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Nylon, a branch of synthetic polymers, is a tough and durable material originally seen in textiles. The technical name for the material is polyamide (PA), while the common name is “nylon” (despite some still associating it with stockings). The material stands out for its toughness and resistance to high temperatures and impacts. It also has a very low coefficient of friction.

Nylon comes in a few variants, which are designated by numbers. Two common ones are PA 11 and PA 12, which have strong all-round properties and low moisture absorption (more on this later). Between the two, PA 11 has higher temperature and UV resistance, along with better flexibility. Regardless, both materials are most commonly used with SLS and MJF technologies, and not in filament-based processes. As such, they’re largely out of the scope of this article.

More common in filament-based printing, along with manufacturing in general, are PA 6 and PA 66. Both are popular for their high processability and low cost, with PA 6 more common in 3D printing for its slightly better processability. These materials, however, suffer from higher moisture absorption, which can degrade the polymers. As such, proper material storage is a must.

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The Best Nylon Filament Brands

Printing & Storage

We recommend printing nylon directly from a moisture-controlled spool holder (Source: Richard Evans via Thingiverse)

Nylon used to be quite a challenging material to print with, but manufacturers have made it much more approachable in recent years. While you shouldn’t expect it to print as easily as PLA or PETG, printability shouldn’t be a deal-breaker for entry. Here are the basic print settings we recommend for nylon:

Nozzle temperature: 240-290 °C
Bed temperature: Up to 65 °C
Bed surface: PVA glue stick, Magigoo, Garolite, 3DLac
Print speed: 25-50 mm/s
Fan speed: 0-50%
Enclosure: Recommended, but not necessary

Nylon filament can be a little bit challenging to print due to its tendency to warp. The best surfaces that you can use are garolite sheets and glass sheets. PEI usually doesn’t stick well to PA. To obtain the best results, you should use a PVA glue stick on the build plate to avoid warping, especially on small features and corners.

You should also remember that bed temperature is crucial for good adhesion with this material. Try setting it to 70 °C and work your way up to 90 °C if the filament refuses to stick to the plate.

While these general settings should serve you well, materials vary by manufacturer. Before printing anything, it’s always a good idea to check the recommended settings.

Storage

As we’ve alluded to, proper storage for nylon is critical. The variants used in 3D printing are extremely hygroscopic, meaning they absorb moisture. This moisture degrades the material and yields poor print quality and strength.

To avoid wet filament problems, store your filament in a dry environment. We recommend a few options in our filament storage guide. Since nylon can go bad in even a few hours, we also recommend printing directly from a humidity-controlled container. This could be a dry box with a filament feed hole or a humidity-controlled spool holder.

Should your nylon pick up some moisture, you’ll want to dry your filament.

With that said, we’re ready to get into the best nylon brands!

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The Best Nylon Filament Brands

Taulman3D

What color do you use the most? (Source: Taulman3D)

Taulman3D offers seven different types of nylons, the most popular being the Bridge Nylon. The company’s goal with this filament was to maintain the tensile strength of the Nylon while reducing warping and absorption of moisture, improving their previous nylons. It’s only available in natural and black, but you can buy 0.45-kg and 3.5-kg spools in addition to the 1 kg ones.

Although the company suggests using a temperature between 250 °C and 255 °C, users on Amazon have found that it’s easier to print this filament between 240 °C and 250 °C, with a bed temperature of 45 °C.

Nozzle temperature: 250-255 °C
Bed temperature: 30-65 °C
Diameters: 1.75 mm, 2.85 mm
Price: ~$30 for a 1-kg spool
Colors: Black Indigo, natural

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The Best Nylon Filament Brands

Overture Nylon

Overture Nylon is an affordable filament option for makers – especially beginners – looking to produce good results at minimal cost. Since it has anti-warping properties, it will eliminate many issues when it comes to 3D printing with nylon filament. Additionally, it’s odorless.

However, it’s a little brittle, so it may crack under certain pressure. That said, at an affordable price point and with minimal warping, it’s ideal for beginners.

Nozzle temperature: 250-270 °C
Bed temperature: 25-50 °C
Diameter: 1.75 mm
Price: ∼$30 for a 1-kg spool
Colors: Black, gray

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The Best Nylon Filament Brands

eSun ePA Nylon

The eSun ePA Nylon filament offers mid-range quality and is solid as well as tough. It’s also flame retardant, with a level of UL94-V2. As it comes in a natural color, it’s ideal for painting. For first layer adhesion, a first layer print speed of 10 mm/s works well.

With all that said, this filament does warp and has difficulty with printing sharp corners. However, this can be fixed with a brim to hold down sharp edges and PVA glue stick on the bed surface. For larger models, it’s recommended that you use a thicker brim as well as increase the flow rate.

Nozzle temperature: 230-260 °C
Bed temperature: 80 °C
Diameter: 1.75 mm
Price: ∼$32 for a 1-kg spool
Colors: Natural (ideal for dyeing)

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The Best Nylon Filament Brands

Polymaker PolyMide CoPA

A copolymer of PA 6 and PA 66, Polymaker PolyMide CoPA is designed with both printability and performance in mind. It features spectacularly low warping while only softening at an impressive 180 °C. This unique combination of features makes printing for demanding applications significantly more straightforward.

Nozzle temperature: 250-270 °C
Bed temperature: 25-50 °C
Diameters: 1.75 mm, 2.85 mm
Price: ~$50 for a 0.75-kg spool
Colors: Black, natural

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The Best Nylon Filament Brands

Fillamentum

Fillamentum is a well-known company in the filament industry, founded in 2011. It offers a long list of materials for 3D printing, including three types of nylons: CF15 Carbon for continually stressed parts, AF80 Aramid for components that are subjected to a lot of friction, and FX256 for the strongest functional parts. They also offer some cool colors, such as red, blue, and two different shades of grey, in addition to black and white.

