Nylon (PA) Filament Explained: Types, Moisture, Setup

Who this guide is for

You want parts that are tougher, more heat resistant, or better at sliding and wearing than PLA or PETG, and "nylon" or "PA" keeps coming up. This guide covers what the PA6, PA12, PA612, PA11, and PAHT labels mean, how much moisture each maker says these grades absorb, how to dry and store them, how water changes a printed part, and the nozzle, bed, enclosure, and feeder setup makers ask for.

Everything here comes from documents published by Prusa, Bambu Lab, Polymaker, ELEGOO, and SUNLU, listed in the sources. We haven't printed these filaments for this page. Each figure describes one maker's product under that maker's test conditions. Our carbon fiber filament guide covers what fiber adds to every base plastic, and our annealing guide covers oven cycles in depth. This page sticks to what's specific to nylon.

What types of nylon filament are there?

The number after "PA" names the polyamide. Polymaker's wiki describes them like this:

With and without fiber

Most nylon on sale for desktop printers is fiber-filled. Prusa's nylon guide says the main drawback of pure polyamide, apart from moisture, is warping, and that carbon-fiber nylons "don't warp by far as much as the unaltered versions." Polymaker says carbon and glass fiber "enhance stiffness, strength, and dimensional stability while reducing shrinkage and warping," but make the filament "more abrasive, requiring hardened nozzles."

The trade-offs show up in maker data:

• Prusa PA11 vs PA11 Carbon Fiber. Prusa lists the unfilled PA11 as "Hard" to print with "High" warping, and the carbon version as "Easy" with "Low" warping. It also lists "Lower layer-to-layer adhesion (compared to pure PA)" as a con of the carbon version. The data sheets agree: interlayer adhesion is 32 ± 1 MPa for PA11 and 20 ± 5 MPa for PA11 Carbon Fiber (Prusa Polymers method). The sheets were printed on different printers (CORE One+ and MK3S), so treat that as indicative.
• Bambu PA6-CF vs PA6-GF. Bambu Lab's comparison table gives PA6-GF a lower dry bending strength (120 vs 151 MPa) and a much lower dry Z impact figure (4.1 vs 15.5 kJ/m²) than PA6-CF. Bambu says PA6-GF is the one that feeds through most of its AMS units (see the AMS section).
• Glass fiber is abrasive too. Polymaker and Bambu Lab both call for a hardened nozzle with their glass-filled nylons.

Polymaker's wiki says plain nylon combines strength with flexibility for "snap-fit components," and Prusa says pure polyamide is "flexible" in thin layers and has a low friction coefficient. If you want flex and wear resistance, an unfilled grade fits. If you want stiffness, look at a filled one.

How much moisture does nylon absorb?

Every maker here calls nylon hygroscopic. Prusa says improperly stored polyamide can "absorb water weighing up to 10% of filament weight," and its drying guide says PLA "doesn't change properties too much by uptaking humidity, whereas Polyamide is affected quite significantly."

The grades differ a lot. These are each maker's published figures, under different conditions, so compare within one maker only:

Within each maker, the PA6 grades take up the most and the long-chain grades the least. Bambu Lab says PAHT-CF has "a 50% lower water absorption rate compared to normal PA-CF." Prusa lists "Very slow humidity absorption - compared to other types of PA" as a pro of PA11 Carbon Fiber.

How fast it happens matters as much. Bambu Lab's drying guide says that at around 55% RH, freshly dried filament "will usually absorb enough moisture to affect print quality within 212 hours," and that in a 20% RH environment filament "can generally remain dry for 27 days." Prusa says that once PA11 has absorbed enough humidity, print quality deteriorates, and that this "occurs between a few days and a month." Bambu Lab also warns that PA-based filaments left in open air for about three months become "very difficult to dry" at the 80–90 °C its spools can take.

Wet nylon announces itself. Polymaker says you'll hear "popping" and "cracking" when extruding, and Prusa says moist polyamide "makes bubbles, which leads to uneven layers and an ugly surface."

