OT- Nylon printed part strength

I recently posted some pictures of FFF 3D printed parts in the hope that it may help those who are considering a 3D printer for their workshop.

Continuing in the same theme I'll post here a link to a fellow Aussie's Youtube channel where he prints and tests some new filament from a US manufacturer. I use some of the same manufacturer's nylon also, called "Bridge Nylon", I can't recall the exact type of nylon that uses, and is largely proprietary anyway. It prints well, however is often too flexible to be of use for many projects. This new 910 formula seems to be much stiffer.

Now before anyone piles on me, this video is NOT about machining applications, however I thought it may be of interest to some here as I think it shows in plain English if you like, the strength and flexibility of the material using a real world example that we can all relate to (ie some pliers and brute strength).

Some people have claimed there are/will be many changes in the hardware surrounding FFF printers and I'm afraid I don't really subscribe to that. An FFF 3D printer is quite basic and just drives a hotend around in space. Big deal! However there is currently a true revolution in filament going on right now that is honestly hard to keep up with. Every week or two a manufacturer somewhere releases some new filament that is often quite significant. I've seen a printer that can directly print carbon fibre/nylon and it's mind blowing the strength/weight ratio of some well designed parts off it due to the fact parts are typically hollow with infill.

Anyway, here's the link and hope it can put real world perspective on some of the plastic (in this case nylon) available to be printed. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8_pt_05BqYk

That material actually looks like a pretty good pick for parts that might have been cut from solid stock Nylon. The difference in the rigidity between the two different samples is pretty plain to see.

Based on machining a lot of Nylon 6/6 parts, that printed part looks pretty similar in stiffness for the thickness, while the earlier sample he shows has the apparent integrity of a wet spaghetti noodle.

Interesting video, and no outrageous claims or apparent beliefs that 3D printing somehow equates to a Star Trek replicator, either , which is nice!

Cheers
Trev

Pete F said:

I've seen a printer that can directly print carbon fibre/nylon and it's mind blowing the strength/weight ratio of some well designed parts off it due to the fact parts are typically hollow with infill.

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Hi Pete - would that be MarkForged, or another company? Just curious...

Milland said:

Hi Pete - would that be MarkForged, or another company? Just curious...

Click to expand...

Yes I believe it was Markforged, the machine itself doesn't look familiar, but that was definitely the concept. Very high strength components coming off it. There are a few machines like this that really stand out in their respective fields, and this is one of them.

Trev I have a part from so called "Bridge" nylon that printed fine, but it's too flexible. It was to be a camera mount, but the design didn't account for the significant flexibility. It's floating around the place and when I get an opportunity I will destroy it, all in the name of science, just to see how strong it is. The printed nylon parts are virtually indestructible, but do lack rigidity. That may be a good thing in some applications, but it would really depend.

Bridge is a good material - If you want something with a little more rigidity, try Alloy 910 from the same company (Taulman). WAY more rigid. The 645 stuff is good as well.