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Easiest Nylon Filament To Print With

Discussion in 'Printing Filament' started by mattgraham, Apr 7, 2015.

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  1. mattgraham

    mattgraham New Member

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    I see there are several folks out there experimenting with different Nylon filaments. Looks like most are trying Taulman 618, 645, or Bridge. I want to start testing Nylon, but I am wondering which filament would be easiest to start with. From reading the posts it seems like Taulman's Bridge product is the easiest to work with. Can anyone confirm this? (I have the Robo R1 Printer)
     
    #1 mattgraham, Apr 7, 2015
  2. Printed Solid

    Printed Solid Volunteer Admin
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    Hi Matt,
    The newly released Taulman 910 seems to be the easiest to work with so far. Before that came out, it was bridge. 618 and 645 aren't terribly hard, but they require a special build platform to avoid warpage on larger parts.
     
    #2 Printed Solid, Apr 7, 2015
  3. James Harry

    James Harry Active Member

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    Is there a specific use case for nylon or is it a good alternative to ABS for everyday use?
     
    #3 James Harry, Apr 7, 2015
  4. mark tomlinson

    mark tomlinson ༼ つ ◕_ ◕ ༽つ
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    #4 mark tomlinson, Apr 7, 2015
  5. mattgraham

    mattgraham New Member

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    Thank you Printed Solid! Does printing on a raft help mitigate the warpage?

    James Harry, A vendor I was speaking with showed me some of nylon parts compared to ABS parts and they felt really different. Hard to describe in words, but you can understand best by physically comparing the parts in your hands. The nylon was much more flexible, yet felt stronger and more durable. Of course I don't know if I replicate the kind of quality he was producing with his nylon prints, but I want to try it out. Hope that answers your question.
     
    #5 mattgraham, Apr 7, 2015
  6. James Harry

    James Harry Active Member

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    Thanks, Mark and Matt, both helpful. Nylon looks very interesting, and I will have to try some of this out.
     
    #6 James Harry, Apr 7, 2015
  7. mark tomlinson

    mark tomlinson ༼ つ ◕_ ◕ ༽つ
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    I like it a lot better than ABS personally.
    It has some minor print related things to bear in mind (mostly temperatures and print speed) but does not warp nearly as bad on the Robo as ABS (at least for me). Those with enclosures probably can get away with almost no warp.

    Some of it (bridge for example) tends to be a lot more flexible than you might expect. So test with it.
     
    #7 mark tomlinson, Apr 7, 2015
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  8. Zen

    Zen Member

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    I print bridge all day long literally on my robo. Only thing I had to change was since it does string some I changed my end G code to retract the filament at the end of a print about 15mm. Otherwise it jams in the hot end for the next print.
     
    #8 Zen, May 6, 2015
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  9. mark tomlinson

    mark tomlinson ༼ つ ◕_ ◕ ༽つ
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    The new alloy 910 is now my favorite filament.
     
    #9 mark tomlinson, May 6, 2015
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  10. Zen

    Zen Member

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    I have some to test with, it is just twice the cost of bridge so unless it has dramatically better mechanical properties I can't justify it yet.
     
    #10 Zen, May 6, 2015
  11. mark tomlinson

    mark tomlinson ༼ つ ◕_ ◕ ༽つ
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    It is far, far stronger than the bridge and it is amazingly easy to print.
    I have not yet done extensive testing, but I will never mess with ABS again.

    Bridge is decent and fairly tough. The first noticeable difference is that bridge has a small amount of flex in it, the 910 does not (not once it cools down at least).
     
    #11 mark tomlinson, May 6, 2015
  12. Zen

    Zen Member

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    I guess I just need to go and print some up. Is it still flexible like nylon? And does it string and ooze like the bridge does?
     
    #12 Zen, May 6, 2015
  13. mark tomlinson

    mark tomlinson ༼ つ ◕_ ◕ ༽つ
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    It is NOT flexible once cool (at least not enough to matter).
    I did not adjust it for stringing* as I did not really notice any and I did not notice any real ooze either.

    *(you know, messing with retraction...)


    I ran the ooze-retract test by vector model without any real issues.

    this one:

    http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:22263
     
    #13 mark tomlinson, May 6, 2015
  14. Cinova

    Cinova New Member

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    Try printing with straight Nylon 12... Sometimes the other "Nylon" filaments in this category have additives for various reasons. They work well but are at times difficult to print with.... Nylon 12 is very easy to print with, flexible and has a wide range of characteristics specific to being a polymer... Not a copolymer or one with additives.... Check it out at rdmfilament.com...
     
    #14 Cinova, Sep 13, 2015
  15. David Sparrow

    David Sparrow Member

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    What is nylon 12?
     
    #15 David Sparrow, Oct 6, 2015
  16. mark tomlinson

    mark tomlinson ༼ つ ◕_ ◕ ༽つ
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    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nylon_12

    All of the nylons are slightly more of a hassle than, say, PLA. However they are some of the best filaments out there. You can do some really neat stuff with nylon.

    Different blends have different features (different strengths -- ductile or tensile).
     
    #16 mark tomlinson, Oct 6, 2015
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  17. Cinova

    Cinova New Member

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    Hey Dave;
    Nylon 12 is a polymer most used in a solid block form in machining, gasketing, automotive and tons of other parts. It's even used in making heart valves..
    It's been used in actively for SLS rapid prototyping in a powder form.
    More recently it is being used to make filament for 3d printing.

    It's flexible, high impact strength, great abrasion resistance, good chemical resistance, maintains integrity even at low temps and a lot more...

    We love printing with it and continue to showcase it, most recently at Maker Faire in Queens NY. As an offshoot we also developed a great glue (we call it Fubar Glue) to use with our nylon 12, other nylons and many of the other filament materials available with great success. It a build bed coating glue.

    We have several printer manufacturer testing the filament and glue now in Ca., NJ, and CO at this time.. We also have testers at fubarlabs.org, Rutgers Univ. and MIT working with the materials now as well..

    Thanks for asking,
    Joe
     
    #17 Cinova, Oct 6, 2015
  18. mark tomlinson

    mark tomlinson ༼ つ ◕_ ◕ ༽つ
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    ...and when they say 'flexible' believe it.
    Not 'NinjaFlex' flexible*, but flexible.


    *well, most nylon filaments are not THAT flexible
     
    #18 mark tomlinson, Oct 6, 2015
  19. Cinova

    Cinova New Member

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    we print flexible 1/2" and 1" bracelets and give them out at faires...
     
    #19 Cinova, Oct 6, 2015
  20. Cinova

    Cinova New Member

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    we print flexible 1/2" and 1" bracelets and give them out at faires...
     
    #20 Cinova, Oct 6, 2015
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