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Taulman3D Nylon Printing Material
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Taulman3D Nylon Printing Material Pliable
Nylon parts have greater pliability than their ABS and PLA counterparts
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Taulman3D Nylon Printing Material Stong
Extra flexibility and delamination resistance means that screws can be driven into nylon printed parts with less risk of cracking or shearing
ABS and PLA filaments have become the materials of choice for most personal 3D printer users thanks to their ubiquity, strength, ease of processing etc. But since the days of the first accessible extruder-based systems folks have tried to run anything that looked about the right diameter and vaguely plastic through their systems, resulting in broken stepper motors, clogged heads, burnt out extruders, small fires and noxious fumes.
One of the most often cited culprits in the ‘nylon’ filament from string trimmers (aka: weedwacker, edgetrimmer, strimmer, line trimmer, snipperwhipper, weed whacker, weed whip, weed eater, weedy, or whipper snipper — the last one being my favourite!). The problem here is that although the filament can fit the machine in terms of diameter, and the base is nylon, there are many additives and adulterants that give the nylon its ‘whipper snipper’ strength. Of these glass fibre is perhaps the most likely cause of failure when forced through your system.
But nylon has some excellent properties that users of 3D printers would love to access for final parts or if 3D printing is a step in a more complex process. For example, anyone making casting moulds with their printer would benefit greatly from the chemical resistance of nylon printed moulds. End use parts could make use of the pliability, delamination resistance and good surface finish of nylon parts.
Luckily Taulman3D will be shipping a 3D printer-optimised Nylon 618 copoloymer filament from the 12th of November. Initially shipping as a 3 mm filament with a 1.75 mm version hopefully by the end of the year.
You’ll need to run a little hot (248°C at normal head speeds) and there are a few tweaks regarding ‘filament compression’ that will further reduce chances of delamination.
The resulting flexible parts will significantly add to the printers repertoire. Alcohols, resins+MEK, oils, acetone, most alkalines, and most two-part casting compounds should not affect the nylon 618 parts, ideal if you’re planning on using the printed bits in another process. Nylon is hygroscopic (meaning it will absorb water from the air) so be careful how you store the filament, and don’t be too alarmed if you get some steam from the extruder as it is processed!
