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PA - Nylon Printing  

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hyiger
(@hyiger)
Honorable Member
RE: PA - Nylon Printing

Further to this, my go to Nylon is Siraya Tech PPA (polyphthalamide). But, wow, is it hydroscopic... Prints really well but can only be printed straight from the drier. Even after a day in a 10% dry box with 48% ambient RH, I could hear the water sizzling and popping when attempting to print it. So back to the dryer for another round. I haven't done any big prints with it yet (> 6hrs) but I suspect if I ever have to it would require printing direct from the dryer whilst it is on. 

Posted : 28/09/2025 5:03 pm
sysoptiger
(@sysoptiger)
Eminent Member
RE: PA - Nylon Printing

Hello,I am currently printing with Fiberthree F3 PA CF Pro with the Core One and am experiencing significant stringing.
I have already entered the retraction settings.
Does anyone have the optimal settings or any hints for me?
Could it be moisture in the filament?
Attached picture of my desaster printing 🙁

Regards,Peter

Posted : 03/10/2025 10:07 am
tsamisa
(@tsamisa)
Reputable Member
RE: PA - Nylon Printing

I opened yesterday a new spool of esun ePA-CF (20% CF and 6/66 NYLON) . Its in a really decent price but ive read a lot of comments before using it that said that is extremely hygroscopic so i dried it in 80 degrees for 14 hours before using. I have to say that im very happy with the results. Its  the first time i use yhis filament so i dont know what the behaviour will be after a while. I printed an idler mod for the XL extruder that will be used in the enclosure. I use the nylon sheet from Prusa at 80 degrees withh 280 for the extruder. 0.15 layer height no stringing.

Posted : 03/10/2025 10:22 am
mark
 mark
(@mark)
Reputable Member
RE: PA - Nylon Printing
Posted by: @sysoptiger

Hello,I am currently printing with Fiberthree F3 PA CF Pro with the Core One and am experiencing significant stringing.
I have already entered the retraction settings.
Does anyone have the optimal settings or any hints for me?
Could it be moisture in the filament?
Attached picture of my desaster printing 🙁

Regards,Peter

If you did not dry it, the answer is always yes for moisture in PA filament. Drying always makes things better with no downside. Changing settings like retraction will affect other stuff such as surface finish. So, dry first, then start messing with settings.

You should include larger images inline using the Add Media button. Then people can see much better.

Regards,

Mark

Posted : 03/10/2025 11:51 am
mark
 mark
(@mark)
Reputable Member
RE: PA - Nylon Printing
Posted by: @mark
Posted by: @sysoptiger

Hello,I am currently printing with Fiberthree F3 PA CF Pro with the Core One and am experiencing significant stringing.
I have already entered the retraction settings.
Does anyone have the optimal settings or any hints for me?
Could it be moisture in the filament?
Attached picture of my desaster printing 🙁

Regards,Peter

If you did not dry it, the answer is always yes for moisture in PA filament. Drying always makes things better with no downside. Changing settings like retraction will affect other stuff such as surface finish. So, dry first, then start messing with settings.

You should include larger images inline using the Add Media button. Then people can see much better.

Regards,

Mark

Edit does not work on this forum any more.

That looks like a challenging thing to print on an FDM printer. Large holes and overhangs may require supports. Basically, anything that is printed in thin air is difficult. Unfortunately, many designs online are not done well for FDM printing with difficult to print materials.

Regards,

Mark

Posted : 03/10/2025 11:57 am
Artur5
(@artur5)
Honorable Member
RE: PA - Nylon Printing

Dry yes, but no need to go up to 14 hours at 80C for nylon, that's overkill. Unless that spool has been left in the open for a long time, 4-5 hours at 80C is more reasonable.

Finding the the right combination of time and temperature is the key. Keep in mind that below certain temperatures, you can't dry well some types of filaments, regardless of  how many hours, or even days, you leave the spool in the drier. That's specially true for TPU, PC and Nylon.  Drying those filaments at 50C is a waste of time and money. 

