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MJF Plastic PA12 Glass Beads
Also known as HP PA12 Glass Beads, PA12 GB, Glass-filled PA12, PA12 GF, Nylon 12 GB
Colors
About MJF Plastic PA12GB
PA 12 Glass Beads is a Multi Jet Fusion nylon plastic infused with glass beads that improve product stiffness and structural integrity. This material is 40% glass-filled which reduces warping during the printing process and over the product's life. PA12 Glass Beads is great for flat and large parts that are prone to warping in Versatile Plastic and MJF PA12 Plastic and for functional parts that require high strength and dimensional accuracy.
Common Applications
Tooling, Robotics, Drones, Fixtures, Medical Braces, Housings, Cases
Material Properties
High Stiffness
Good Dimensional Stability
Thin features and interlocking parts
Handling and Care
Heat Deflection 114C/237F
Skin-Friendly
Good Chemical Resistance
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Frequently Asked Questions
What colors and finishes are available for this material?
Gray: Natural gray finish, blasted with oxide beads and air
Dark Gray: Blasted with oxide beads and air, finished with a dark gray color
How long will it take to receive a model in this material?
Production time depends on the model size, but usually products ship within 10 business days.
How is this material made?
This material is made using HP Multi Jet Fusion technology. Starting with a layer of Nylon powder on a build platform, a set of inkjet print heads pass across the print bed and deposit a heat reactive fusing agent onto the powder which solidifies into plastic when a heating lamp passed over the build area. Next, the build platform moves down, and a new layer of powder is deposited and this process is repeated, building up parts layer-by-layer. Additional support material is not required and interlocking parts are possible.
How does the strength in the direction between layers (z-axis) compare to the rest of the part?
The strength in the x-axis is comparable to the strength in the x & y axes, creating near homogeneous mechanical properties.
Technical Documents
More Materials
Professional Smooth Finish
High Strength & Durability
Watertight
Applications
Cases & Mounts
Mechanical Parts
Eyewear
Technology
Multi-Jet Fusion
Good Strength
Many Colors Available
High Density
Applications
Tools & Accessories
Home Decor
Art
Technology
Binder Jetting
- Bounding Box
- Wall Thickness
- Wires
- Surface Details
- Escape Holes
- Clearance
- Sprues
- Interlocking Parts
- Multiple Parts
- Accuracy
- Design Tips
- Pricing
BOUNDING BOX
Maximum
284 x 380 x 380 mm
Minimum
X + Y + Z > 9.0 mm
Your model should be within the minimum and maximum bounding box sizes. The maximum bounding box represents the largest model that we can manufacture. The minimum bounding box size is the smallest dimension in which we can manufacture in this material.
WALL THICKNESS
Minimum Supported Wall Thickness
0.75 mm
Minimum Unsupported Wall Thickness
1.0 mm
A supported wall is connected on at least two sides. Walls in your model must meet the minimum measurements to ensure it survives the printing and cleaning process. Thin walls are prone to warping during printing and are fragile to clean. Objects that meet the minimum requirements may still be rejected based on the geometry in which case our production team will communicate with you if the design needs improvements and can assist you to strengthen your model.
WIRES
Minimum Supported Wires
1.0 mm
Minimum Unsupported Wires
1.0 mm
A geometry is considered a wire when it is thinner in both unconnected directions than its length. Wires that are under our suggested minimums are prone to breaking in the cleaning process, or warping.
SURFACE DETAILS
Min embossed detail
0.5 mm high & wide
Min engraved detail
0.5 mm high & wide
We recommend these minimum measurements for details like embossing or engraving, based on printer resolution.
ESCAPE HOLES
Single Escape Hole Diameter
4.0 mm
Multiple Escape Hole Diameter
2.0 mm
Pressurized air is used to blast excess powder from models that are hollow, or contain hollow cavities. In order for us to safely do this, escape holes need to be larger than 4.0 mm in diameter. For models larger than 50.00 mm³ we require two or more escape holes at least 2.00 mm in diameter.
A single escape hole at the end of a cavity will not allow material in the corners near the escape hole to fully escape. So we recommend multiple escape holes at both ends of the cavity.
CLEARANCE
0.6 mm
Clearance is the space between two parts, e.g. space between gears or a ball and socket joint.
SPRUES
2 mm thick, attached in at least 2 places per part
Sprues are wires that keep two models together. Sprues are more likely to break compared to other wires because they typically connect parts with high mass on either side. For this reason, they need to be thicker than our minimum wire thickness.
INTERLOCKING AND ENCLOSED PARTS ?
Yes.
PA12 Glass Beads Plastic is printed with a powder bed process fusing together nylon powder. This enables interlocking parts, as long as the distance between them is greater than the indicated minimum.
MULTIPLE PARTS ?
Up to 250.
ACCURACY
±0.25 mm + 0.2% of the longest axis
For example: a product with dimensions of 50x50x100 mm can be 0.25 mm + 0.002*100 mm = 0.2 mm bigger or smaller in any direction.
DESIGN TIPS
Print Lines or "Stepping"
A "staircase" effect, or print lines, can occur on the surface of your print. These can become more pronounced on curved and angled surfaces.
Preventing Warping
Making your design more stiff (increasing torsional rigidity) will reduce the risk of warping. Longer walls need to be thicker than short ones.
Avoid "Spikes"
If your model has spike-like geometry where the spike is longer than it is wide, it's possible for it to break in the cleaning process.
Orientation
Our production team does their best to evaluate your product and orient it to optimize either dimensionally accuracy or aesthetics depending on the application. Generally, the top surface will have more visible stepping than the bottom surface. The mating surface and other important features like holes are the most accurate when placed in the horizontal plane.
Holes & Small Holes
We cannot clean holes that are too small compared to their depth. If the hole is under 80mm deep, then the hole diameter should be at least 0.9mm. If it is deeper then 80mm, it should be at least 3mm in diameter. Additionally, tubes with corners can be difficult to reach and we may not be able to fully clean your model.
We recommend creating multiple access points to holes and small tubes so that we can properly clean your model.
PRICING
How will the price of my model be calculated?
- Material Volume - the amount of material needed to 3D print your product
- Machine Volume - the amount of space your product takes inside our 3D printers
- Number of parts - a part is a piece of a model that can be separated from other pieces of the model
- Production - associated production costs including labor; quality control; machine maintenance; general utilities; and other supporting services required to 3D print your product
What is the minimum price per part?
- Gray - $11.00
- Dark Gray - $13.50
