Nylon

Industry Tradenames: Ensilon, Nycast, Nycast/612 VS, Nycast/Nyloil, Nycast XHA Nylaflow, Nylatron Nylatron GS Nylatron GSM, Nylatron NS & NSM, NylonMD, Nylawear Nylon 101 Oilamid, Para-Lite, Polyamide Polypenco, Polypenco Nylon 101 Polypenco, Sustamid 66, Sustimid 6G, Tecamid, Type 6 (cast) Type 6/6 (extruded), Vekton

Material Description

Nylon (polyamide) has enjoyed increasing success in replacing bronze, brass, steel and aluminum as well as wood and rubber in engineering applications. Nylon’s high impact resistance, high resistance to brittleness and deterioration, high heat distortion temperature, vibration resistance and machinability make it the perfect material for many applications. Nylon exhibits excellent resistance to a wide array of chemicals including, alkalies, dilute acids, and oxidizing agents which cause many metalics to fail. The relatively light weight of nylon eases handling of large parts as well as lessens both inertial and static loads. Nylon is available in a variety of fills and basic shapes to meet just about every need.

Nylons were the first of the thermoplastic engineering resins. These crystalline plastics are available in many compositions. Nylon 6/6 (usually extruded) is the most widely used of the nylon plastics. Higher priced grades for more specific or demanding applications include 6/10 and 6/12.

Nylon 6 (usually cast) is the second most widely used of the nylons. Its properties are similar to those of 6/6, but it absorbs moisture more rapidly and its melting point is around 70F lower.

Nylon 11 and 12 have better dimensional stability and electrical properties than the other nylons because they absorb less moisture. These types, which are more expensive than the others, are available compounded with plasticizers to provide greater flexibility and ductility.

Newest additions to the Nylon family of products are transparent molding grades – amorphous polyamides that offer superior performance inhot water, compared with other nylons. A recent development in nylon toughening technology has resulted in the availability of super tough resins, such as Dupont’s Zytel ST. These materials are 17 times the notched impact resistance of conventional 6/6 nylon.

In part because it has been around the longest, but also because of the many variations of resins and additives used in nylon, it is one of the most widely used of the mechanical plastics and can be specially formulated to a wide variety of applications.