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The Strength of PA12 with a Smoother, Refined Finish
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Do you know that you can send back your Nylon PA12 for recycling?
Multi Jet Fusion PA12S Material Guide
What is MultiJet Fusion PA 12S ?
PA12 S (which stands for “smooth”) material, enabled by Arkema, represents a cutting-edge solution in the realm of polyamide powders. Engineered with precision, PA12 S stands out for its superior performance characteristics, offering unmatched versatility and reliability tailored to meet the needs of demanding applications across various industries.
PA12 S boasts an impressive array of features, including excellent mechanical strength, superior chemical resistance, and remarkable thermal stability. This finely engineered polyamide powder delivers outstanding durability, making it an ideal choice for environments that require high resilience under stress or exposure to harsh conditions.
Great mechnical properties, but smoother
The exceptional smoothness of PA12 S, compared to regular PA12, is achieved through its more spherical particle morphology. This distinctive shape reduces surface roughness during application, resulting in finer finishes and improved tactile qualities. The enhanced smoothness not only elevates product aesthetics but also enhances performance, particularly in applications requiring precision and reduced friction. This advantage makes PA12 S an optimal choice for industries demanding superior surface quality and reliability.
Microscopic view – Regular PA12
Microscopic view – PA12 S
Source : Arkema
All information related to mechanical properties (chemical resistance or heat deflection temperature) for this HP material is available in the technical section of this material page.
What are the possible applications for this material?
With its remarkable versatility and advanced properties, PA12 S has established itself as a standout material in the world of 3D printing. Its strong and reliable mechanical properties, smooth surface finish, and precision make it indispensable for diverse applications, ranging from prototyping to creating end-use parts in larger quantities.
Strong mechanical properties
Chemical resistance
Competitive material
Prototyping with PA12 S enables designers and engineers to bring concepts to life with unparalleled accuracy and reliability. Its fine detailing and dimensional stability make it ideal for testing form, fit, and function across industries.
PA12 S exhibits outstanding thermal behavior (from -40ºC to 100-120ºC depending on conditions), characterized by its exceptional stability and resistance to high temperatures. This advanced material maintains its mechanical properties even in elevated temperature environments, ensuring consistent performance under thermal stress. Its ability to resist deformation and degradation makes it ideal for demanding applications, including those requiring prolonged exposure to heat. Whether in automotive, aerospace, or electronics, PA12 S proves to be a reliable choice for producing components that demand precision and resilience in thermally challenging conditions.
Polyamide 12 S is renowned for its excellent chemical resistance, making it an ideal material for demanding applications. It withstands exposure to oils, fuels, greases, and a wide range of chemicals, including many solvents and weak acids. This high resistance contributes to its durability even in harsh environments, such as automotive fuel lines, chemical storage systems, and oil and gas components. PA12 S also offers low moisture absorption, which enhances its dimensional stability and performance under challenging conditions. Its versatility and resilience make it a preferred choice in industries where reliability and chemical resistance are essential.
Please check our page on elastic modulus measurements for more information on mechanical properties.
Pricing
The printing price of your design is calculated automatically the moment it is uploaded. As you modify your object (changing material, finishing, size, changing the quantity or hollowing feature, etc.) you will note that the price changes automatically. The pricing is based on a series of factors, including total volume, object size, and bounding box – to name a few.
For more information, check our pricing page.
How does HP 3D printing technology work?
The Multi Jet Fusion technology’s process is similar to binder jetting technology as it uses a liquid binding agent to create the layers of your object. In addition, a detailing agent is used to obtain fine details and to smooth the surface of the object. Layer by layer, the object is created from the combination of the powder, the liquid agents (fusing and detailing agents) and the energy (heating process).
The HP Multi Jet Fusion process is a powder-bed technology that is faster than Selective Laser Sintering. After the parts are 3D printed, the building platform is placed into the post-processing station that cools the parts and prepares them for cleaning.
The Multi Jet Fusion process is similar to binder jetting technology as it uses a liquid binding agent to create the layers of your object. In addition, a detailing agent is used to obtain fine details and to smooth the surface of the object. Layer by layer, the object is created from the combination of the powder, the liquid agents (fusing and detailing) and the energy (heating process).
The HP process is faster than SLS technology but it still needs to cool. When the parts are 3D printed, the building box is placed into the post-processing station that cools the parts and prepares them for cleaning.
Finishings available for PA12S material
Here are all options available after the Multijet Fusion 3D printing process:
- Raw: Grey surface with no finish, as it comes straight out of the 3D printer. Ideal for prototyping and mechanical tests. The raw finish provides a surface that is more prone to scratches and impact marks.
