Nylon is one of the renowned 3D printing materials among professional users. This may be largely credited to its vogue outside of 3D printing. Nylon has a broad range of applications because of its unique qualities and the advantages of 3D manufacturing, which enables components to be created on-site quickly and cheaply.
Desktop FDM 3D printing high-tech, which is among the most popular forms of 3D printing, can sometimes necessitate many hits and misses. Some materials are simple to generate, while others have a steeper learning curve.
This post will go through everything you need to know concerning Nylon 3D Printer and its use. Three different technologies may be used to 3D print nylon: Selective Laser Sintering (SLS), FDM, and MultiJet Fusion (MJF).
UNDERSTANDING NYLON AS A MATERIAL
Nylon is a synthetic chemical polymer composed of polyamides joined by amide bonds. It is appraised chiefly as an “advanced” material in 3D printing since it must be printed by hand and specialised equipment.
Nylon may be created from either filament or powder.
PHYSICAL PROPERTIES
Even though nylon is a little difficult to 3D print, its characteristics make it worthwhile. Nylon is an excellent choice for industrial 3D printing since it is solid and durable. If printed slim enough, it can have good flexibility while retaining toughness.
Nylon’s low friction coefficient makes it ideal for creating functional movable parts. As a result, nylon is frequently used to create functional prototypes, gears, living hinges, and other end-use components.
CHEMICAL PROPERTIES
To comprehend nylon 3D printing in-depth, you must first know two different characteristics. One is that it has a high boiling point, and the second is that it’s hygroscopic, which means it absorbs moisture readily. This dual quality can be beneficial or detrimental; while printed parts let the paint adhere well, they also suck up water.
We’ll delve further into nylon printing and the various technologies used to produce it in this post. Let’s get going!
FDM
It can be challenging to get into 3D printing with nylon since MJF and SLS printers; also, the powders they utilise are not inexpensive. It is feasible to 3D print nylon using an FDM printer linked with specific nylon filament.
3D printing using Fused Deposition Modelling (FDM) printers begins with melted filament, which is then extruded via a nozzle onto the build platform in layers until the part is finished. The standard of an FDM-printed nylon component isn’t as good as that of SLS or MJF.
The first thing to understand is that not all FDM printers can use nylon filament effectively. Getting an excellent hot lot is critical to ensure that the hot end works with high temperatures. Additionally, nylon is susceptible to warping, so bed adhesion is also an issue.
Nylon filaments come in various varieties, with the most habitual being PA 66 and PA 6. Both have the typical nylon plats of abrasion resistance, strength, and low concerted friction, but they suffer from one significant flaw: excellent moisture absorption.
SLS
SLS is a powder-based additive manufacturing technology that builds parts layer by layer with a laser. There are many varieties of laser sintering processes, and some can work with metal or glass, but the vast majority of SLS 3D printers are designed for polymers.
MATERIALS
Nylon is a frequent component of SLS. PA 11 powders are used for parts requiring UV and impact resistance, while PA 12 is utilised for part power and stiffness. Strengthened PA powders, commonly dubbed nylon composite powders, frequently contain aluminium, glass, or carbon fibre particles in addition to nylon.
ADVANTAGES
After the sintering process is complete, all components are entirely encircled by unsintered powder, which also supports the toughened parts. Fortunately, owing to SLS’ ability to recycle up to 50-70% of the powder in subsequent prints, this is an upper hand over FDM.
SLS is better suited for 3D printing deploying nylon than FDM. Nylon is excellent for producing valuable components, and SLS can manufacture complicated functional parts and improve strength by employing powder sooner than filament.
DISADVANTAGES
One of the most significant benefits of SLS is that it is less expensive than other resins. Industrial SLS 3D printers can cost upwards of $200,000. The good thing is that we have seen more economical options appear in recent years, including Formlabs’ Fuse 1 desktop SLS machine for around $10,000. Be ready to pay not less than $60 per kg for the powders.
MJF
MJF is a new powder sintering method created by Hewlett Packard and released in 2016. It’s comparable to SLS, yet it also has something to learn from binder jetting.
HOW IT WORKS
The printing process of both MJF and SLS begins in the same way. Before sintering starts, a powder coating is sprinkled on the created platform. In contrast to SLS, where the laser might begin sintering, MJ Engineering adds steps to the production process with chemical additives to print using MJF.
Each new layer of powder is fused with a sintering agent sprayed over it in the area where the following layers will be sintered. The fusing agent aids in absorbing energy from the printer’s heat source by the powder. MJF utilises a high-powered infrared light as a heat source, whereas SLS employs a high-powered laser.
ADVANTAGES
Both processes can generate some outstanding detail on components, but when it comes to print details, MJF outperforms SLS. This is partly due to a detailing agent that aids in creating sharp edges by lowering the fusing potential at the very edge of a component.
After production, the non-sintered dust can be recycled similarly to SLS. Nevertheless, MJF allows more power to be reused, up to 80%. Although it is very dependent on the specific machines you contrast, machines of MJFL are priced together with SLS devices and print faster.
Solutions to Nylon 3D Printing
Fortunately, there are competent 3D printers on the market that are cost-effective and feature-rich, like the MakerBot method. A closed heated made chamber, for example, reduces warping and uneven cooling amid the print and may also be utilised to dry filament.
Another is sealed substance bays, which keep the stuff from coming into touch with the nearby environment. These two modifications almost completely cure nylon 3D printing’s drawbacks, so it’s beneficial considering if nylon is a favoured 3D printing substance.
