What temperature do you print Nylon PA6 at?

Nylon PA6 prints at a nozzle temperature of 230-260C with the bed at 70-90C. Start at the lower end of the nozzle range and raise it in 5C steps until layers bond cleanly.

Does Nylon PA6 need an enclosure?

Yes. Nylon PA6 needs an enclosure. Without one the part cools unevenly, corners lift off the bed and layers split partway up the print.

What is Nylon PA6 good for?

Nylon PA6 suits gears and bearings, living hinges, high-cycle mechanical parts, tool holders. Avoid it for dimensionally critical parts, humid workshops without a dry box.

How much does Nylon PA6 cost?

A 1 kg spool of Nylon PA6 typically sells for $35-80. That is an indicative street price rather than a live figure, so check the retailer for today's cost.

Nylon PA6 print settings

Polyamide 6 · Advanced

Nylon PA6 (Polyamide 6) prints at 230-260°C with the bed at 70-90°C. It needs an enclosure. Dry the filament before printing.

Tough, abrasion resistant and self-lubricating. Stronger than PA12 but noticeably thirstier, which makes it the harder of the two nylons to run well.

Settings at a glance

Nozzle

230-260°C

Bed

70-90°C

Enclosure

Required

Part cooling

Minimal

Retraction

0.3-0.6mm

Typical price

$35-80 / kg

Ranges are typical manufacturer-published figures for this material class, not measurements we took. Always start with your filament maker’s own numbers where they differ. The price is an indicative street price for a 1 kg spool, not a live quote.

Good for

Gears and bearings
Living hinges
High-cycle mechanical parts
Tool holders

Avoid for

Dimensionally critical parts
Humid workshops without a dry box

The problem people actually hit

Steam pops and a furry surface mean the filament is wet. Nylon absorbs moisture faster than you can print it, so drying once is not enough - it has to stay dry during the print.

Drying

Extremely hygroscopic, enough to absorb print-ruining moisture within hours of opening. Dry at 70-80C for 8-12 hours and print from a dry box.

Buying Nylon PA6

Nylon PA6 is stocked unevenly by general retailers. A specialist supplier is usually the better source, both for availability and because they publish the spec sheet. Typical street price is $35-80 per 1 kg spool.

Check before you order

Diameter 1.75mm unless your printer takes 2.85mm. Check before ordering, not after.
Published diameter tolerance. ±0.02mm is good, ±0.05mm is loose and shows up as inconsistent extrusion.
Vacuum-sealed with desiccant. Hygroscopic filament that shipped open has already absorbed moisture and will need drying before its first print.
Confirm you have an enclosure before buying. Without one this material will warp regardless of spool quality.

Specialist suppliers

MatterHackers

Deep engineering-material catalogue and published spec sheets, including grades general retailers do not stock.

Printed Solid

Specialist stockist with strong coverage of nylon and carbon-fibre filled materials.

Named because they stock this class of material and publish specifications. We have no commercial relationship with either, and these are ordinary links.

Check Amazon for Nylon PA6

Not sure this is the right material? Compare all materials.

What you need to print Nylon PA6

Gear that Nylon PA6 genuinely requires, with the specification that decides whether a given unit will actually work.

Filament dryer

Must reach at least 70C

Nylon PA6 will not print cleanly wet, and many budget dryers stop at 55-60C. Check the maximum temperature before buying, not the marketing copy.

See filament dryer on Amazon

Printer enclosure

Fully closed, with a door

Nylon PA6 warps when a draught cools the part unevenly. An enclosure holds chamber heat steady, which fixes lifting corners and split layers more reliably than any slicer setting.

See printer enclosure on Amazon

Bed adhesion

PEI sheet sized to your bed, or a PVP glue stick

Nylon PA6 lifts at the corners before it fails anywhere else. A textured PEI surface plus a thin glue layer holds the first layer down while the chamber comes up to temperature.

See bed adhesion on Amazon

Heat-set threaded inserts

Brass, M3 unless your design says otherwise

Printed threads strip. If you are making gears and bearings out of Nylon PA6, melting brass inserts in gives you a metal thread that survives being undone more than once.

See heat-set threaded inserts on Amazon

Airtight storage with desiccant

Sealed container plus rechargeable desiccant

Drying a spool once achieves nothing if it sits open afterwards. Storage is what keeps the filament usable between prints.

See airtight storage with desiccant on Amazon

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Nylon PA6 questions

What temperature do you print Nylon PA6 at?: Nylon PA6 prints at a nozzle temperature of 230-260C with the bed at 70-90C. Start at the lower end of the nozzle range and raise it in 5C steps until layers bond cleanly.
Does Nylon PA6 need an enclosure?: Yes. Nylon PA6 needs an enclosure. Without one the part cools unevenly, corners lift off the bed and layers split partway up the print.
Do you need to dry Nylon PA6?: Extremely hygroscopic, enough to absorb print-ruining moisture within hours of opening. Dry at 70-80C for 8-12 hours and print from a dry box.
What is Nylon PA6 good for?: Nylon PA6 suits gears and bearings, living hinges, high-cycle mechanical parts, tool holders. Avoid it for dimensionally critical parts, humid workshops without a dry box.
How much does Nylon PA6 cost?: A 1 kg spool of Nylon PA6 typically sells for $35-80. That is an indicative street price rather than a live figure, so check the retailer for today's cost.

Nylon PA6 or Nylon PA12?

Nylon PA12 (Polyamide 12) prints at 240-270°C with a 70-90°C bed and needs an enclosure. The easier nylon. Absorbs less water than PA6 and moves less after printing, at some cost in stiffness.

Read the Nylon PA12 settings guide →