bending, points | 40 | |
| 38 to 47 |
| Strength to Weight: Axial, points | 11 | |
| 19 to 34 |
| Strength to Weight: Bending, points | 24 | |
| 33 to 49 |
| Thermal Diffusivity, mm2/s | 0.058 | |
| 0.16 to 0.41 |