SLS Materials

NW Rapid Manufacturing's Selective Laser Sintering systems produce fully functional prototypes and lightweight products of any complexity using polyamide or polystyrene materials. The design parameters of your application will determine the material used. Most of the materials are specialized and/or derivations of nylon.

Nylon 12 Base Materials

  • Economical
  • Lightweight
  • Rugged
  • Durable
  • UV-resistant 
  • Excellent chemical resistance

Nylon 11 Base Materials

  • Lightweight
  • High impact resistance
  • High pressure resistance
  • More ductile than nylon 12

Polystyrene PrimeCast 101

  • Master patterns for investment casting
  • Master patterns for vacuum casting
  • High dimensional accuracy
  • Low residual ash content when burned

Stock Materials

  • Standard Nylon12 (PA2201)
  • Glass Filled Nylon12 (PA615-GS)

 

Standard Nylon 12 (PA2201)

Our standard Nylon 12 material is ideal for most applications. It is lightweight, tough, flexible yet rigid, and economical. It can be tumbled, dyed, painted, glued, drilled, tapped, and machined.  It has a melting point around 325°F and no porosity with wall thicknesses greater than 0.060” (1.5 mm). With its exceptional chemical, fuel, and UV- resistance, this material can be used for fuel and liquid storage. We have examples that have held 10psi for longer than three years with no fuel loss!

PA2201 is FDA certified (21 CFR §177.15009(b)) food safe, except for alcohol.

This material is white in color and will develop a patina with exposure to air that does not affect its mechanical properties. 

 

 

Glass-filled Nylon 12 (PA615-GS)

With a 50% fill of glass beads, his material will produce a strong and durable part with excellent dimensional stability. This makes PA615 very popular for tooling applications. The only drawback of this material is it produces a very heavy part as compared to all the other materials. This material is eggshell in color- a slightly creamy white.

*Non-Stock Materials

Non-Stock materials are buy the build. Increased lead times.

  • Fire Retardant Nylon 12 (PA606-FR)
  • Ultra-White Nylon 12 (PA2200)
  • Carbon Fiber Filled Nylon 12 (PA603-CF)
  • Mineral Fiber Filled Nylon 12 (PA620-MF)
  • Aluminum Filled Nylon 12 (Alumide)
  • Carbon Fiber and Glass Filled Nylon 12 (PA640-GSL)
  • Black Nylon 11 (PA850)
  • Carbon Fiber and Glass Filled Nylon1 1 (PA840-GSL)
  • Polystyrene (Primecast 101)

Fire Retardant Nylon 12 (PA606-FR)

Our PA606-FR fire retardant material is ideal for applications where FAR certification is required (meeting FAR 25.853 60 second burn specification) – typical applications would be aircraft, or other commercial transportation interiors, automotive interiors, laboratory ventilation and air handling. Parts will exhibit a smooth surface finish and sharp feature detail. Mechanical properties are similar to our standard Nylon 12.

 

Ultra-White Nylon 12 (PA2200)

This bright white powder is durable, rugged, economical and highly workable for secondary operations. It can be tumbled, dyed, painted, glued, drilled, tapped, ans machined. It has fantastic chemical resistance and a melting point around 325°F.

PA2200 has a Titanium Dioxide whitener in it and is USP Class VI certified for biocompatibility, so it is non-toxic to human cells. 

Carbon Fiber Filled Nylon 12 (PA603-CF)

Our Carbon Fiber filled Nylon 12 material provides a superior stiffness factor compared to our high performance Nylon 12. Its high tensile strength makes it perfectly suited for Motorsports applications, Unmanned Aerial Vehicles, Aerospace, and other applications where a high heat tolerance, strength, and resistance to wear are of paramount importance. Gray/Black in color, this material exhibits extreme smoothness when processed with our secondary finishing operations.

 

Mineral Fiber Filled Nylon 12 (PA620-MF)

This off-white material will produce a part with good dimensional stability, but without the brittleness that carbon fiber can impart.  Parts produced from this material are very strong and durable but lighter as compared to glass-filled materials and tend to have a greater mechanical stability than unfilled materials. 

Aluminum Filled Nylon 12 (Alumide)

Our aluminum flake filled Nylon 12 creates a product characterized by high stiffness and a somewhat metallic (silver color) appearance. This material provides superior dimensional accuracy, good thermal conductivity, easy post processing via machining, grinding, milling. Our secondary polishing processes can provide a surface with a somewhat metallic-looking finish. The aluminum powder creates a product that is somewhat brittle, so this material is not recommended for structural applications. This product should not be used in any application where contact with foodstuffs would be possible.

Carbon Fiber and Glass Filled Nylon 12 (PA640-GSL)

This dark grey material will produce a part with decent dimensional stability due to the carbon and will have increased durability over unfilled Nylon 12 because of the hollow glass beads. Parts produced from this material are very light as compared to all other materials - this material was developed for the UAV industry.  Since this material does contain carbon it is electrically conductive. 

Black Nylon 11 (PA850-BLK)

Our Nylon 11 material is used in applications that require slightly higher tensile strength at break along with a higher elongation factor. A true all-weather performer, it excels in extreme climates; it has a high impact resistance at sub-zero temperatures and high pressure resistance. It also possesses a low coefficient of friction. Nylon 11 is not biocompatible. Available in black.

 

Carbon Fiber and Glass Filled Nylon 11 (PA840-GSL)

This dark grey material will produce a part with decent dimensional stability due to the carbon, increased durability over unfilled Nylon 11 because of the hollow glass beads, and will have some flexibility because of being a Nylon 11- based material. Parts produced from this material are very light as compared to all other materials, having been developed for the UAV industry.  Since this material does contain carbon it is electrically conductive.  

Polystyrene (Primecast 101)

For the production of cast patterns we utilize a polystyrene material that has a low residual ash, and is easily processed after infiltration with wax.  PrimeCast 101 has excellent dimensional accuracy, very high surface quality, and a remaining ash content of 0.002%.

 

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