Nylon, one of the most widely used engineering thermoplastics, is an extremely versatile engineering plastic. An excellent combination of mechanical performance (toughness, low coefficient of friction, and good abrasion resistance) and cost make Nylon an ideal replacement for a wide variety of materials from metal to rubber.

Cast Nylon 6 (polycaprolactam) exhibits all the properties that generally make nylon a superior engineering material: high strength, low friction and wear resistance. Because of the casting process, part size and thickness are almost unlimited without degradation of the material’s internal structure. Cast Nylon 6 provides one of the largest array of sizes and custom shapes of any thermoplastic.

By varying the conditions through the addition of various additives, fillers, lubricants and colorants during polymerization, the mechanical properties of cast nylon may be altered to suit specific applications. Formulations include molybdenum-disulfide filled, moly and oil filled (blue), and glass-filled grades. Variants within these nylon grades are available to match specific application demands such as FDA compliance, Internally lubricated, heat stabilized, UV stabilized, anti-static, fire retardant, or impact modified.

Glass Filled: Variants of this nylon exhibit increased structural and impact strength, and rigidity. The addition of glass fibers to nylon in various amounts (10%, 20%, 30% and 40%) increases tensile strength, stiffness, compressive strength, and a lower thermal expansion coefficient over conventional unfilled grades. Glass filled nylons offer better strength than general purpose nylon but it is highly abrasive and will abrade or gall mating surfaces.