How To Succeed When 3D Printing With Nylon

Everybody with a 3D printer is accustomed to PLA and ABS.

When you’ve 3D printed with PLA, you most likely know that whereas it’s pretty sturdy, it’s additionally very brittle. You’ll be able to’t depart elements out within the solar or wherever that the temperature will get above 100°F.

When you’ve 3D printed with ABS, you understand it’s far more sturdy than PLA, however 3D printed ABS elements don’t have the power of injection molded elements, and sometimes aren’t sturdy sufficient for purposeful elements. 

Enter Nylon.

Nylon filament is an extremely sturdy, sturdy and versatile 3D printing materials. Versatile when skinny, however with very excessive inter-layer adhesion, nylon lends itself nicely to issues like residing hinges and different purposeful elements. Its low friction coefficient and excessive melting temperature make it a wonderful selection for a wide range of on a regular basis gadgets akin to 3D printed instruments, gears, RC vehicles and extra.

Try our suggestions beneath on how one can efficiently 3D print with nylon filament.

Not All HotEnds Are Created Equal 

Most 3D printers come commonplace with hotends that use PEEK and PTFE. Each PEEK and PTFE start to breakdown above 240°C and can burn and emit noxious fumes. When efficiently printing with nylon filament, you may need a hotend that reaches temperatures of at the very least 250°C. When you aren’t certain in case your sizzling finish is setup for 3D printing nylon, ship us an e-mail or examine together with your printer producer and we will let you understand.

Most 3D printers can simply be upgraded with an all-metal sizzling finish with a purpose to print at temperatures above 240°C (extrusion temperature). We use the E3D V6 All Metallic HotEnd on our machines as a result of all-metal design that enables temperatures to securely attain as much as 300°C. They’re wonderful sizzling ends that we extremely advocate. Earlier than changing your present printer’s hotend, be certain to print the right mount to connect the E3D V6 hotend to your 3D printer.

Mattress Floor Issues: Garolite, Glass and PVA Glue

Like with another sort of filament, the mattress floor you select to print nylon on might be the make or break between warping and profitable 3D printing. For nylon, garolite sheets and glass plates are two construct surfaces we have seen produce essentially the most constant profitable outcomes. With the addition of a PVA glue stick, each surfaces present the mattress adhesion essential to bind prints to the construct floor for a clean 3D printing expertise.

Our private favourite floor to make use of with nylon filament is LayerLock Garolite Construct Floor. Made out of fiberglass linen fabric laminated with epoxy resin, this floor has excessive stability over temperature so it simply withstands the 60°C really helpful for profitable nylon mattress adhesion on a heated mattress. One other perk of utilizing a garolite floor is its sturdy adhesion high quality that lasts for hundreds of prints with sandpaper. Utilizing a sheet of 220 grit sandpaper, evenly sand down the highest of the garolite to take away any blemishes and reveal a extra textured, even floor. This enables nylon to realize a greater grip on the mattress for a profitable flat first layer, resulting in a profitable nylon 3D print general for years to return.

We belief within the success of garolite a lot that we provide it because the inventory mattress floor for our Pulse XE, the 3D printer designed to succeed with 3D printing nylon and nylon-based filaments (on high of ordinary filaments). For max success, PVA glue and sandpaper are additionally included with LayerLock Garolite Construct Surfaces for added adhesion and minimal upkeep for longevity. To be taught extra about printing on garolite, try our “How To: 3D Print Nylon on Garolite Print Beds” article.

Nylon Filament Should Be Dried Earlier than Printing

Nylon filament is extremely hygroscopic, that means it readily absorbs water from the air. Nylon can soak up greater than 10% of its weight in water in lower than 24 hours which is why it’s best to not depart hygroscopic filaments sitting out within the open.  Once you 3D print with nylon filament that isn’t dry, the water within the filament explodes inflicting air bubbles throughout printing that forestalls good layer adhesion, significantly weakens the half and ruins the floor end. Little question about it; profitable 3D printing with nylon and nylon-based supplies require dry filament.

Dry nylon, then again, prints buttery clean and has a shiny end.

Desiccant helps maintain filaments dry, however packets of desiccant are nowhere close to sufficient to truly extract the moisture out of your 3D printing supplies. MatterHackers’ most popular software for drying Nylon is the PrintDry system.  Simply place the spools within the PrintDry chamber, set the system to 75c, and depart to dry for 8-12 hours.  