Drying and storage: each maker's settings

Where the drying advice conflicts

• Polymaker contradicts itself. Its general PA wiki page says to dry nylon at "50–70°C for 6–8 hours," while every Fiberon data sheet says 100 °C for 10 hours. The Fiberon product pages' print settings add "(Only if the material has absorbed moisture)," but their printing tips say "dry at 100°C for 10 hours before use." Polymaker also says it pre-dries every spool and vacuum-seals it with desiccant. For a Fiberon spool, the product's data sheet is the more specific instruction.
• Bambu Lab's pages differ by a few degrees. Its filament guide says 80 ℃ in an oven and 85 ℃ in the AMS HT, its drying guide says 75–85 °C in an oven, and its PA6-CF usage guide says 80 °C for 12 hours in the AMS HT. Its PAHT-CF page says to dry at 80 °C for 12 hours.
• Temperature limits. Prusa says not to exceed its listed temperatures "or the filament will soften and stick together," and its general nylon advice stays below 90 °C. SUNLU's 110 °C option and Polymaker's 100 °C are above that. Use the setting for the spool you own, and check the spool can take it. Prusa says its black spool for standard filaments resists drying temperatures up to 90 °C, and Bambu Lab cites 80–90 °C as "within the spool's maximum heat-resistance temperature" for its own spools.

Keeping nylon dry while it prints is part of the job. Polymaker says its nylons "should only be printed while kept in a heated filament dryer the entire time you print." For PA6-CF and the other engineering filaments it lists as not AMS compatible, Bambu Lab recommends sealing the spool in an AMS HT used only as a dry box, with the filament fed out through a separate port. Our dryer vs dry box guide and filament storage guide cover the equipment.

Does moisture weaken nylon parts?

A dry spool isn't the end of it. Polymaker's wiki says "Just as your nylon is expected to absorb moisture while on the spool, it will also absorb moisture as a final print," and calls this "inevitable." Its nylon data sheets publish two sets of mechanical figures, "dry status" and "wet status," because of this. Polymaker says a wet part has "lower tensile strength and a lower bending modulus, but it will also have a higher Charpy impact strength and higher elongation at break."

Polymaker's dry and conditioned figures

On each Fiberon nylon data sheet, the note under the dry table says specimens were "annealed at 100°C for 16h." The note under the wet table adds that they were then "immerged in water at 60°C for 48h prior to testing," and gives the average moisture content.

All figures are ISO 527 (tensile) and ISO 179 (Charpy). For why figures like these can't be ranked across brands, see which filament is strongest by maker data. On these numbers, water conditioning halved PA6-CF20's tensile strength, cut its modulus by about 70%, and more than tripled its notched impact figure. PA612-CF15 lost about 10% of its tensile strength and PA12-CF10 about 7%. The impact rule doesn't hold for every grade: PA612-CF15's notched figure fell slightly, though its unnotched X-Y figure rose from 29.9 to 41.0 kJ/m².

Polymaker's own pages disagree on moisture content. The product-page and wiki FAQs for all three Fiberon nylons give "2.57%" for wet specimens, which matches only the PA612-CF15 data sheet. The PA6-CF20 sheet says 5.30% and the PA12-CF10 sheet says 2.92%.

Bambu Lab's dry and wet figures

Bambu Lab publishes dry and wet bending figures on its PA product pages. It doesn't describe how the wet specimens were conditioned.

Bambu Lab's PAHT-CF page puts the "Decline rate of mechanical properties after absorbing water" at 12%–18% for PAHT-CF, against 40%–45% for "normal PA6-CF." Its PA6-CF page says moisture makes that filament "not recommended for printing models with high requirements for strength, stiffness, and dimensional stability, especially thin and elongated models." Bambu Lab's carbon fiber usage guide describes PA6-CF as "ideal for long-term use in dry environments."

