Nylon (PA) Filament Guide for 3D Printing
What nylon is for
Functional parts. Gears, hinges, living springs, snap-fit clips, drone frames, prosthetic limbs, robotics components. Nylon outperforms PLA, PETG and ABS for parts that take repeated stress or abrasion.
The moisture problem
A nylon spool left out for 24 hours absorbs enough moisture to print badly. Wet nylon pops, foams, layer-separates and ends up brittle. Treat every nylon print like the spool is wet unless it came straight out of a dryer in the last hour.
Drying nylon
- Filament dryer at 80 C for 8 to 12 hours before printing
- Print directly from the dryer if you can
- Sealed dry box with bulk silica between prints
- Oven at 80 C with the door cracked works if you do not have a dryer
Print settings
- Nozzle 240 to 270 C (varies by grade)
- Bed 70 to 110 C, glue stick on glass or PEI
- Enclosure for prints over 100 mm
- Print slowly, 30 to 50 mm/s
- Hardened nozzle for filled grades (PA-CF, PA-GF)
PA-CF and PA-GF
Carbon fibre and glass fibre filled nylons add stiffness and dimensional stability at the cost of more brittleness. PA-CF is the go-to for drone frames and engineering brackets. Hardened nozzle is non-optional.