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Formlabs Nylon 12 GF powder – for stiff & heat-resistant components
Mar
We are pleased to announce that Formlabs is introducing Nylon 12 GF powder for the Formlabs Fuse 1 SLS 3D printer. Nylon 12 GF is a glass-filled material based on PA12. This material is ideal for the production of rigid, heat-resistant components. With this expansion of the Fuse 1’s material library, we are enabling engineers and manufacturers to produce new, industrial-grade products.
Formlabs Nylon 12 GF SLS powder is the third material developed specifically for the Fuse 1 ecosystem. It offers our customers the possibility to customize their internal production in a cost-effective way. The new material joins Formlabs Nylon 12 powder and, together with Nylon 11 powder, complements the current SLS material library. With these three materials, the Fuse 1 platform already enables the diversification of production with different material properties.
Formlabs Nylon 12 GF Powder combines the advantages of Nylon 12 with the stiffness and heat resistance of glass fillers. This makes Nylon 12 GF the material of choice for all applications that require permanent resilience and high heat resistance. This material is ideal for rigid, functional prototypes, robust devices, spare parts or components with threads or sleeves.
Possible applications of the Formlabs Nylon 12 GF
Automotive industry
The automotive industry uses brackets to hold heavy body parts at a certain angle. In this way, the parts are painted or additional components are attached to them. When the vehicle type changes, the brackets are often replaced as well. This is why the automotive industry regularly requires specific brackets in small quantities. However, the production of these brackets is expensive and takes a lot of time. As many car parts are made of metal, a lot of welding takes place during the assembly process. This means that all production tools are exposed to high levels of heat. 3D printing of nylon 12 GF Powder brackets is a cost-effective, fast and low-waste solution.
Electrical industry
The tensile modulus of Nylon 12 GF Powder also makes it a good option for electronics housings that need to be rigid and easy to assemble. Furthermore, SLS 3D printing offers additional design freedom. Since Nylon 12 GF Powder is suitable for the production of mountable parts, the entire housing can be made from one material. This means you don’t have to worry about adding brackets made of other materials or a different geometry.
Design & Jewelry Industry
Special tools and fixtures are often used in the design and jewelry industry. These are used to hold the workpieces in place during processing – often at high temperatures. Until now, these fixtures have mostly been made of wood or metal. Such custom-made or one-off items are therefore quite expensive for the manufacturer. With the Formlabs Fuse 1 SLS 3D printer and the Nylon 12 GF material, it is possible to produce thermally stable, customized fixtures in-house. This allows manufacturers and designers to streamline their processes, increase efficiency and improve part quality.
Medical technology
Customers who previously used Nylon 12 Powder for the manufacture of guide sleeves, medical products or wearables can now achieve even better mechanical properties with Nylon 12 GF.
| Industry | Application | Type of part | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Automotive and aerospace industry | Parts under load or in high temperature environments | vents, valves, carburetors | ||
| Manufacturing | Rigid, load-bearing supports and fixtures | Brackets for stabilizing products on the assembly line | ||
| Healthcare | Strong, rigid and stable medical devices and spare parts | Components for customizable medical devices for end users |
High-performance and versatile materials
Each material for the Fuse 1 system helps engineers and product designers solve specific problems or is suitable for specific applications. Let’s compare Nylon 12 GF Powder with the other materials for the Formlabs Fuse 1.
Formlabs Nylon 12 GF powder has the highest tensile modulus and the highest heat deflection temperature of all nylon powders. This makes it best suited for durable, stable parts that have to withstand permanent loads at high temperatures.
The tensile modulus of Nylon 12 GF is more than 50% higher than that of Nylon 12 and almost 75% higher than that of Nylon 11. If you need parts that are exposed to high loads over a long period of time and should not bend or stretch, then you should choose Nylon 12 GF. Possible applications include: Rigid, static fixtures, clamps, brackets and housings. All of these product types benefit from the strong, rigid mechanical properties of this new material.
With a heat deflection temperature (HDT @ 1.8 MPa) of 113°C, Nylon 12 GF can also withstand high temperatures. Many materials deform when exposed to high heat. As a result, they lose their dimensional stability. This happens in particular when a stressful application acts on the component at the same time. Formlabs Nylon 12 GF powder has the necessary thermal stability to withstand many applications in demanding environments.
Economical refresh rate & simplified material changes
The refresh ratio is the recommended percentage of fresh powder that is added to the used (and cleaned) powder when mixing a new powder cartridge. The minimum refresh ratio of Nylon 12 GF Powder is between 30% and 50%. This minimizes material consumption, optimizes the cost per part and improves the surface quality of the parts. The dosing and mixing of new cartridges is handled by the Fuse Sift. Users can manually adjust the refresh rate on the Fuse Sift touchscreen if required. This makes reworking and powder recovery easy for any team member.
Switching between Nylon 12 and Nylon 12 GF powder is much easier. This drastically reduces the cleaning time for Fuse 1 and Fuse Sift. Cleaning and preparation for new printing with the new material takes approximately two hours. Compared to the full day process required by many industrial SLS systems or when switching between Nylon 11 and Nylon 12 or Nylon 12 GF. This reduces downtime when changing materials, enabling in-house production of multiple materials with a single printer unit.
The Formlabs Fuse 1 SLS 3D printer uses Formlabs’ patented Surface Armor Technology. This creates a semi-sintered shell around the part. This process improves the surface quality and ensures the smoothest possible surface. When working with Nylon 12 GF powder, the semi-sintered shell must be removed with brushes in the Fuse Sift. It also requires post-processing with a blasting machine. Table blasting units (sandblasters) are available from a price of around CHF 250 and are a valuable addition to the SLS 3D printing workflow.
Increase the flexibility of your production with Nylon 12 GF
Until now, SLS 3D printers, which can also process high-performance materials such as glass-filled powders, have been very expensive for most SMEs. Until now, the production of industrial-quality parts from composite materials was reserved for machines costing several hundred thousand francs. With the Fuse 1 and the extended SLS material library, it is now possible to design, iterate and manufacture high-performance products at low cost.
With the new Nylon 12 GF, Formlabs is expanding its SLS material library. As a result, customers have better control over their in-house production. In addition, the fast material changeover expands their production options. Thanks to the high tensile modulus and good heat deflection temperature of the new glass-filled SLS powder, Fuse 1 customers now have even more industrial applications at their disposal.
Test the material yourself to see if it is suitable for your production. Contact us for a sample part or an individual sample print. We will be happy to provide you with further information or show you the machine in our showroom in Zurich.
