Best for
Unfilled
- Snap-fit clips and closures
- Press-fit inserts
- Clamps and fasteners
- Quiet light-duty gears
Carbon-filled
- CNC soft jaws and drill guides
- Conveyor pallet risers
- Sheet-metal forming dies
- Engine airbox test pieces
Glass-filled
- Insulating connector casings
- Watch cases
Not the right choice for
- Loaded parts that run hot, in the unfilled grade
- Parts that need their dry strength in damp air
Nylon (PA12) as a printed part
Its real strengths are sliding wear and low water uptake for a nylon.
Key properties
| Tensile strength | 49 to 53 MPa unfilled, 72 to 124 MPa carbon-filled, 51 to 82 MPa glass-filled |
|---|---|
| Heat deflection | 75 to 95 C at 0.45 MPa, 55 to 84 C at 1.80 MPa unfilled; 131 to 168 C at 0.45 MPa, 105 to 154 C at 1.80 MPa carbon-filled; 150 C at 0.45 MPa glass-filled |
| Fatigue | 7.4 MPa fatigue limit |
| Water uptake | about 0.7 percent in room air |
What to use instead
- Nylon (PA6) when you need more stiffness and more heat.
- Polypropylene (PP) when chemical resistance matters more than stiffness.
- TPU when what you actually want is compliance, not a stiff part.
The FDM material selector narrows the whole range by operating temperature, load, chemical exposure, and budget.