Polycarbonate with chopped carbon fibre, for functional parts that need stiffness and dimensional stability. Sourcing reference detail — confirmed against the producing factory's datasheet per order.
| Category | Engineering & reinforced (value anchor) |
|---|---|
| Base polymer | Polycarbonate + chopped carbon fibre |
| Diameter | 1.75 mm (2.85 mm on request) |
| Dimensional tolerance | ±0.02 mm claimed by several suppliers — verify per lot, do not assume |
| Spool weight | 1 kg standard · 3 kg / 5 kg on request |
| Nozzle temperature | 260–300 °C (indicative) |
| Bed temperature | 90–110 °C (indicative) |
| Enclosure | Strongly recommended — warping risk without one |
| Nozzle requirement | Hardened steel required. Carbon fibre abrades brass nozzles quickly |
| Drying before use | Required. Hygroscopic — see drying note below |
| Packaging | Vacuum sealed with desiccant |
| MOQ | 12 kg (one carton) · tiered pricing above 100 kg |
| Sourcing-side reference | USD 13.90–16.80 / kg — market range, not our offer |
No certificate numbers are published on this page by design. State your destination market in the request and we will confirm what documentation the producing factory can actually supply for this SKU.
PC-CF sits in the value anchor: it is bought by manufacturers and engineering service bureaus making end-use parts — jigs, fixtures, brackets, housings — where a printed part replaces a machined one. The buyer is an engineer or a technical purchaser, and the decision is made on data, not on colour options.
The table below shows the shape of the data an engineering buyer expects. Values are deliberately left as placeholders — they must come from the producing factory's test report, not from us.
| Property | Test method | Value | Unit |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tensile strength | ISO 527 / ASTM D638 | — to be supplied | MPa |
| Tensile modulus | ISO 527 / ASTM D638 | — to be supplied | MPa |
| Flexural strength | ISO 178 / ASTM D790 | — to be supplied | MPa |
| Impact strength (Charpy/Izod) | ISO 179 / ASTM D256 | — to be supplied | kJ/m² |
| Heat deflection temperature | ISO 75 / ASTM D648 | — to be supplied | °C |
| Density | ISO 1183 | — to be supplied | g/cm³ |
| Fibre content | — | — to be supplied | % w/w |
Polycarbonate absorbs moisture from the air, and carbon-filled grades are no exception. Printing wet PC-CF produces bubbling, poor layer adhesion and a rough surface — and the failure often gets blamed on the material when the cause is storage.
Carbon fibre is abrasive. A brass nozzle will visibly wear within a few kilograms and the extrusion width will drift. Hardened steel is a requirement, not an upgrade — which is why the parts catalogue carries matching nozzles as a cross-sell.
PC-CF shrinks on cooling. An enclosed chamber and a well-adhering build surface matter more here than with PLA. Open-frame machines can print it, but expect a higher failure rate on large flat parts.
Related reading: Material selection guide · Print defect troubleshooting.
We are a sourcing desk. Documents are issued by the producing factory and forwarded by us — we do not certify materials ourselves, and we say so wherever documentation appears.
| Document | What it covers | When buyers ask |
|---|---|---|
| TDS — technical datasheet | Nominal properties for the grade | Material selection stage |
| SDS — safety datasheet | Handling, hazards, disposal | Required by most institutional buyers |
| Per-lot CoA | Measured values for the batch you receive | Repeat production, audited supply chains |
| RoHS / REACH statement | Restricted substances declaration | EU import, tender submissions |
| Tier | Quantity | Typical use | Lead time |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sample | 1–2 kg | Validation before committing | Stock dependent |
| Carton | 12 kg | Standard entry order | To be confirmed |
| Volume | 100 kg+ | Ongoing production supply | Production scheduled |
| Contract | 500 kg+ | Annual agreement, lot reservation | Planned schedule |
Custom colour is harder on filled grades than on PLA: carbon-filled material is black, and pigment options are limited. Colour differentiation belongs on the standard line.
Mechanically yes, reliably no. Expect warping on larger parts without an enclosure. If your fleet is open-frame, PETG-CF or PA-CF may be a better fit — tell us the machine and the part and we will suggest the grade.
A brass one, yes — within a few kilograms. Use hardened steel. We list matching nozzles per printer model in the parts catalogue precisely because this pairing catches people out.
Because they depend on the factory and the lot, and we will not publish numbers we cannot back. The table shows the properties and test methods your engineer will ask for; the values arrive with the factory datasheet once the SKU is locked.
Several suppliers advertise it. Treat an advertised tolerance as a claim and a per-lot measurement report as evidence — ask for the latter. That distinction matters more on reinforced grades, where filler distribution affects consistency.
Yes — that is the point of the request list. Different materials come from different factories; consolidating them into one shipment and one invoice is the service.
Include printer model, annual volume, destination market and required documentation for a usable quote.