Nylon.
The engineering plastic, strong, tough, wear-resistant and machinable. Gears, bushes, wear strips, sliders, rollers.
Where metal is overspecified and plastic is smart.
Nylon (polyamide, PA6 and PA66) is the engineering plastic, strong, tough, abrasion-resistant, low-friction and machinable to tight tolerances. We CNC-machine nylon for gears, bushes, wear strips, sliders, rollers, idler wheels and any application where a metal part is overspecified and a plastic part is the smart choice.
Semi-crystalline engineering thermoplastic with excellent strength-to-weight, low coefficient of friction, very good wear resistance and reasonable temperature performance. Density ~1.14 g/cm³. Service temperature -40°C to +100°C (PA6) / +120°C (PA66). Hygroscopic, absorbs moisture, which affects dimensional stability.
Cast Nylon 6 (also called MC nylon), better mechanical properties, better wear resistance, better dimensional stability. Extruded Nylon 66, cheaper, more readily available, fine for general machining. We'll specify cast for high-load wear parts and extruded for general-purpose machining.
The specs at a glance.
Common applications .
Gears, sprockets and timing pulleys for low-to-medium load applications. Bushes and bearings where lubrication is undesirable or impractical. Wear strips and conveyor guides in food, packaging and material handling.
Custom machined parts where weight, noise and cost favour plastic over metal, and where the load and temperature stay within nylon's envelope.
- Gears, sprockets, timing pulleys
- Bushes, bearings, idler wheels
- Conveyor wear strips and guides
- Roller and slider components
- Cam followers and cam plates
- Custom machined housings
- Pump and valve components
- Material-handling tooling
From sheet to finished part .
CNC routing and machining for sheet and rod. Drilling, tapping, profiling, pocketing and 3D milling. Standard tooling, nothing exotic. Annealing available for parts that need maximum dimensional stability.
Stocked cast Nylon 6 (natural and oil-filled grades) in 6 to 100 mm sheet, 20 to 250 mm round bar. Extruded Nylon 66 in 6 to 50 mm sheet and 8 to 200 mm rod. Glass-filled and MoS2-filled grades to order.
Common questions about nylon.
Cast nylon (also called MC nylon, Nylon 6) has better mechanical properties, better wear resistance and better dimensional stability, the right choice for high-load wear parts, gears and heavy-duty bushings. Extruded nylon (typically Nylon 66) is cheaper, more readily available, fine for general-purpose machining.
Yes, nylon is hygroscopic and absorbs moisture from air, which causes dimensional change. For precision-fit assemblies that need to hold tight tolerances, we usually specify POM/Acetal instead. Annealing is also available for nylon parts that need maximum dimensional stability.
Cast Nylon 6 in 6 to 100 mm sheet, 20 to 250 mm round bar. Extruded Nylon 66 in 6 to 50 mm sheet and 8 to 200 mm rod. Glass-filled and MoS2-filled grades brought in to order.
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