PA12 CF+ Industrial Raise3D

Raise3D is one of the leaders in industrial FDM printers and accessories. They are dedicated to finding cutting edge AM solutions for flexible manufacturing, to help companies improve their competitive advantage. Raise3D also makes 3D printing filaments. Their filament portfolio includes a wide range of basic, engineering and advanced filaments, such as PLA, PC, PVA, ABS, ASA, PETg, TPU and PA.

Video 1: The Raise 3D Industrial PA12 CF+ filament. Source: Raise3D.

Raise 3D PA12 CF+ Industrial is a filament based on the polymer polyamide 612, enriched with 15 % short carbon fibres with an optimised length distribution, to improve the mechanical, thermal and even surface quality of the printed part.

A durable and resistant engineering material

PA is an engineering thermoplastic, known most commonly under the name nylon. It is an affordable and extremely versatile material. It is extensively used in 3D printing due to its durability, flexibility, thermoplasticity, and resistance to abrasion, friction, corrosion and chemicals. Its first uses were mainly the manufacturing of consumer goods such as toothbrushes or women’s stockings. Nevertheless, nylon quickly found other more advanced uses. During WWII it was used in the US army to make parachutes, ropes, body armor and helmet liners.

Image 1: A part 3D printed with the Raise3D PA12 CF+ Industrial filament. Source: Raise3D.

Nowadays, nylon has diverse applications, for example in the automotive and aerospace industry, medicine and sports, as well as in the packaging and electronics industry. In 3D printing, nylon is used in the form of powder (SLS and MJF), pellets, and filament (FDM).

Enriching filaments with carbon fiber

Filaments designed for specialistic uses are frequently enriched with carbon fibers or glass fibers to make sure the filament is going to have the adequate thermomechanical behavior. The addition of carbon fiber (CF) adds rigidity, stiffness and dimensional stability. It also makes the material a valid substitute for aluminum parts due to its reduced weight.

Image 2: Chopped carbon fibres used in 3D printing. Source: Raise3D.

This set of properties makes CF loaded plastic ideal for the automotive industry (high tensile strength and modulus, and high temperature tolerance) and the aerospace industry (weight reduced up to 50 % with preserved functionality).

The PA12 CF+ Industrial filament by Raise3D

PA12 CF+ Industrial filament is based on PA612, a material that inherits the best characteristics of both PA6 and PA12. These characteristics include toughness, low water absorption, high resistance to heat, wear and chemicals, low shrinkage, high strength-to-weight ratio, high interlayer bonding quality (Z-directional strength) and excellent dimensional stability.

Image 3: A part 3D printed with Raise3D PA12 CF+ Industrial filament and a support filament. Source: Raise3D.

To further improve the thermal and mechanical properties of parts 3D printed with PA12 CF+ Industrial filament, parts can be annealed and, to create parts with complex geometries, PA12 CF Support filament or PVA+ support filament can be used in conjunction with PA CF+ Industrial.

When working with PA12 CF+ Industrial filament, a more wear-resistant nozzle and extrusion system is required to ensure consistent printing performance. It is therefore strongly recommended to print PA12 CF+ Industrial filament only on the Raise 3D E2CF 3D printer specialised in working with carbon fibre reinforced materials or on the Raise3D RMF500 3D printer specially designed to deliver ultra-fast and cost-effective results with fibre reinforced filaments.

Image 4: The Raise3D printers best suited to work with PA12 CF+ Industrial filament. Source: Raise3D.

Thanks to its advanced thermo-mechanical properties, strength, toughness, toughness and light weight, PA12 CF+ industrial filament is an ideal material for light and tough end-use applications such as jigs, fixtures and all kinds of manufacturing aids or functional parts in the fields of manufacturing, automotive and aerospace.