
PA11 is a biocompatible nylon material that is durable and flexible, making it optimal for use in exterior medical applications. Our PA11 is printed using SLS technology, which uses a laser to sinter nylon powder into plastic layer by layer. It is tensile, durable, and impact-resistant with high elongation at break. PA11 is offered in a natural white finish.
External medical devices, automotive, sports equipment, loaded functional prototypes, hinges
PA11 is white and has a slightly rough surface and matte finish.
Production times depend on the model size and chosen finish, but usually products ship between 4 and 6 business days with Priority manufacturing. If you need your product faster, try our Rush service available in checkout (some limitations apply). The shipping time depends on your location and your chosen speed.
To 3D print this material, we start with a bed of Nylon powder and selectively sinter the powder with a laser. This repeats layer by layer, solidifying the powder as we go. Because of this layer by layer process, some products may see a staircase effect. The process is called Selective Laser Sintering.
High Strength
Good Durability
Watertight
Your model should be within the minimum and maximum bounding box sizes. The maximum bounding box represents the largest model that that we can manufacture. The minimum bounding box size is the smallest dimension in which we can manufacture in this material.
A supported wall is connected on at least two sides. Walls in your model must meet the minimum measurements to ensure it survives the printing and cleaning process. Thin walls are prone to warping during printing and are fragile to clean. Objects that meet the minimum requirements may still be rejected based on the geometry in which case our production team will communicate with you if the design needs improvements and can assist you to strengthen your model.
A geometry is considered a wire when it is thinner in both unconnected directions than its length. Wires that are under our suggested minimums are prone to breaking in the cleaning process, or warping.
We recommend these minimum measurements for details like embossing or engraving, based on printer resolution.
Pressurized air is used to blast excess powder from models that are hollow, or contain hollow cavities. In order for us to safely do this, escape holes need to be larger than 4.0 mm in diameter. For models larger than 50.00 mm³ we require two or more escape holes at least 2.00 mm in diameter.
Clearance is the space between two parts, e.g. space between gears or a ball and socket joint.
2 mm thick, attached in at least 2 places per part.
Sprues are wires that keep two models together. Sprues are more likely to break compared to other wires because they typically connect parts with high relative mass on either side. For this reason, they need to be thicker than our minimum wire thickness guidelines.
Yes.
PA11 is printed with an SLS process that uses a laser to fuse together nylon powder. This enables interlocking parts, as long as the distance between them is greater than the indicated clearance minimum.
Up to 250.
±0.3 mm
Print Lines or "Stepping"
A "staircase" effect, or print lines, can occur on the surface of your print. These can become more pronounced on curved and angled surfaces.
Preventing Warping
Making your design more stiff (increasing torsional rigidity) will reduce the risk of warping. Longer walls need to be thicker than short ones.
Avoid "Spikes"
If your model has spike-like geometry where the spike is longer than it is wide, it's possible for it to break in the cleaning process.
Orientation
Our production team does their best to evaluate your product and orient it to optimize either dimensionally accuracy or aesthetics depending on the application. Generally, the top surface will have more visible stepping than the bottom surface. The mating surface and other important features like holes are the most accurate when placed in the horizontal plane.
Holes & Small Holes
We cannot clean holes that are too small relative to their depth. Additionally, tubes with corners can be difficult to reach and we may not be able to fully clean your model.
We recommend creating multiple access points to holes and small tubes so that we can properly clean your model.
Laser Lines
Our printers operate with two lasers at the same time. If a product in the printer is located in the overlap plane where the two lasers meet, miniscule calibration differences between the lasers may create a visible line on the surface of the product. We aim to arrange products in the printer away from the overlap plane. However, products larger than 33cm long in any direction may be too large to fit in one laser's area, so you may see a visible line along the overlap plane on your product.
How will the price of my model be calculated?
What is the minimum price per part?