Posted : 03/10/2025 1:59 pm
sysoptiger
(@sysoptiger)
Eminent Member
RE: PA - Nylon Printing

Hi,

for the next print, I have supports in a tree structure.
Maybe that's better. I've had the roll in the Creality dryer at 70° for 4 hours now (it's maximum heat), printing is in progress, and it's already looking much better.
The part in the picture with tree supports is next.
I don't have enough experience with this filament, but it'll be fine.

Think my first picture has no need to make larger pics, you see at once it is  horrible 😉
Did you mean larger or closer on details?

Best regards

Peter

Posted : 03/10/2025 2:31 pm
mark
 mark
(@mark)
Reputable Member
RE: PA - Nylon Printing
Posted by: @sysoptiger

Hi,

for the next print, I have supports in a tree structure.
Maybe that's better. I've had the roll in the Creality dryer at 70° for 4 hours now (it's maximum heat), printing is in progress, and it's already looking much better.
The part in the picture with tree supports is next.
I don't have enough experience with this filament, but it'll be fine.

Think my first picture has no need to make larger pics, you see at once it is  horrible 😉
Did you mean larger or closer on details?

Best regards

Peter

I mean posting higher resolution pictures inline, so you can see more detail, and don't have to do one more click to see it. The Add Media button can accomplish this. I generally post 1200 or even 1600 pixel wide pics.

Regards,

Mark

Posted : 03/10/2025 5:14 pm
hyiger
(@hyiger)
Honorable Member
RE: PA - Nylon Printing

One thing I've been reading about Nylon based filament and I haven't experienced yet, is that it can become brittle and unusable if it goes in and out of the dryer too many times. I assume that's probably a function of whether the base is PA6, PA6/66, PA12 and whether or not carbon or glass fibers are mixed in. 

Posted : 03/10/2025 5:21 pm
Chris Jerome
(@chris-jerome)
Member
RE:

Hi, I have been printing for several years on an Ender 3 Pro with a sprite extruder, and I am thinking about upgrading to a Prusa CoreOne. I am trying to print a lot of small nylon parts (on the order of 1 cm^3) for model sailboats using nylon - I am using MatterHacker Pro PA6/66. This is very hit and miss with the Ender. Sometimes pretty good prints (functional enough) and then immediately after with the same part and conditions, problems - distorted shapes, lousy adhesion, whatever. I'm planning to buy the standard CoreOne kit - can I expect better and more consistent results with nylon with this machine? It's not clear to me what the standard bed is - should I get something specific for nylon? I have had the best results with gerulite on the Ender, although glass with glue stick also works (usually/sometimes). I just don't want to spend $1k for a new printer and still be pulling my hair out to get consistent nylon prints. Thanks!

BTW, I spool the nylon out of a dry box (3Dgenius) and store it in vacuum-sealed bags with dessicant. 

This post was modified 8 hours ago by Chris Jerome
Posted : 18/10/2025 4:45 pm
hyiger
(@hyiger)
Honorable Member
RE:

 

Posted by: @chris-jerome

BTW, I spool the nylon out of a dry box (3Dgenius) and store it in vacuum-sealed bags with dessicant. 

I've been printing a lot of nylon on the Core One. In particular PA6 based nylons. Prior to printing, the spool needs to go into the dryer beforehand at >80C for 6-8hrs and should be printed immediately after transferring to a dry box (or print from the dryer). Even storing nylon at an RA of <10% it will absorb enough moisture that it will need to be dried again after 2 days. Printing a spool exposed to ambient humidity is only good for a few hours (less in a humid location). After printing if its a functional part, it should be annealed and water treated. Nylon is an excellent material but it's a PITA to print and post process compared to other filaments. 

This post was modified 7 hours ago 2 times by hyiger
Posted : 18/10/2025 6:21 pm
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