Size changes too

Polymaker says a nylon part "will 'grow'" as it absorbs moisture. In its test, most annealed parts "grew past their original size, with the exception of Fiberon PA12-CF10." It can't give a standard figure because growth "will heavily depend on your models geometry, size, and infill density."

Using it, or slowing it

Makers suggest ways to work with this:

• Condition parts for toughness. Bambu Lab says PA6-CF prints "will be tougher after putting in humid environment more than 1 day," and that "you can dampen and soften the prints in advance if the model requires high toughness." Its PA6-GF page says the part "achieves better toughness after exposure to moisture."
• Coat the surface. Bambu Lab says "Fully impregnating the surface of the prints with paint, wax and other waterproof coatings can inhibit water absorption." Polymaker is more cautious, saying some people have tried automotive spray paint "though we have very limited information on this," and that conditioning "will be inevitable over time."
• Choose a long-chain grade. Polymaker suggests PA12-CF10 "if your goal is to use a strong nylon blend but maintain your dimensions."
• Remove supports early. Bambu Lab says to remove supports from its PA6-CF, PA6-GF, and PAHT-CF prints within 2 hours, before moisture makes them stick. Polymaker's data sheets warn that a nylon used as its own support can bond "permanently" after "excessive moisture absorption." If supports have already welded on, see supports fused to the part.

Hotend and nozzle

Nylon prints hot. These are each maker's nozzle ranges:

Polymaker's general PA page says you need an "All-metal hotend for any nylon requiring over 240°C," and every grade above sits higher than that. Prusa's general nylon guide says "around 285 °C." Its CORE One+ page lists nylon at 260–280 °C, a different range from its own help article.

Unfilled Prusament PA11 is the only grade here whose maker says a brass nozzle is fine. For fiber grades, Polymaker's data sheets put brass nozzle life at "approximately 9h." Our worn nozzle guide covers how to spot a nozzle that has worn out. Bambu Lab rules out 0.2 mm nozzles for fiber-filled PA and marks the 0.6 mm hardened nozzle "Recommended." Its PAHT-CF page says "0.6 mm Nozzle Recommended," and its PA6-CF usage guide says the 0.4 mm high-flow nozzle is "not recommended." Our abrasive filament nozzle guide covers nozzle materials and wear.

Bed and adhesion

Nylon is known for lifting off the bed, and makers solve it in different ways:

• Prusa recommends its PA Nylon sheet: "The special PA Nylon sheet will provide the best adhesion for most polyamides." It says to clean the sheet with water only, because IPA and acetone damage it. For unfilled PA11, it recommends "a thin separation layer" of glue stick on that sheet, especially for large parts. For PA11 Carbon Fiber, it says "We don't recommend any other surface preparations." PEI with glue stick is "possible but comes with limitations": large prints "will tend to warp," and small ones "won't stick." Bed: 100 ± 10 °C for PA11, 110 ± 10 °C for PA11 Carbon Fiber.
• Bambu Lab says to use its glue stick for PA6-GF/CF and PAHT-CF, and marks its liquid glue "Not Recommended" for PA. Its plate table lists PA and fiber-filled PA at 100–120 ℃ on the Engineering, Smooth PEI, or Textured PEI plates, and "Not recommended" on the Cool Plate. Its glue table gives 90–110 °C with glue stick, so the two Bambu tables overlap rather than match. Its PA product pages say the Cool Plate SuperTack is not compatible, and its usage guide suggests a brim.
• ELEGOO lists glue as "Required" on "Textured/Smooth PEI or Other Plates," at 90–110 °C.
• SUNLU's data sheets list a textured PEI plate with "Glue stick / LAC spray adhesive," at 50–70 °C for PA6-CF and 60–70 °C for PA12-CF.
• Polymaker runs its Warp-Free nylons on a 40–50 °C bed and says to use "a glue stick or Magigoo PA if experiencing any issues with bed adhesion." Its CoPA page lists "PC and Texture PEI (Glue when needed)" at 25–50 °C.

