The Nylon® Family of plastics are all very tough, strong, machine well, and have excellent wear properties. Nylon is a very popular plastic material, and is found in numerous applications. One of the largest usages is the production of household carpeting because of the excellent wear resistance. Nylon frequently replaces materials such as UHMW, PET, Acetal Copolymer – Acetal Homopolymer, and ABS. It will outwear most plastics and is self lubricating.
The wide variety of types and colors is one of the largest in the plastic industry.
Nylon® Type 6/6 Rod, Sheet and Plate
The extruded Nylon 6/6 (Nylon Rod, Nylon Sheets and NylonTubes) material (aka: Polyhexamethylene Adiptimide) is available as Natural (tan – straw), Black, Glass filled (medium tan) and a molybdenum disulphide filled which is very dark gray. The most common size range for the extruded Nylon 6/6 is .125″ – 4.0″ diameter rod, and .125″ – 4.0″ thick sheet. The thicker materials should be cast due to cost and stress issues. For addition details on the Nylon Rod and Sheet 6/6 – see the data sheet.
Nylon Type 6 Cast Polycaprolactam
The cast Nylon type 6 has almost limitless possibilities. Many colors are available in Cast Nylon, the natural color, black, blue, dark gray (normally molybdenum disulphide filled again), green and many more. Sometimes the color is determined by the additive (oil filled) or by industry. Because of its relative ease of manufacture, many companies prefer to get their Nylon in a special color to help ‘brand’ their parts.
Cast Type 6 Polyamide can be made in Nylon rod from about 1.25″ diameter to almost any size. Nylon sheet normally starts at about .75″ thickness, and
Cast Nylon Type 6 Rod – 26″ OD X 8.0″ Thick
once again, can be made to almost any thickness. In addition to standard rod and plate, other sizes and shapes can be cast from Nylon Type 6 – ie. discs, tubes, near net shapes, large profiles, etc. The only limitations are how much money you have, and the size of the truck to get it to you! We have had cast very large blocks (11″ X 11″ X 48″ solid), sheaves up to 66″ OD, large tubes 36″OD X 12″ ID X 14″ long, and many more massive Nylon Cast parts.
Nylon 6/12 -Low Moisture Absorption
The claim to fame for the Nylon Type 6/12 is the low moisture absorption of the material. This grade of Nylon Sheet and Nylon rod is more stable that the type 6 or 6/6, and with the lower water absorption, this resin can handle a wider range of environments. Our manufacturer partners can run this as an Extruded Nylon Rod or Nylon sheet item or as a Cast Nylon Rod item. This opens the door to a wide range of sizes and shapes. This material exhibits most of the same properties of the Nylon 6/6 and Cast Type 6, with some slight improvements in key properties.
Filled Grades of Nylon
Because of the processing of Cast Nylon, many additives can be mixed into the material. The most common are: glass filled, oil filled, Kevlar fiber filled (Hydlar Z) and the molybdenum disulphide (M0S2). In addition, other fills and colorants (pigments) can be added to assist in manufacture or processing.
Common specifications for Nylon are: L-P-410, ASTM D-4066,L-P-395C, Mil-M-20693B Comp A, Ty I, IA, II and III, Mil-M-20693B Comp B, Ty 4, Mil-P-17091B Type 1, and Mil-P-46060, PA0613, ASTM D-5989 S-PA0511, and more.
Before buying your next big chunk of Nylon, contact us for information on the benefits of a filled or near net-shape Cast Nylon part.
Contact us with your specifications, we look forward to assisting you.
Email us with questions or comments, or call us at 866-832-9315
Nylon Tube and Tubing can be made from Nylon 6 or 6/6
Nylon is one of the most popular and widely used plastic materials. From the carpet in your home to the yellow Nylon rope you have in your garage, Nylon is a tough and very wear resistant material. This self lubricating mechanical plastic material is very stiff and extremely durable. This material can be machined easily, and is a key industrial plastic resin.
Nylon 6 and Nylon 6/6 Tubing
While Nylon is a common plastic material, in the extrusion and cast grades, it is not a normal stock item for many factories. Nylon can be produced in a huge range of sizes. The cast process enables the range of sizes of a Cast Nylon Tube (Type 6) to be almost unlimited. The extrusion process is a bit more restrictive, which can produce very small sizes to larger sizes of Extruded Nylon Type 6/6 Tubing up to about 2.0″ OD. The properties of these materials are similar, and are listed here. Also, in the case of the Cast Type 6 Nylon Tube, many additives can be mixed into the casting mixture to increase many critical properties. Examples of these additives can yield: Glass Filled Nylon Tube, FDA Approved Oil Filled Cast Nylon Tubing, Cast Nylon MD Tube (molybdenum disulfide), Solid Lubricant Filled Cast Nylon Tube, and a few additional variations. These same filled items are also available in Cast Nylon Rod, Cast Nylon Sheets and Cast Nylon Plates (all made from the same Cast Nylon Type 6 resin). This casting process allows for a wide range of sizes and configurations, from round rod, cast sheet, tubular bar to near net shapes and covers on metal rollers and gears.
