Annealing 3D Printed Nylon for high temperature resistance? Can it be done?

I have some Carbon Fibre (fiber) Nylon which I need to use in a high temperature (120degC) application, will it be suitable and can it be annealed to improve it?

Links: -

CNC Kitchens video on annealing materials...

A great piece on annealing of Semi-crystaline polymers (which Nylon is)...

More info on specific annealing for Nylon...

Credit for title sequence slooooo-mooooo - Fern Motorsport

[saltysteel]

I print that same SainSmart 25/75 ratio CF Nylon on my Ender 3 Pro.
Micro Swiss all metal hotend, Marlin firmware (max temp set to 315C/ bed max temp set to 110C), 270C nozzle, 60C or 70C glass bed with glue stick, 30 to 40 mm/s print speed, 100% infill, .4 nozzle with .4 line width, .20 layer height, use a raft for easier part removal from the bed, printer is in an enclosure.
Makes beautiful strong parts. Layer adhesion is amazing if the filament is dry and printed at 270C or higher. 260C and below, the layers would just come apart.

[SwitchToRumble]

For a annealing you need to pack the parts in cornstarch and then slowly heat to temp and slowly cool. Corn starch cleans easy and doesn't burn until like 1000 degrees.

[STROKESTUFFING]

These videos were exactly what I needed, thanks! Ordered some carbon filled nylon(Fiberforce Nylforce, what was readily available in Norway), a Micro Swiss all metal hotend, and a glass bed.

[TheShooter]

i have no idea where this channel has been, but holy shit, i'm here for it now

[JonNotJon]

Im getting an ender 3 se for chirstmas. This video is exactly what I needed as i would like to 3D print my own car parts as well. Thanks for gathering all this data and helping car people out!

[rossmarzano]

I use my oven to roast potatoes, And here you are!!!
This video is excellent, keep up the great work!

[steelwitness]

wow i wasnt quite expecting the temp. performance that you got. My engine rarely hits an external temp over 100C the coolant runs at about 88C on a hot day. your channel has absolutely changed my diy car experience. I appreciate your documentation and explanation of your efforts towards your car!

[linuxinstalled]

I really enjoyed this. I appreciate your approach to the testing and how you tried to keep things consistent. Now I know not to bother with annealing Nylon for now

[ferrumignis]

Thank you for such a useful video, you got yourself a new subscriber. I had no idea that such high temperature polymers were available for 3D printing, it opens up a huge range of possibilities.

[kevanamjadi]

Working on an intake duct for my 2014 MBZ C250. I am presently in the process of printing it out of some pa-6 cf. Thank you for making this video, I was questioning whether or not I should anneal my parts.

[gregkretchmer]

A while back I ran model airplanes with rather hefty engines and nylon props. During startup, you would tune the mixture screw while holding the plane straight up at full throttle and get the mixture perfect. What you didn't want was an unseen crack in the prop to let go and spear you with a blade. We annealed new props by placing them in a pot full of boiling water for about an hour. Made them noticeably softer and more flexible and much tougher. I am setting up for nylon, but it is taking some time. I want to make a pressure bottle and hook it up to the compressor and (with the bottle on the far side of the garage) pump it up to max on a hot day and see what happens. I suspect that 3d printed nylon will never be close to injection cast nylon for strength. Each pass of the print head could create a weak spot which could let go under stress. I have do some vacuum manifolds and had to coat them with epoxy to keep them from leaking. I doubt that would be a problem on car manifolds.

[AdamDUrso]

I've printed out a nylon bracket for a HID projector retrofit on my 996. I've not tested it but am aware these get very hot, so glad to see the nylon looks like it's up to it. Nice to print, too. Cool to see some well thought through 3d printing car DIY going on.

[hakonlisleb]

Great channel and video! I am thinking about printing my own inlet for ITBs as well so this was spot on!

[brandtreifenrath]

Thank you for making this video series!!!

[malkusarlemark]

Cheers for this! Also have a mini but will try this for a Lambretta reed intake manifold. Very usefull info!

[barrymarshall]

Have you considered trying re-melting packed in powdered salt. I've tried this with a few 100% infill pla parts and it definitely removes the layers and increased overall strength. Effectively your getting a moulded part at 3d printed cost with a little post processing.

[trythistv]

This gives me all sorts of warm fuzzy feelings about my newest project, I'm making a part for my car that will be under the hood and in contact with coolant potentially at 80-90C. Seeing that your nylon held up great to nearly 200C means I should have no problem. My Nylon does not have Carbon Fiber, I may have to pick some of that eSun filament up though, I'm impressed with your results for sure. I'm also using a heavily modified ender 3, volcano all metal hotend, bltouch, magnetic pei build plate, belt driven dual z leadscrews, etc.

Excited to see someone else doing interesting things that combine 3d printing and automotive hobbies!

[richardjones]

Interesting, thanks. I'm currently experimenting printing some unavailable electrical connector housings for use on an engine from non CF reinforced nylon. It's stiffness and toughness change quite dramatically (toughness increasing, stiffness decreasing) as is absorbs moisture from the atmosphere in the first few days after printing. The moisture acts as a plasticiser apparenltly. Therefore if you do any further tests, I'd recommend leaving them to absorb moisture naturally for a while first, as this is probably less noticeable with the stiffer CF filled stuff, but will still be happening, and could have a big effect on stiffness in a real works application with a load on it, like cantilevered manifolds. Boiling, as others have suggested can apparently crack some nylon 3d prints - I've not tried it.

[ianmckay]

Thank you for this video and all the testing you've done. I'm starting to rebuild the plastic parts in my pop corn popper, not as cool as your mini, but tasty. I know this testing isn't cheap and a bit time consuming. I'm sure this plastic is more robust than whatever the original parts were made of but the high humidity has me curious about how long they will last. if you're interested I'll update you on my progression. Happy printing!!

[jeffharrison]

Great stuff!! Got my first printer - an Ender 3 Pro - just this past Friday. Now, I just have to climb the Fusion 360 learning curve. Cheers.