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PLA vs. Silicon Carbide

PLA and silicon carbide belong to fundamentally different material chemistries. PLA is a polymeric material, while silicon carbide is ceramic. Therefore, their performance will be even more dissimilar than would be suggested by the difference in properties. There are 12 material properties with values for both materials. Properties with values for just one material (14, in this case) are not shown. Please note that the two materials have significantly dissimilar densities. This means that additional care is required when interpreting the data, because some material properties are based on units of mass, while others are based on units of area or volume.

For each property being compared, the top bar is PLA and the bottom bar is silicon carbide.

Metric UnitsUS Customary Units

Mechanical Properties

Elastic (Young's, Tensile) Modulus, GPa 3.5
370 to 490
Flexural Strength, MPa 80
410 to 600
Tensile Strength: Ultimate (UTS), MPa 50
210 to 370

Thermal Properties

Maximum Temperature: Mechanical, °C 50
500 to 1590
Specific Heat Capacity, J/kg-K 1800
670 to 1180
Thermal Conductivity, W/m-K 0.13
120 to 170

Otherwise Unclassified Properties

Density, g/cm3 1.3
3.0 to 3.2

Common Calculations

Stiffness to Weight: Axial, points 1.6
69 to 84
Stiffness to Weight: Bending, points 40
79 to 82
Strength to Weight: Axial, points 11
18 to 34
Strength to Weight: Bending, points 24
24 to 38
Thermal Diffusivity, mm2/s 0.058
38 to 79