You've probably seen nylon on the labels of some everyday industrial plastic products or in your socks. But do you know where it comes from, what it is, where and what it is commonly used for, etc.? Now let's talk about one of the most commonly used engineering thermoplastic materials – nylon.
What is nylon?
Nylon (or polyamide) was the world's first synthetic fiber, created by renowned American scientist Carothers and a research team under his leadership. At that time, Carothers produced Nylon 66, which is still one of the most common variants today. During World War II, the demand for nylon outstripped the supply of natural products such as silk, rubber and latex.
Nylon is an engineering thermoplastic that is easy to machine and can be used in a variety of mechanical end parts. Today it is used in many different areas, including clothing, reinforcing material for rubber-like automobile tires, ropes or wires, and many injection molded parts for vehicles and machines. Due to its greater impact resistance, relative abrasion resistance, long-lasting chemical properties and better elasticity, it is widely used to replace low-strength metal parts in automobile engines. Additionally, nylon can also be used as electrical insulation. It is lightweight and offers high tensile strength and low friction. This type of material generally melts and does not burn easily.
What properties does nylon (polyamide) material have?
|
Property |
Value |
|
Technical name |
Nylon (PA) |
|
Chemical formula (Nylon-6 |
(NH)-(CH2)5-CO)n |
|
Melting temperature |
220°C (428°F)** |
|
Typical injection molding temperature |
54-93°C (130-200°F)*** |
|
Thermal Deflection Temperature (HDT) |
160°C (320°F) at 0.46 MPa (66 PSI) ** |
|
tensile strength |
76MPa (16,000 PSI)*** |
|
Bending reinforcement |
110 MPa (16,000 PSI) *** |
|
specific weight |
1.13 |
|
shrinkage rate |
1.3 – 1.7% (0.13 – 0.17 in/in) *** |
Introduction to Different Types of Nylon Materials
There are many different types of nylon materials, mainly including PA6, PA66, PA610, PA11, PA12, PA1010, PA612, PA46, PA6T, PA9T and aromatic amide MXD-6, etc. are used most commonly used. However, let's start with the following:
Nylon 6
Nylon 6 is a semi-crystalline polyamide developed by Paul Schlack.
Typical properties: Robust, with high tensile strength, elasticity and shine. They are also wrinkle-free, extremely resistant to wear and tear and chemicals such as alkalis and acids. The glass transition temperature is 47 °C.
Application: Nylon 6 filaments are a type of highly elastic fiber typically used in high-strength industrial and textile products, including industrial cords, ropes and clothing. They typically produce more reliable final part dimensions.
Nylon 66
Nylon 66 is another type of nylon or polyamide.
Typical properties: High fatigue strength and stiffness, better heat resistance, low coefficient of friction, excellent abrasion resistance, but higher moisture absorption and insufficient dimensional stability.
Application: Medium load bearings, operating temperature below <100-120 °C, with little or no lubrication, such as stressed and wear-resistant transmission parts. Nylon 66 is also ideal for injection molding.
Nylon 12
It is also known as PA12 with the formula ((CH2)11C(O)NH)n. It is also a good thermoplastic with wide additive applications.
Typical properties: Robust, impact resistant, elastic and excellent flexibility.
Application: Due to its excellent mechanical properties, Nylon 12 (PA 12) is popular among injection molding manufacturers. It is now also one of the most used materials in additive manufacturing processes to produce functional parts and prototypes.
Nylon 610
It is a type of engineering resin whose properties are between those of Nylon 6 and Nylon 12.
Typical properties: Its toughness, stiffness and heat resistance are lower than that of Nylon 66, but it has lower moisture absorption, better wear resistance, excellent UV and chemical resistance and excellent resistance to zinc chloride solutions.
Application: It is similar to nylon and is the perfect material for gears that require high precision and parts with large fluctuations in humidity under working conditions. Nylon 610 can be used for injection molding and extrusion.
Nylon1010
It is also known as PA 10/10, a bio-based, unreinforced, plasticized, heat-stabilized polyamide 1010 resin of renewable origin designed for extrusion.
Typical properties: It has better resistance to abrasion, low density, high resistance to chemicals and weathering, results in good dimensional stability and is easy to machine. Its toughness and stiffness are lower than Nylon 66, moisture absorption is lower than Nylon 610, a great organic alternative to PA12.
Application: It can be used as a workpiece when nylon 610 is subjected to small loads, suitable temperature, slight humidity fluctuation, etc.
Advantages and disadvantages of nylon (polyamide) material
Nylon (PA) offers numerous advantages that make it an ideal material for numerous applications. Below you will find the main advantages and disadvantages of the material.
Advantages of Nylon (PA)
- High mechanical stability, excellent ductility, strong tensile strength . The tensile strength of nylon is greater than that of metals, and its compressive strength is comparable to that of metals, but it is not as rigid as metals. When it comes to tensile strength, nylon itself is close to yield strength and is three times that of ABS material. Due to the strong shock and vibration absorption capacity, the impact resistance of nylon is much higher compared to traditional plastics and also better than that of polyacetal resins.
