Nylon (PA) for 3D printing: strong but demanding

Why nylon is used

Nylon is one of the polyamides, and everyone knows it from clothing or ropes. As a 3D printing material it is valuable because it survives many bends, impacts and friction. Nylon is used to print gears, sliding bushings, hinges and parts that rub against each other.

There are several kinds: PA6, PA12 or PA6 with carbon fibres. Powder technologies such as SLS, where nylon is the standard, belong here too.

Why nylon is hard in FDM

• Moisture. It quickly absorbs water from the air, and damp filament foams and makes weak parts. It has to be dried, see filament moisture.
• Shrinkage. It pulls and warps, and sticks poorly to an ordinary bed.
• Temperatures. A nozzle at 250 °C or more, and often an enclosed chamber.

Nylon and our range

We do not print nylon. We offer PLA (€8 per kg) and PETG (€9 per kg), which is only the material share of the price. The closest alternative we print is PETG: it is tougher and takes more bending than PLA and withstands a slightly higher temperature, but it resists wear worse than nylon.

For heavily loaded gears or permanently sliding parts, PETG is no substitute for nylon. For small boxes, brackets and mechanism prototypes it is enough. Write to jakub.novak@boostello.com saying what the part does and we will advise whether PETG will do. We do not promise nylon printing.

When PETG is enough

It is enough for brackets, covers, hinges, lightly loaded gears and prototypes where long-term wear is not the point. It is not enough for sliding bushings, heavily loaded pulleys and parts that rub with every movement. For those, consult a supplier who prints nylon with SLS or MJF.

For our orders, also consider wall thickness and infill: a strong infill (40%) and thicker walls give a part more than the choice of material alone. With a larger number of identical pieces the calculator shows a lower price per piece, because more of them fit on one build plate.