PA11 Onyx - Nylon-11 powder

Aliphatic polyamides or nylons have been, since their appearance, one of the most widely used families of thermoplastic polymers in practically all industrial sectors, from textiles to aeronautics.

Nylon-11 is one of the polymers included in this family. Along with nylon-12, it is one of the aliphatic polyamides with the lowest melting temperature and lowest hygroscopicity, making it ideal for use in 3D SLS printing.

This last property is of great importance. During the 3D printing process the powder is heated to high temperatures, removing the hydration water during the process. A material with a high water absortion vapacity will release high amounts of water during the printing process, reducing its volume and being able to interfere in the sintering process.

Image 1: Nylons water absortion plot. Source: http://www.plastix-world.com

Although PA11 is not as common as PA12 in 3D printing due to its higher melting point and requiring an inert atmosphere, its better mechanical properties make it a perfect material for those components subjected to more demanding conditions.

PA11 Onyx is a nylon-11 powder specially formulated by Sinterit for its Lisa Pro printer. It stands out mainly for its good mechanical properties, especially its impact resistance.

It has an ultimate tensile strength of 54 MPa with an elongation of 40%, a flexural strength of 62 MPa, as well as an impact resistance of 179 KJ/m², which makes it a highly versatile material. Furthermore, its low hygroscopicity makes its dimensional stability very good, especially in environments with high variations in temperature and humidity.

Video 1: PA11 Onyx promotional video. Source: Sinterit

Among its main applications we can find:

• Due to its low water absorption and its high dimensional stability, it is an ideal material to produce hydraulic components, pipes or medical catheters.
• Protectors, housings and components subjected to impact stress, such as housings for field work products or sports protectors.
• Components that are subjected to harsh conditions of humidity, temperature, chemical environment or solar radiation.

Image 2:Housings printed with PA11 Onyx. Source:Sinterit

For all these reasons it is an ideal material for those more demanding applications where PA12 is not enough.