Fillamentum Nylon C15 Carbon

Nozzle temperature: 235-260 °C
Bed temperature: 80-110 °C
Diameters: 1.75 mm, 2.85 mm
Price: ~$65 for a 1-kg spool
Color: Black

Fillamentum Nylon AF80 Aramid

Nozzle temperature: 235-260 °C
Bed temperature: 80-110 °C
Diameters: 1.75 mm, 2.85 mm
Price: ~$85 for a 1-kg spool
Color: Natural

Fillamentum Nylon FX256

Nozzle temperature: 235-260 °C
Bed temperature: 80-110 °C
Diameters: 1.75 mm, 2.85 mm
Price: ~$85 for a 1-kg spool
Colors: Traffic Black, Metallic Grey, Vertigo Grey as well as natural, red, and blue

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The Best Nylon Filament Brands

ColorFabb PA Neat

PA Neat from premium filament maker ColorFabb boasts features similar to Polymaker’s PolyMide CoPA. Also tuned for low warping, it’s capable of surviving continued use at 120 °C while retaining mechanical properties (a different metric than softening temperature). Tensile strength is also slightly higher than PolyMide CoPA.

Note: This filament is stiff, so ColorFabb recommends that users of 2.85 mm filament use a spool mount with some friction between the spool and the spool holder to prevent unspooling.

Nozzle temperature: 265-290 °C
Bed temperature: Up to 50 °C
Diameters: 1.75 mm, 2.85 mm
Price: ~$55 for a 0.75-kg spool
Color: Black

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The Best Nylon Filament Brands

MatterHackers Pro Series Nylon

MatterHackers Pro Series Nylon is a well-priced, high-quality filament with a wide range of uses. While other nylon filaments only come in grayscale colors, Pro Series Nylon is available in a whole range of vibrant options. You’ll find this combination of price, quality, and excellent colors in few other places. For best results, use a PVA glue stick on the bed surface.

Nozzle temperature: 240-260 °C
Bed temperature: 60 °C
Diameters: 1.75 mm, 2.85 mm
Price: ~$62 for a 0.75-kg spool
Colors: Black, white, gray, green, blue, red, orange

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The Best Nylon Filament Brands

UltiMaker Nylon

Another copolymer of PA 6 and PA 66, UltiMaker Nylon is a premium filament. It offers solid all-round performance and has been tuned for lower moisture absorption. UltiMaker and Cura users will also benefit from integration into the UltiMaker ecosystem.

For those with UltiMaker’s S5 Pro Bundle, nylon’s finicky storage requirements can be taken care of with the Material Station.

Nozzle temperature: 230-260 °C
Bed temperature: 60-70 °C
Diameter: 2.85 mm
Price: ~$70 for a 0.75-kg spool
Colors: Black, transparent

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Composites

Nylon is often used as the base material for fiber-reinforced composite filaments. So, you’re likely to see nylon carbon fiber and nylon glass fiber in the assortment of your favorite filament brands. Below are just a few of the many options out there.

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The Best Nylon Filament Brands

MatterHackers Nylon Composites

Matterhacker also produces a high-performance line of nylon composites. These three filaments are infused with various other materials for specific properties and applications: NylonX has carbon fibers for stiffness and strength, NylonG has glass fibers for impact resistance, and NylonK has Kevlar fibers for abrasion resistance. Depending on what you need, you can pick the right material with the right properties for a range of demanding applications.

MatterHackers NylonX

Nozzle temperature: 250-265 °C
Bed temperature: 60-65 °C
Diameters: 1.75 mm, 2.85 mm
Price: ~$58 for a 0.5-kg spool
Color: Black

MatterHackers NylonG

Nozzle temperature: 245-265 °C
Bed temperature: 65 °C
Diameters: 1.75 mm, 2.85 mm
Price: ~$64 for a 0.5-kg spool
Colors: Olive green, Desert Tan, as well as white, red, orange, blue, and silver

MatterHackers NylonK

Nozzle temperature: 250-265 °C
Bed temperature: 60-65 °C
Diameters: 1.75 mm, 2.85 mm
Price: ~$68 for a 0.5-kg spool
Color: Black

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The Best Nylon Filament Brands

Prusament PA11 Carbon Fiber

Upgrade your 3D printer! (Source: InformalAlbatross985 via Reddit)

Prusa Research is one of the oldest and most famous 3D printing companies on the market. Along with 3D printers, it produces high-quality filaments, including Prusament PA11 Carbon Fiber, a blend of nylon and recycled carbon fibers. This filament has a 4.5-star rating, and it’s considered one of the strongest nylons around.

Since the filament tends to warp, you should consider using a brim for your parts, especiallly for longer pieces.

Nozzle temperature: 280-290 °C
Bed temperature: 100-120 °C
Diameter: 1.75 mm
Price: ~$100 for an 0.8-kg spool
Color: Black

Prusament PA (Nylon)

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The Best Nylon Filament Brands

ColorFabb PA-CF Low Warp

Brackets 3D printed in ColorFabb's PA-CF Low Warp (Source: ColorFabb)

ColorFabb PA-CF Low Warp has many of the benefits of ColorFabb’s PA Neat: It also prints nearly warp-free and features a continuous service temperature of 120 °C. What it has over PA Neat is the addition of carbon fibers. These dramatically increase the stiffness and tensile strength of the material, which makes it perfect for parts that have to be strong and hold their shape.

Like PA Neat, this filament is stiff, so ColorFabb recommends that users of 2.85 mm filament use a spool mount with some friction between the spool and the spool holder to prevent unspooling.