3D Printing Nylon
What is Nylon
Nylon, scientific name polyamide (PA for short), is the general name of thermoplastic resin containing repeated amide group – [nhco] – in the molecular main chain, including aliphatic PA, aliphatic aromatic PA and aromatic PA. Aliphatic PA has many varieties, large output and wide application. Its name is determined by the specific number of carbon atoms of the synthetic monomer.
Nylon has good comprehensive properties, including mechanical properties, heat resistance, wear resistance, chemical resistance and self lubrication, low friction coefficient, certain flame retardancy and easy processing. It is suitable for filling, strengthening and modification with glass fiber and other fillers, improving performance and expanding application range.
There are many kinds of PA, including PA6, PA66, PAll, PA12, PA46, PA610, PA612, PA1010, as well as many new varieties of semi aromatic nylon PA6T and special nylon developed in recent years.
The role of nylon in 3D printing
As an important industrial raw material in the world, nylon has played an important role in various fields. The same is true in 3D printing technology. Nylon is a very important and commonly used 3D printing material. For example, the printing material of SLS is PA12.
Watch this video: Making things from Nylon!
Nylon based composites
Nylon can be added with a certain proportion of other materials to form composites with certain characteristics.
PA12-GF
PA12-GF is a mixed powder formed by polyamide 12 filled with a certain proportion of glass.
Its features:
- High stiffnessHigh mechanical wear-resistance
- Good thermal loadability
- Excellent surface quality
- High dimensional accuracy and detail resolution
- Good processabilityexcellent long-term constant behaviour
PA12-CF
PA12-CF is a nylon material formed by polyamide 12 filled with a certain proportion of carbon fiber.
Its features:
- Enhanced stiffness
- High resistance to thermal deformation
- Excellent strength and hardness
- Light weight
PA12-FR
PA12-FR is a nylon material formed by polyamide 12 filled with a certain proportion of halogen-based flame retardant.
Its characteristics are recyclable, economical and can realize low-cost parts production.
PA12-AL
PA12-AL is a composite material with a polyamide base, which is filled with glass and aluminium.
Its features:
- Entry-level material with good general mechanical and thermal characteristics
- Excellent reproduction of details and accurate and superior surface definition
PA612-GB
PA612-GB is a nylon material formed by polyamide 612 filled with a certain proportion of glass bead.
Its features:
- High modulus in tensile & flexural, with good impact resistance
- 3 Axis isotropy
- High resistance to thermal deformation
- Easy to use powder even for large complex geometry or flat sided objects
- Low sensitivity to moisture effects in processing and final use
- Snap fit parts possible
PA11-GF
PA11-GF is a mixed powder formed by polyamide 11 filled with a certain proportion of glass. And it is ideal for mechanical parts in the engine compartment, complex end-use parts for a wide range of applications from Automotive, Aerospace to Military industries.
Its features:
- Resistance in extreme temperatures
- Low shrinkage, adapted for big parts
- Refresh rates at 50% (limited to 8-10 cycles) for lower operating costs
Nylon products 3D printed in Lava
Our customers like to choose PA12 as the material to print 3D models. The following products are printed with PA12 material and MJF process in black and SLS process in white.