That's a spread from 25 °C to 120 °C for the same family, so set the bed from your spool's maker, not from a generic nylon profile. Our bed adhesives guide and build surface guide cover the options.

Enclosure and chamber

This is where makers disagree most.

Polymaker says its Warp-Free technology "allows larger nylon parts to be printed on open-frame printers." Bambu Lab's advice for its own printers is the opposite. Bambu's guidance covers its printers in general, and Polymaker's covers its own filament, so start from the filament maker's settings and check what your printer maker says. Enclosures also matter for fumes. Prusa says polyamides "emit a strong odor with potentially dangerous ultrafine particles (UFPs) so printing in a well-ventilated room or in an enclosure is a must." Our enclosure planning guide covers what an enclosure does and doesn't do.

Annealing and moisture conditioning

Several makers ask you to anneal nylon parts in an oven after printing. Polymaker says the Fiberon nylons need 100 °C for 16 hours and CoPA 80 °C for 6 hours. Its wiki gives "80˚-100˚C for 6-16 hours" across its nylons. Bambu Lab gives 80–130 °C for 5–12 hours for PA6-GF. Prusa lists PA11's heat resistance as "up to 122.5 °C" after annealing, while its data sheet gives HDT figures of 58.7 °C (0.45 MPa) and 49.9 °C (1.80 MPa), without saying the bars were annealed.

Annealing dries the part, so Polymaker recommends "Moisture conditioning after Annealing." Its wiki lists three ways to do it: 48 hours in a humid space, a soak in water and then 48 hours in the air, or about two weeks in room air. Our annealing guide covers every maker's cycle, the shrinkage it causes, and oven safety, and our carbon fiber guide compares the heat figures on fiber nylon data sheets, which don't always say whether test bars were annealed.

AMS and other automatic feeders

Bambu Lab's rules for nylon depend on whose filament it is and which grade:

• Third-party fiber nylon: its Notes for AMS say to avoid "third-party fiber reinforcement materials (PA-CF/GF, PET-CF/GF, PLA-CF /GF, etc.)," which "may wear AMS PTFE tubes" and cause "brittle breaks." Its filament guide lists "certain brands of" PA-CF/GF and PAHT-CF/GF as both "Too brittle" and "Too hard and rough" for the AMS and AMS lite.
• Bambu PAHT-CF and PA6-GF: "AMS 2 Pro, AMS HT & AMS Compatible" and "AMS lite NOT Compatible."
• Bambu PA6-CF: "All AMS Series NOT Compatible." Bambu Lab's filament guide lists only "Bambu PA-CF, PAHT-CF" as compatible in its PA-CF/GF row, and its PAHT-CF page says PA-CF was discontinued.
• Drying in the AMS: the AMS 2 Pro is for filaments that dry at 65 °C or lower, and Bambu Lab marks PA drying in it "Not recommended" or "Not compatible." The AMS HT can dry PA at 85 °C for 12 hours.

Filament makers' statements cover the spool, not the filament. Polymaker says its spools "spin great in the AMS," then adds "you will need to be careful when using any abrasive materials in the AMS." ELEGOO offers a printable ring that helps its spool "adapt to AMS." Neither ELEGOO nor SUNLU says its nylon is AMS compatible on the pages we checked. When a printer maker advises against a filament in its feeder, follow the printer maker. Our AMS filament compatibility guide covers the external spool route.

Which printers can print nylon?