- Excellent fatigue resistance . Nylon parts maintain their original mechanical resistance properties after alternate bending. PA can often be used where periodic fatigue is clearly visible, such as escalator handrails and plastic rims of new bicycles, etc.
- High softening point, heat resistant . Take PA46 as an example: The thermal deformation mechanism of high-crystalline nylon is high, it can be used at 150°C for a long time. The thermal deformation of PA66 can reach more than 250°C after glass fiber reinforcement.
- Smooth surface, abrasion resistance . Nylon mechanical structural parts are self-lubricating and can reduce noise. If a lubricant is needed to reduce friction or better heat dissipation, you can choose water, oil, grease, etc. This means that transmission parts have a long service life.
- Corrosion resistant very resistant to alkalis and most salty liquids, also resistant to weak acids, engine oil, gasoline and aromatic compounds. It can be used as packaging material for lubricants, fuels, etc.
- Self-extinguishing, odorless, non-toxic, weather resistant, immune to biological erosion, good antibacterial and anti-mold effect.
- Excellent power characteristic . Because nylon has high volume resistance, it is not easily destroyed by high tension. In a dry environment, it can be used as an industrial frequency insulation material; in high humidity it still provides better electrical insulation.
- Lightweight, easy to color and model . It has low melt viscosity and can flow quickly. It is easy to injection mold due to its high freezing point and forms quickly, resulting in short molding time and high productivity.
Disadvantages of Nylon (PA)
- Easy water absorption . This type of property affects the dimensional stability and electricity of the parts can easily lead to mechanical reinforcement. Reinforcement fiber can reduce the water absorption of resins, making them work in high temperature and high humidity environments. Nylon and fiberglass are well related to each other. It is widely used for combs, toothbrushes, coat hooks, fan bones, mesh bag drawstrings, fruit outer packaging bags, etc. It is non-toxic, but should not come into prolonged contact with acids and bases. It is worth mentioning that the tensile strength of nylon can be increased by about 2 times, and the temperature resistance can be improved accordingly after adding fiber.
- Low light fastness . It oxidizes easily in air, turns brown and explodes at high temperatures over a long period of time.
- Injection molding is more rigorous : The presence of traces of moisture can affect the quality of the molding because thermal expansion makes it difficult to control the dimensional stability of the product. The presence of sharp edges in mechanical products can cause mechanical reinforcement. The uneven wall thickness causes mechanical parts to deform and deform. High demands are placed on processing equipment.
- Absorbs water; does not easily resist strong acids and oxidants ; cannot be used as acid-resistant materials.
Common Uses and Applications of Nylon
Nylon material is characterized by four main types of nylon polyamide: Nylon 66, 11, 12 and 46. Generally, these names are derived from the length of their polymer chains. Some typical applications are:
Automotive industry – oil tank, cylinder head, radiator, oil and water tank, water pump impeller, hubcap, outer panel, handle, gear, bearing, shaft, outer plate, terminal, etc.
Electronics industry – housings, connectors, binding posts, connection elements
Medical industry – implants, catheter rods, balloon tubes, etc.
Music industry – guitar strings and images
Daily Use – Miscellaneous equipment, toothbrushes including fishing line and net, tennis racket strings, equipment, tents, mats, etc.
Clothing – shirts, sweatshirts, lingerie, raincoats, underwear, swimwear and cycling clothing.
Choose the Right Nylon for Prototyping
From the above, we understand some of the properties of nylon. Now let's discuss how nylon materials can be used for prototyping on CNC machines, 3D printers and injection molding machines. As we know, nylon can be easily cast into sheets (very useful for CNC machining), filaments (very useful for 3D printing), films (very useful for packaging) and fibers (useful for fabrics). It is also a perfect candidate for injection molding material.
CNC processing
3D printing
Natural nylon raw materials are generally cream-colored, but are also available in black and white. In other words, nylon can be dyed any color. This material is easily available in the form of filaments that can be used for 3D printing. It is heated in 3D printers and the molten filament is molded into the desired 3D shapes.
Injection molding
To increase tensile strength, nylon is sometimes filled with a portion of fiberglass during the injection molding process (glass typically makes up 10 to 40 percent). In the injection molding process, the proportion of hooks is more than 40%. While glass fibers increase strength to some extent, they also affect how a part fails. Without glass filling, nylon often bends and sags before breaking. With a high proportion of glass fibers, failure becomes an immediate brittle fracture with minimal bending. If the nylon is filled with glass fibers, it will be specially marked, e.g. B. 30% GF nylon (GF means “glass-filled”).
University Degree
If you would like more use cases of our technology and materials, please do not hesitate to contact us. We support you in the development of your prototype and can support you in your project.
