3ders.org – MatterHackers stress exams its hybrid NylonX 3D printer filament with spectacular outcomes
October 14, 2016 | From Andre
Materials science is just as important, if not more important than the machines themselves to the advancement of 3D printing. There have certainly been advances in affordable desktop 3D printing in recent years, but when it comes down to it, my Replicator 2 is out of the box In 2012, 3D printing of many materials was just as reliable and versatile as newer machines.
However, the materials available in the market continue to multiply at an incredibly impressive rate. In 2012, ABS and PLA were the de facto standards when it came to materials, and while nylon and wood fill options gradually crept in, it was nothing more than what we see today. From composite metals, polycarbonates, rubbers, carbon fibers, refractory materials, and more, there seems to be an affordable option that will meet all of your needs.
It now appears that the prestigious 3D printing group at MatterHackers spices up the material world a little more with their newly announced NylonX.
The material properties, advertised as the strongest material to date, include “excellent chemical properties, abrasion resistance and impact resistance combined with durability and toughness” and are the first choice for incredibly robust, functional 3D printed parts.
While nylon has always been seen as one of the stronger 3D printing materials on the market, it remained a niche player due to its difficulty to work with (easily peeled off the pad, shrinks when cooled, delaminates when set at too low a temperature is printed). . According to MatterHackers, the solution is to mix chopped carbon fiber (20 wt%) into the nylon blend.
“By adding chopped carbon fiber to nylon, we increase stiffness, decrease the rate of shrinkage and the amount of water it can hold, while maintaining the durability and toughness of nylon,” says the MatterHackers team. Some of the copywriting behind the filament even suggests that it is a potential replacement for aluminum (usually made with CNC machines) for many applications.
But just like everything else, the evidence is in the pudding, and MatterHackers has a ton of trouble demonstrating how its NylonX (available for $ 65 per 0.5kg) compares to the other materials on the market today.
It should be noted that some extruders and 3D printers may not be compatible when it comes to creating the right conditions to print with NylonX (technically). Higher temperatures between 250 and 265 ° C are required to make parts without delamination. A heating bed setting between 60 and 70 ° C is recommended (together with PVA-based adhesive). A stainless steel nozzle is recommended (standard brass nozzles can wear out too quickly with the carbon fibers) and larger 0.6mm nozzles are recommended (compared to the typical standard 0.4mm nozzle).
However, when you have a 3D printer that can take the above into account, you’re ready to produce parts with NylonX, and the stress tests the MatterHackers team ran to compare what’s out there are instant and impressive propose the promise to be the strongest material there could be so far indeed come true.
Their tests consisted of 3D printed carabiners in a variety of materials roughly the size you would find in stores weighing 150 pounds. They used the same 3D printer (even for conventional 0.4 mm nozzles) for most of the materials with the same layer height, density and fill pattern.
From there, a block and pulley system was used to test how much the 3D-printed carabiners could withstand with the various material options. And as you can quickly see in the table below, NylonX ranks high compared to the other specialty materials available for testing.
Sure, it’s their own material, but their enthusiasm for their product should instill some confidence if you are looking to buy something new, durable and sturdy. They remark, “We suspected that NylonX would perform well on this type of test, but we didn’t expect it to work as well as it was. Simply put, it’s just fantastic ”and that“ in our test it was over 100% stronger than PLA and on average 60% stronger than ABS! “
And while the numbers suggest that NylonX could one day work its way into any manufacturer’s material closet, the team even admits that not enough tests were done on each filament to produce an accurate statistical record. In the end, however, the conclusion is pretty clear that after three months of 3D printing with the material, they remain impressed with the strength, ease of use, and the sleek, matte finish it creates straight from the machine.
As someone who regularly experiments with new 3D printing filaments, the comprehensive breakdown MatterHackers has created in support of their product is impressive. They put their money where their mouth is to demonstrate the material. Currently available for purchase, I’m excited to read some third-party reviews of the filament to confirm what Matterhackers has already suggested.
NylonX
PLA
Posted in 3D Printing Materials
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Alfred Goodrich wrote on 03/12/2019 1:47:32 AM:
Hello, has anyone published the elastic modulus for NylonX?
Trebor Smith wrote on 2/12/2018 7:39:42 AM:
“I worry that a lot of companies don’t really understand materials science, they just jump on a conveyor belt. Chopped strand carbon adds next to nothing to the strength of the material. Carbon fiber works as a woven cloth, not as powdered strands,” I suppose they know, but they count on their customers not to know. However, it is possible that the small fibers will reduce the shrinkage significantly. And they seem to help some properties at the expense of much higher cost and nozzle wear.
Victor wrote on 04/14/2017 at 7:33:15 pm:
Hello … in which 3D printer can the NylonX filament be best used … Thank you
Taylor wrote on October 17th, 2016 at 6:22:22 pm:
Taulman 645, a nylon copolymer, was tested. We would have done more testing with nylon materials, but it’s too flexible for this test. Nylon is an excellent material for its toughness (among other things), but these tests do not highlight those strengths. We’re going to include nylon 910 in the carabiner test based on multiple requests, but it hasn’t performed as many have expected due to its flexibility.
Rafael Vidal Peres wrote on October 15, 2016 12:55:14 pm:
What about testing layer adhesion with standard objects?
The cook wrote on October 15, 2016 11:49:15 am:
Quite meaningless figures with no comparison of nylon without carbon fiber. I worry that a lot of companies don’t really understand materials science, they just jump on a conveyor belt. Chopped strand carbon contributes next to nothing to the strength of the material. Carbon fiber acts as a woven cloth, not as powdered threads. Carbon fiber is inherently slippery and so easily pulls out of the material with which it is not networked. Even wood fibers beat CF in these applications, because the fluffy fiber links the carrier material like fine roots hold the soil together.