Why use Tubular Nylon (Nylon Tubular Bar)
There are numerous reasons to use a Nylon Tubular shaped material.1. Vast range of sizes to fit most requirements2. Large reduction of waste due to near net shape3. Great reduction of machining time due to matching size to finished needs4. Lower cost due to reduced material and reduced machining time
The difference between Nylon 6 Tubing and Nylon 6/6 Tube
The main differences are the base resin. The Nylon 6 tubing is a cast resin, and the Nylon 6/6 tube is an extrusion grade resin. Both materials are still Nylon, just a different grade of resin. The properties are also very similar, look here for specific Nylon resin properties. The other difference is that the Cast Type 6 Nylon is normally in larger sizes. This is because the cast version is poured as a liquid into molds or rigid tooling, and is done one at a time. This process, while it makes a very high quality part, is a more expensive manufacturing method, and is not cost effective in small or thin cross sections.The extrusion grade of Nylon, the Type 6/6 Nylon is heat processed in large batches. This process requires set up and large runs, and is very cost effective in these large production runs. In addition, the cross sections for the heat processed Nylon 6/6 can not be excessively large. The extruded Nylon 6/6 is therefor done sizes up to about 3″, as larger pieces are more expensive and require extra stress relieving to prevent warping.
Cast Nylon Versatility
The Cast Nylon manufacturing in the USA is very advanced. The production facilities can produce amazing and diverse sizes and shapes in the grades listed above. One of the unique versions of Cast Nylon is in the Glass Filled Nylon Tube, Glass Filled Nylon Rod and Glass Filled Nylon Sheet range. The percentage of glass fill can be custom blended to meet your specific needs, and can also contain additional fillers like MD, Oil or pigments. Many grades of Nylon are also available for very specific applications, like: bearings, sheaves, pulleys, wear plates, food processing applications, FDA approved grades, color matched for identification and many more. Other plastic materials used in these same applications include: Acetal Copolymer, PET (Polyester), PTFE and more.Contact us today for additional information on this or any other plastic sheet, rod or tube material. E-mail us here, or call us toll free at 866-832-9315, or visit our main web page at: iPlasticSupply.com
This question was very easy to answer, up until now.
First: what is Zytel 42? It is a Natural Nylon 6/6 extrusion grade plastic resin. An extremely popular and heavily used material for machinable and durable plastic parts. For as far back as we can find information, this Zytel 42 Nylon 6/6 resin has been used in numerous food contact and food processing machine components.
We have just received notice that Dupont will be making some changes to their formula for this Nylon grade. For years we have provided our clients with Dupont Zytel 42 Nylon resin extruded into sheet, rod and other profiles. The Dupont announcement states that the Zytel 42 will no longer have a food grade rating – FDA approval. They will produce a new resin called Zytel 42FG, which will have all the approvals we always had with the Zytel 42.
Why in the world would a company do such a thing? Our guess is that this is a cleaver way to increase prices significantly without a standard and blatant price increase. Let’s just hide it in a new resin package.
Zytel 42 – will still be available, but without the FDA approval
Zytel 42FG – the ‘new’ resin will carry the FDA approval, but at much higher price
Nylon Food Grade still available
These huge Cast Nylon Blocks 12″ X 12″ X 48″
What is the difference between the old Zytel 42 and the new Zytel 42FG? From what we have read so far, nothing. It is probably the same material, new name. The ‘new’ Zytel 42 is actually the new ‘dumbed’ down resin – they just took away the Food Grade label, maybe took out an ingredient or two, and viola, new Zytel 42 – non Food Grade Nylon.
This news has spread quickly through our industry. As mentioned above, we have provided this material in this grade for over 36 years for Food Grade/FDA Approved applications.
The main reason for this article is to get the news out the the marketplace. Engineers and designers have been specifying this resin for their applications, and now, with out much notice, the product they assume is Food Grade will no longer be acceptable for these applications. It is unclear at this point whether the extrusion plants will be producing product from both resins, or opting to use one or the other. It appears that Nylon Food Grade resins my become a special, or that all materials may becomes standard as Nylon Food Grade.
Is Nylon Food Grade Resin Important To You?
This is the question we find ourselves asking. Does the end user think of Nylon when they are looking for an FDA approved plastic? Or, do they consider Acetal Copolymer, Acetal Homopolymer, Polyethylene, and other materials first? Do you think of Nylon rod, bar, sheet and slab as mechanical materials to use when making gears, wear strips, and other non FDA applications?
Please take a moment and let us know you thoughts. We value your input – it will help us in evaluating the direction we want to go with our inventory.
