Engineering

Nylon: full cost overview

Nylon (PA6/PA12) is the engineering filament of choice for tough, slightly flexible mechanical parts: gears, hinges, snap-fits, jigs. Absorbs moisture aggressively from the air — must be dried before printing or it pops and strings horribly. Hardened nozzle recommended on PA-CF variants.

Specs

Typical price: ~$45.00/kg
Print temperature: 240–270 °C
Bed temperature: 70–90 °C
Enclosed chamber: Recommended
Food-safe: No
Difficulty: ★★★★★

When to use

• Functional mechanical parts (gears, hinges)
• Jigs, fixtures, tool handles
• Snap-fits that need repeat actuation
• Carbon-fiber composite jobs (PA-CF)

When NOT to use

• Hobbyist printers without filament drying
• Parts that absorb water in service
• Cosmetic prints (nylon prints rough)
• Tight-tolerance prototypes (warping)

How to print well in Nylon

Nylon (PA6 or PA12 in the most common variants) is the standard engineering filament for mechanical parts — gears, hinges, snap-fits, jigs. But it absorbs moisture from the air aggressively: filament left open for a day already prints poorly, with pops and horrible stringing. Pre-drying is mandatory (50 °C for 6-12 h) and printing in a dry environment is ideal. Nozzle 240-270 °C, bed 70-90 °C, enclosed chamber almost mandatory (Nylon shrinks substantially as it cools). Low cooling (0-20%). Bed adhesion is hard on smooth surfaces — use Magigoo PA, PVA glue, or Garolite (G10) which has natural adhesion. Carbon-fiber variants (PA-CF) demand a hardened nozzle from the factory — they'll eat a standard nozzle in hours.

Typical cost in practice

Nylon in the US runs $45-65/kg for brands like eSun ePA, Polymaker PolyMide and Hatchbox, and $80-120/kg for PA-CF (with carbon fiber). For a 60 g functional part (gear, mechanical bracket), filament cost is $2.70-3.90 — much higher than ABS or PETG, but justifiable where Nylon's mechanical resistance and toughness have no substitute. A 4× markup lands at $13-19 per part. Don't use Nylon for decoration — it's overkill. Use it for parts that will work under load, friction, or repeated impact.

Sample calculation

For a 50 g part on a Bambu Lab A1, 6 h print time and 8% failure rate. Currency follows your selection at the top.

Filament$2.25
Energy$0.14
Amortization$0.15
Failures (8%)$0.20
Unit Cost$2.74
Final Consumer Price (3× / 6% / 2%)$11.93

Best printers for Nylon

These models in our catalog handle Nylon reliably out of the box — picked by enclosure, hotend temperature and drive system, not marketing.

Nylon head-to-heads

ABS

~$22.00/kg · 230–260 °C

ASA

~$30.00/kg · 240–260 °C

~$45.00/kg · 260–300 °C