- Dyeing finish: With this dyeing finishing your 3D printed part gets a satin look. It withstands daily handling and is the perfect finish for parts that are exposed to external conditions, scratching and rubbing. The available color for this finishing option is black.
| Standard layer thickness | 90µm |
| Accuracy | X/Y: ± 0.3% (minimum of ± 0.3 mm) Z: ± 0.5% (minimum of ± 0.5 mm) |
Due to the printing process, your objects will have upskin and downskin. Upskin is a little concave, whereas downskin will show slight convex. Upskin will appear on the top of your object, downskin at the bottom. This is important to consider when you set the orientation of your 3D model. If the upskin and downskin will affect your design, set the orientation beforehand and we will do our best to honor it, otherwise our technicians will choose the best one.
| Maximum size | 370 x 274 x 380 mm |
| Maximum size polished | 300 × 220 × 180 mm |
| Maximum size Color Touch | 274 x 274 x 380 mm |
| Maximum size Color Resist | 274 x 274 x 380 mm |
The maximum size of your models are limited by the physical size of our 3D printers – nothing can be printed larger than the printer bed.
There is no minimum size for polyamide prints, keeping in mind minimum thickness for walls and structural aspects, to ensure the object will not break is 0.6 mm.
| Minimum wall thickness (flexible) | 0.8mm
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| Minimum wall thickness(rigid) | 2mm
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| Minimum wall thickness stemmed elements | 0.7mm with support
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| Minimum wall thickness particular design aspects | 1-2mm |
The walls of your design must adhere to a minimum thickness of 0.8 mm in order to guarantee the structure will not break. If the walls of your model are less than 0.8 mm, you can add a support structure to maintain stability.
A stemmed element is a design aspect which is at least twice as long as it is thick. For unsupported and stemmed elements or parts of the design with a particular design constraint, it is also important to respect a minimum thickness of 0.9mm in order to guarantee the object will not break.
Add a support structure to maintain stability. For example, if you are modeling a bust of a person, you can attach thin aspects of the design like the ears in more places around the model’s head. Doing that will avoid cantilevered and easily breakable elements in the final print.
With a 0.8 wall thickness, your design will be slightly flexible. To obtain more rigidity, we advise a 2mm wall thickness.
Thin walls supporting large, heavy models can warp under the weight of itself.
Sculpteo offers an online solidity check tool which highlights parts of the print that may be too thin for a print. From there you are able to tweak your design in order to create an object that is an appropriate thickness. To use it, you just need to upload your 3D file, select your material and click on “Verification” tab.
It is also important to keep in mind that the object is to be printed into real life. Thus if a thin aspect is supporting something that is too heavy for it, it may break – even though it is possible within the physics provided by your 3D modeling software. We recommend adding a bit of thickness to the places that will get a lot of handling, or that support the most weight.
Do not forget
Keep in mind that our solidity check tool does not detect physical aberrations such as floating parts, unstable position, parts supporting too much weight relative to their thickness, etc. Particular care must be given to the geometry of your design and the most stressed parts must be thickened.
| Minimum size of details | 0.2 mm |
| Minimum height and width details | Embossed : 0.4 mm
|
| Minimum height and width for a readable text | 0.4mm |
| Enlargement ratio | 1/1
|
A detail’s minimum precision is mainly determined by the resolution of our 3D printers. However, during the cleaning process, a fine layer of detail can also be lost. In order for a detail and text to be visible we recommend following our recommended sizes at the very least.
It’s possible that particularly fine embossings and engravings will not be visible, as the carving could get filled with excess powder that is later unable to be cleaned out. If an embossing or engraving is an essential part of your design we recommend making them as deep as possible. To ensure a better powder removal (thus a better detail visibility), the width of your details must be at least as big as depth.
| Enclosed parts ? | Yes |
| Interlocking parts ? | Yes |
Our Multi Jet Fusion material has the ability to print the most complex designs of our materials thanks to HP technology. An example of a complex design is a volume enclosed within another volume, like a chain or maraca. Our printers have the ability to print a fully interlocked chain, with no support structures to remove.
| Minimum spacing between fixed walls | 0.5 mm |
| Minimum clearance between parts | 0.5 mm |
For a successful 3D print a minimum clearance between objects is required to allow excess material to be sand blown out. If this space is not left within the design, the object will be a solid. This is particularly important for articulated objects – as the space left between the walls will define the object’s ability to move.
Clearance should be at least 0.5 mm, however that is the minumum for small objects. Larger objects require more space between their parts. This is due to the HP printing process. Our printer beds are heated during the process, and larger objects are heated for longer periods. A small space between large objects runs the risk of melting together as it remains under heat for a long period of time. In some other cases, holes should be added to allow us to drain for the excess powder material within the clearance.
| Assembly ? | Yes |
| Minimum space | 0.5 mm |
Objects printed in polyamide can be printed to be assembled. As long as a width of at least 0.5 mm is left between the different parts of the object.
| Hollowing ? | Yes |
Our online hollowing optimization tool has the ability to greatly reduce the price of a print by reducing the amount of material used.
Using the tool requires adding two holes to your model, which will serve as the drain for the excess powder material within the object. The minimum size of these holes is determined by our website. Otherwise it is possible to hollow your object manually in your 3D modeling software.
| Files with Multiple Objects ? | No |
It is not possible to 3D print a 3D file containing several objects with our 3D plastic printers.
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