A printer needs a hotend that covers the filament's range, a hardened nozzle for filled grades, and, for most makers' grades, an enclosure or a heated chamber. These notes come from printer makers' documentation and our printer pages:

• Open-frame Bambu Lab printers (A series, P1P): Bambu Lab marks PA grades "Not Recommended" on open-frame printers and says PA6-CF is "not compatible with P1P / A1 series." The A1 FAQ says PA and PA-CF/GF are not recommended on the A1 for large, high-infill parts that need interlayer strength, but "can be used on A1 for printing small-sized models with low infill densities." The stock A1 nozzle is stainless steel, so fiber grades need a hardened one. Bambu Lab also says "We don't recommend enclosing the A1."
• Enclosed Bambu Lab printers: the filament guide marks the H2 series, X2D, P2S, X1 series, and P1S "Recommended" for PA. Bambu Lab says the H2 series and X1E have active chamber heating, and suggests preheating the bed at maximum for 15 minutes on the X1C and P1S when the room is cold. Our catalog lists a 300 °C maximum hotend for the P1S, P2S, and X1 Carbon, 320 °C for the X1E, and 350 °C for the H2 series.
• Prusa: the CORE One+ has a chamber that "heats up to 55 °C" and a 290 °C maximum nozzle temperature (400 °C with Prusa's HT option, per its comparison table). Prusament PA11 lists printer profiles for the CORE One+, CORE One L, and Prusa Pro HT90. PA11 Carbon Fiber's 285 ± 5 °C range tops out at that 290 °C limit. Prusa suggests "adding a hardened nozzle (for abrasive engineering materials)."
• Creality: our catalog lists the K1C as enclosed, with a wear-resistant nozzle and a 300 °C maximum hotend.

Check the top of the filament's range against your hotend. Polymaker's data sheets put PA6-CF20 and PA12-CF10 at 280–300 °C, so a 290 °C hotend only covers the lower part. Never set a hotend above its maker's maximum.

Checklist before you buy nylon

• Pick the grade for the job. PA6 grades are stiffest dry but change most when wet. PA12, PA612, PA11, and Bambu's PAHT-CF absorb less, according to their makers.
• Check your hotend against the maker's range. Most grades here need 260–300 °C and an all-metal hotend.
• For any fiber-filled nylon, fit a hardened or other wear-resistant nozzle of 0.4 mm or larger. Bambu Lab prefers 0.6 mm.
• Check your dryer reaches the maker's setting (75–110 °C here) and that the spool can take it.
• Plan to print from a dry box or dryer. Most makers here say to keep nylon below 20% RH.
• Match the bed and plate to the maker: a PA Nylon sheet for Prusament, glue stick on PEI for most others, and a cool 40–50 °C bed for Polymaker's Warp-Free grades.
• Decide on an enclosure from the filament maker's guidance, then check what your printer maker says about it.
• Don't load third-party fiber nylon into a Bambu Lab AMS or AMS lite, or Bambu PA6-CF into any AMS.
• If the data sheet's figures assume annealing, plan for an oven cycle and for the part to take up moisture afterwards.

Ready to choose?

The carbon fiber filament shortlist covers verified fiber nylons from Polymaker (Fiberon PA6-CF20, PA12-CF10, and PA612-CF15), SUNLU (PA6-CF and PA12-CF), and ELEGOO (PAHT-CF), with each maker's nozzle, heat, enclosure, and drying needs. The specialty filament shortlist includes Fiberon PA612-CF15 alongside ASA and PC. For two nylons with opposite approaches to heat, read our Fiberon PA6-CF20 vs ELEGOO PAHT-CF comparison. For two PA12 grades, read Fiberon PA12-CF10 vs SUNLU PA12-CF. Before you buy, check your dryer in the filament dryer shortlist and your nozzle in the replacement nozzle shortlist. If nylon prints are already giving you trouble, start with wet filament or warping.

How this page was checked

Every claim above comes from the manufacturer documents in the sources section, retrieved on 2026-10-12. Where makers disagree, or one maker's pages disagree with each other, we report each statement and name the document. Dry and wet figures are copied from each data sheet's own tables, and we note which table each specimen note sits under. Percentage changes are our arithmetic on those figures. We used product-page Q&A replies only where they're visibly labelled as the maker. ELEGOO's PAHT-CF Q&A replies are labelled "Customer," so we left them out. Settings change between data sheet versions, so check the current one for your spool. Read more in our editorial standards and affiliate disclosure.

Specialty materials: what to check before you buy a spool ↗