PA (nylon) print parameters — temperature, bed, cooling and drying

PA is the most demanding material in Porima's entire table and at the same time the one with the highest declared temperature resistance — 150 °C. Difficulty level: very hard. The manufacturer describes drying for 8–12 h at 65–80 °C as mandatory rather than recommended, and it is the only annotation of its kind in the FDM parameter table.

Nylon is the material for parts that have to work: gears, guides, brackets exposed to friction and heat. The manufacturer rates layer bonding as very good and impact resistance as high. You get all of that on one condition — that the filament is dry. With PA there is no margin here at all.

Full PA (nylon) parameters

Parameter	PA (nylon)
Nozzle temperature	260–290 °C
Bed temperature	90–120 °C
Recommended nozzle diameter	0.4 mm
Cooling (fan)	30–100% — first 5 layers with no cooling
Drying	8–12 h at 65–80 °C — mandatory
Enclosure (chamber)	closed frame with a heated chamber
Recommended printers	enclosure with a heated chamber
Bambu AMS compatibility	No
Print difficulty level	very hard
Print speed	high
Detail resolution	0.2 mm and above
Abrasiveness (nozzle wear)	moderate
Warping tendency	medium
Stringing tendency	low
Layer bonding	very good
Support removal	easy
Temperature resistance	150 °C
Impact resistance	high
Flexibility	high
Moisture resistance	high
Surface finish	smooth
Opacity	opaque
Colour saturation	medium
Odour	noticeable
Post-processing	easy
Chemical solubility	poorly soluble
Spool material	recycled plastic
Recycled content in filament	no
Recyclability	no
Diameter tolerance	±0.03 mm

Source: the official Porima FDM technical data table (FDM Technical Data). The descriptive ratings (none / low / medium / high) are the manufacturer's own labels, not the result of testing to any standard. Temperature resistance is the manufacturer's own declared figure — it is not HDT, nor any other normed test. The ±0.03 mm diameter tolerance comes from the manufacturer's data, not from the FDM table. See also the print temperature table and the filament drying guide.

How to print PA

Drying 8–12 h at 65–80 °C — mandatory

The highest drying temperature and the longest time in the whole set. A spool taken out of its packaging and left overnight in a room can already be too damp. The practical answer: print straight from the dryer. The symptoms of moisture are hissing, bubbles on the surface and a porous, weak print.

The field moisture resistance: high does not mean no drying needed

This is worth saying plainly, because it is the most commonly misread entry in the table. The manufacturer does not define whether it refers to the finished print's resistance to a damp environment or to how much the filament on the spool absorbs. Drying is governed solely by the drying row — and that row says: mandatory, 8–12 h.

A closed printer with a heated chamber

PA is the only material in the table for which the manufacturer requires a heated chamber, not just an enclosure. Bed 90–120 °C. Warping tendency: medium — lower than ABS, but decisive all the same on long parts.

Cooling 30–100%, but the first 5 layers without

This is the only annotation of its kind in the entire FDM parameter table: print the first five layers with the fan off. Only then can you move into the stated range. Cooling too early pulls the print off the bed; too little on the later layers spoils the detail.

Moderate abrasiveness

PA is not as aggressive a material as the carbon-fibre composites, but its abrasiveness is marked as moderate — alongside PLA Wood the only such cases in the table. For regular printing it is worth fitting a hardened nozzle; brass will wear faster, and the symptom will be creeping under-extrusion.

Bambu AMS: No

The manufacturer marks PA as incompatible with the AMS and requires a printer with an enclosure and a heated chamber. Feed the filament from a dryer, by the shortest possible route to the extruder.

The most common problems with PA

• Damp filament — the only material in the table for which drying is described as mandatory — this is not a side issue but a condition of printing
• Brittle filament — after sitting for a while nylon can snap in the feeder; drying usually brings it back into service
• Warping — a medium tendency, but even with a heated chamber and a 90–120 °C bed, long parts still lift their corners
• Layer delamination — switching cooling on before the sixth layer, against the manufacturer's annotation, is the most common cause here
• Dimensional accuracy and shrinkage — on gears and fits, nylon's shrinkage means printing a test coupon before the whole part
• First layer will not stick — the first 5 layers with no cooling is precisely the recommendation that saves bed adhesion

Filament from this page: PA (nylon) Porima 1 kg. Category: technical filaments.