1 Topic by insta

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Topic: Glass filled Nylon resin -- what size are the glass beads?

I see Nylon 6 all over eBay for about $3/lb, but it's usually ~ 30-40% glass filled.  My impression is this makes some stupid strong plastic, but I have concerns about the abrasive properties of glass, and the clogging behavior of the filler.

I've tried looking for TEN WHOLE MINUTES and found nothing, and as my lunch break is ending I figured I'll see if anyone has tried this before or dealt with it.  The problem I was running into was most of the specifications I found were about tensile properties, rather than melt flow or whatever.

1) Does the filastruder get to a high enough temperature to handle GF nylon?
2) Will GF nylon damage the filastruder?
3) Will GF nylon polish the barrel of the filastruder and make it extrude slower or not at all?
4) Will GF nylon plug the melt filter with glass fibers?

Most of the stuff I thought I saw said the glass fibers were on the single-digit micron orders of thickness, which would pass through our machines without any issue.  I'm just curious if anyone has looked into this before.

2 Reply by insta

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Re: Glass filled Nylon resin -- what size are the glass beads?

http://www2.basf.us//PLASTICSWEB/displa … e180004882

That document puts the particle diameter at 25 micrometers and smaller.  This is very promising for extrusion possibilities...

3 Reply by elmoret

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Re: Glass filled Nylon resin -- what size are the glass beads?

Glass filled nylon is stronger, but not "stupid strong". Typically you can roughly double the tensile modulus, at the expense of impact strength and tensile strength - basically, it makes the part more like glass than plastic - stiff, but easily shattered by impact and not as strong in tension.

To answer your questions:

1.) Depends largely on the polymer, not whether it is glass filled. Keep in mind the Filastruder reports/controls melt temp - MG94 ABS is recommended to process at 220C, but that's 180C at the nozzle on a Filastruder. Nylon 6 should be fine unless it has some crazy additive.
2.) I cannot think of a reason why, except what I will mention in 2 and 3.
3.) I don't think that this matters as much as I used to. I think heat along the barrel matters a lot, but barrel surface roughness not so much. Industrial extruders use polished barrels.
4.) No. Melt filter has 250 micron openings.

Other thoughts:
- Glass filled may wear away the printer nozzle. 50 microns of wear on the Filastruder nozzle isn't so bad. 50 microns of wear on a printer nozzle is more than 20%.
- Your parts won't benefit as much as you might think, as layer bonding will not be improved with glass fibers - and layer bonding is typically the first failure point on an FDM part.

But hey - a $3/lb, what do you have to lose?

Filastruder - the robust, inexpensive filament extruder
E3Dv6 All Metal Hotend - the premier 3D printing hotend

4 Reply by Barafu Albino (edited by Barafu Albino 2014-04-18 19:27:34)

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Re: Glass filled Nylon resin -- what size are the glass beads?

Hey, here in Russia we consider this stuff (I mean plastic with glass powder) toxic, and we are not known for being picky on health problems. It is class 3 out of 4 - requires ventilation and simple respirator to handle. The trouble with this plastic is that it is said to release a lot of glass dust during "the processing". I couldn't find if by processing it means melting/casting or mechanical machining, so just be careful.
I am going to build my filastruder into a box and vent air from it into a filter. I just recommend you do the same before experimenting with this glass stuff.

5 Reply by insta

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Re: Glass filled Nylon resin -- what size are the glass beads?

Great input both ways.  I could easily see that being the case with machining -- a lot of GF nylon is cast into shapes and then milled or lathed.  I generally don't hang around while the filastruder is running.  I have a loud motor on mine, so I get it running and come back every day or so to fill more pellets.  Plus if I stay out of the room I don't step on my coil of plastic on the floor smile

I will absolutely use a respirator when I handle it, especially as I open the bag and pour the pellets.  Thank you again for the feedback.