Nylon is one of the most important 3D printing materials in the 3D printing market. Nylon is a synthetic polymer that is wear-resistant, tough, strong and heat-resistant. These properties make nylon ideal for a variety of 3D printing applications.

Process: SLS selective laser sintering

More than 60% of 3D printing nylon powder materials are printed using the SLS process. Nylon 11 (PA11) and nylon 12 (PA12) are the two most commonly used nylon materials. PA11 has better UV resistance and impact resistance, while PA12 has higher strength and stiffness. There are also various reinforced composite materials, such as glass fiber, carbon fiber reinforced nylon materials, whose mechanical properties will be better, just like the modification of plastic materials.

Applications: Suitable for prototypes and functional verification parts such as gears and tools, nylon can be reinforced with carbon fiber or glass fiber, giving lightweight components excellent mechanical properties.

Nylon is highly rigid and flexible. When you print thin products, your parts will be flexible, and when printing thicker walls, your parts will be rigid. This is ideal for producing components such as living hinges with rigid parts and flexible joints.

Parts printed in nylon are somewhat grainy, unsupported and require little to no post-processing.

Nylon 3D printing can be used to create moving and interlocking parts. This eliminates the need to assemble individually printed parts and enables the production of highly complex objects faster.