One other option to dry nylon filament is by inserting it in an oven at 160°F – 180°F for six to eight hours. Understand that most all convection and family ovens don’t regulate their temperature nicely at these decrease temperatures and may simply warp your spool or soften the plastic inflicting it to deform and even adhere the filament stands collectively.

After drying, both instantly print with it in a room that is not chilly or drafty or retailer it in an hermetic container with desiccant to make use of for later. If utilizing a system just like the PrintDry, you’ll be able to depart the spool within the unit and print straight from it, protecting moisture at bay whereas on these lengthy prints. To be taught extra about desiccant in addition to some helpful 3D printing instruments, click on right here.

Dry 3D printed nylon on the left, moist 3D printed nylon on the fitting

Whereas kitchen ovens are able to drying filament, we extremely advocate utilizing a PrintDry PRO Filament Drying System as an alternative. PrintDry is a protected, desktop-friendly machine engineered particularly for eradicating moisture from filaments. With its compact, transportable design, you’ll be able to merely place the PrintDry PRO subsequent to your 3D printer and feed dry filament into it whereas it is printing. If you’re unable to feed the filament within the PrintDry PRO straight into your printer, this filament drying system nonetheless works very nicely for merely drying filament after which storing it in an air-tight container for later. To get the very best quality prints potential, filament drying methods just like the PrintDry are a 3D printing accent we extremely advocate for constant success.

To be taught extra about the advantages of drying filaments, try our article right here.

Nylon Can Warp

We have discovered 3D printing nylon can warp about as a lot as ABS.

When printing on glass or garolite, a heated mattress is required with nylon filament. A PVA primarily based glue stick utilized to the mattress is the very best methodology of mattress adhesion. Elmer’s or Scotch everlasting glue sticks are cheap and simply discovered at an inexpensive value.

We have discovered {that a} mattress heated to 75°C with a skinny layer of glue utilized in a cross-hatch sample works greatest for glass plates.

When printing on a garolite floor, a construct plate is required with nylon filament. Whether or not it is straight on a heated mattress, a sheet of glass, PEI glass or a FlexPlate System, we advocate the garolite sheet be connected to some sort of construct plate that is ready to switch warmth to this construct floor. Like printing on glass, a PVA primarily based glue stick utilized to the mattress might be useful with mattress adhesion for garolite construct surfaces. We advocate Elmer’s glue sticks for this floor. If extra adhesion is required, use 220g sandpaper to evenly sand all throughout the garolite for a textured, even floor that the print can seize onto.

For mattress temperature, we advocate wherever between 55°C – 65°C relying on what sort of brand name and nylon or nylon-based filament you are printing with. If it is NylonX, we advocate 60°C. If it is NylonG, we advocate 65°C.

Don’t use layer cooling followers and keep away from drafty or cool rooms for greatest outcomes. If you cannot keep away from inserting your printer in drafty or chilly rooms, take into account both make shifting your personal printer enclosure or buying one of many 3D printer enclosure kits bought right here.

3D Printed Nylon Surfboard Fins Strengthened with Carbon Fiber utilizing the MarkForged 3D Printer

Really helpful Nylon 3D Print Settings:

• Extruder Temp.: 240°C – 260°C
  • Begin printing at 250°C and regulate in increments of 5°C till you discover the fitting temperature that produces a powerful, sturdy print with an attractive ending floor
  • The fitting temperature could range between nylon and nylon-based filaments
  • The fitting temperature could range between manufacturers of nylon and nylon-based filaments
• Mattress Temp.: 55-65°C
  • That is for garolite surfaces with PVA primarily based glue
• Mattress Temp.: 70-80°C
  • That is for glass and different surfaces with PVA primarily based glue
• Velocity: 30-60 mm/s
• 0.2 mm – 0.4 mm layer heights
• 0% Layer Cooling Fan

We hope this helps you succeed with 3D printing Nylon. If in case you have any additional questions hop on our discussion board stuffed with useful posts and fellow makers working collectively in the direction of a profitable 3D printing expertise. 

If you’re in search of a machine that prints nylon proper out of the field, try a number of the following printers beneath:

Completely happy Printing!