Nylon
Nylon (polyamide) is a family of tough, wear-resistant thermoplastics used in FDM 3D printing for clips, hinges, and parts that slide or flex. It stretches a long way before breaking, but it absorbs water from the air, which makes it harder to print and changes its stiffness in use.
Updated 28 Sep 2026 · 4 min read · By Wyntek
What nylon is
Nylon is the common name for polyamides, a family of plastics named by numbers that describe their chemistry. Filament makers sell PA6, PA12, and copolymers such as PA6/66, which blend two types in one plastic. PA12 grades absorb less water than PA6, so their properties drift less with humidity.
What sets nylon apart is ductility. In Ultimaker's printed tests, nylon bars stretched more than 120% in the plane of the layers before breaking, while PLA, PETG, and ABS all broke below 8%. That is why nylon suits parts that flex, clip, or take impacts.
Typical properties
| Property | Typical value | What it means for a part |
|---|---|---|
| Tensile strength, in-plane | 63 to 65 MPa at yield | The strongest common filament along the layers |
| Tensile strength, across layers | About 23 MPa at break | About a third of the in-plane value |
| Elongation at break | Over 120% in-plane, under 2% across layers | Stretches along the layers but snaps across them |
| Stiffness (tensile modulus) | About 2.3 GPa as printed | Falls sharply as the part absorbs water |
| Notched impact (Charpy) | About 14 kJ/m² | Similar to ABS, well above PLA or PETG |
| Heat deflection at 0.455 MPa | About 89 °C (192 °F) | Polymaker lists 111 °C (232 °F) for its PA6/66 grade |
| Density | 1.14 g/cm³ | About 8% lighter than PLA for the same part |
These are printed test bars at 100% infill, conditioned for a day at room temperature before testing. Real parts with walls and partial infill are weaker, and parts that have taken on water from the air are more flexible and less strong than the table suggests.
How moisture changes nylon
Nylon is hygroscopic: it pulls water from the air. Prusa notes that badly stored filament can absorb water weighing up to 10% of its own weight, and that wet filament prints with bubbles and uneven layers. Makers call for drying before printing, from at least 4 hours below 90 °C (Prusa) to 8 hours at 100 °C (Polymaker).
The effect continues after printing, because the part keeps exchanging water with the air. Polymaker tested printed bars of its PA6/66 copolymer dry and again after soaking them to 6.2% moisture.
| Property | Dry | Wet (6.2% moisture) |
|---|---|---|
| Tensile strength | 78 MPa | 34 MPa |
| Stiffness (Young's modulus) | 2.7 GPa | 0.7 GPa |
| Notched impact | 6.9 kJ/m² | 27.7 kJ/m² |
Wet nylon is weaker and far more flexible, but also much tougher. In normal indoor air a part settles between these two extremes, so judge it in the conditions it will live in.
Where nylon works well
- Snap fits, clips, and living hinges that must flex without cracking.
- Sliding and rubbing parts such as bushings, guides, and gears, thanks to its low friction and abrasion resistance.
- Tough functional prototypes, tooling, and jigs that get handled roughly.
- Parts exposed to alkalis and many organic chemicals, which Ultimaker notes nylon resists well.
Limits to design around
- Moisture. Printed nylon keeps absorbing water, so its stiffness, strength, and exact size shift with humidity.
- Weak across layers. Upright features snap at under 2% strain, so hinges and clips must flex along the layers.
- Low stiffness. Nylon is tough in thick sections but flexible in thin ones, so long, thin panels need ribs or a stiffer material.
- Warping. Nylon warps as it cools and prints best in a hot enclosure, which makes it the hardest of the common filaments to print.
- Food contact. Printed nylon is not a food-safe part, and Ultimaker lists food contact as unsuitable.
Designing parts for nylon
- Lay hinges, clips, and snap arms flat on the build plate so they bend along the layers.
- Allow extra clearance on fits, because nylon changes size slightly as it absorbs water.
- Add stiffness with ribs rather than thick solid sections.
- Round internal corners so flexing features spread their strain.
- Judge stiffness after the part has settled in normal air. Freshly printed, dry nylon is stiffer than the same part after it takes on moisture.
At Wyntek
Nylon is available on Wyntek's Max and Enterprise plans. Upload your file, choose FDM and nylon, and you see the price in US dollars before you submit. Every part is scanned and inspected before it ships, with tracked shipping worldwide.
Print a part in nylon