Formlabs Nylon 12 Tough Powder (PA12, SLS)
Formlabs · SLS powder
A ductile PA12 powder for accurate, impact-resistant parts with reduced warpage and economical powder reuse.
Formlabs datasheet values, printed parts
Other PA12 grades and fills
Compare the PA12 products and conditions in the library; see the grade overview at PA12.
- HP PA 12 GB
- Farsoon FS3300PA-F
- Formlabs Nylon 12 GF
- Sinterit PA12 Smooth
- FR
- ESD
- Formlabs Nylon 12 Tough
- Evonik INFINAM PA 12 (VESTOSINT)
- Farsoon FS3401GB
- HP PA 12 S
- AL
- HP PA 12 FR
- Farsoon FS3300PA
- EOS PA 2210 FR
- Formlabs Nylon 12 White
- EOS Alumide
- HP PA 12
- EOS PA 2200
- EOS PA 2201
- EOS PA 2220 HighReuse
- EOS PA 2200 CarbonReduced
- ALM PA 640-GSL
- HP PA 12 W
- EOS PrimePart FR (PA 2241 FR)
- Formlabs Nylon 12
- EOS PA 3200 GF
- CF
Compare all 27 grades and fillsHide
| Grade · open for datasheet | Best for | Yield MPa | Tensile MPa | Elong. % | Hardness |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
HP 3D High Reusability PA 12 GB · MJF powder | A 40% glass-bead-filled PA 12 for stiff, dimensionally stable parts with fine detail and repeatability. | — | 29 | 10 | — |
SLS powder | — | — | 36 | 5 | — |
Formlabs Nylon 12 GF Powder · SLS powder | A glass-filled PA12 powder for rigid, dimensionally stable parts under sustained loading and elevated temperatures. | — | 38 | 4 | — |
SLS powder | — | — | 38 | 4.6 | 76 Shore D |
Flame-retardant PA12 | Use for aircraft interiors, rail and electrical enclosures where V-0 / FAR 25.853 burn compliance is mandatory; slightly lower toughness. | 40 | 44 | 6 | 78 Shore D |
Electrically conductive / static-dissipative PA12 | Choose for electronics handling trays, fixtures and fuel-system parts needing controlled surface resistivity (10⁶–10⁹ Ω). | 41 | 45 | 7 | 78 Shore D |
Formlabs Nylon 12 ToughThis page Formlabs Nylon 12 Tough Powder · SLS powder | A ductile PA12 powder for accurate, impact-resistant parts with reduced warpage and economical powder reuse. | — | 42 | 25 | — |
SLS powder | — | 43 | 49 | 311 | 75 Shore D |
SLS powder | — | — | 44 | 9.3 | — |
HP 3D High Reusability PA 12 S (enabled by Arkema) · MJF powder | A high-reuse PA 12 grade for smooth surfaces, fine detail, and cost-efficient aesthetic production parts. | — | 45 | 12 | — |
Aluminium-filled PA12 | Metallic-look, stiff, easily tumbled/polished parts for tooling aids and design models; better heat conduction, low elongation. | — | 46 | 4 | 80 Shore D |
HP 3D High Reusability PA 12 FR (enabled by Evonik) · MJF powder | A halogen-free flame-retardant PA 12 with a smooth finish for safety-critical housings and production components. | — | 46 | 4.7 | — |
SLS powder | — | — | 46 | 36 | — |
SLS powder | — | — | 46 | 4 | — |
Formlabs Nylon 12 White Powder · SLS powder | A white, dyeable PA12 powder for high-contrast prototypes, medical models, and customer-facing end-use parts. | — | 47 | 8 | — |
SLS powder | — | — | 48 | 4 | 76 Shore D |
HP 3D High Reusability PA 12 (enabled by Evonik) · MJF powder | HP's flagship MJF nylon balances strength, ductility, detail, and powder efficiency for functional production parts. | — | 48 | 20 | — |
SLS powder | — | — | 48 | 18 | 75 Shore D |
SLS powder | — | — | 48 | 15 | 75 Shore D |
SLS powder | — | — | 48 | 10 | — |
SLS powder | — | — | 48 | 18 | — |
SLS powder | — | — | 49 | 3 | — |
HP 3D High Reusability PA 12 W · MJF powder | A white engineering PA 12 for strong functional parts that can remain white or take vibrant color finishes. | — | 49 | 17 | — |
SLS powder | — | — | 49 | 15 | — |
Formlabs Nylon 12 Powder · SLS powder | A versatile, biocompatible PA12 powder for dimensionally accurate functional prototypes and durable end-use parts. | — | 50 | 11 | — |
SLS powder | — | — | 51 | 9 | 80 Shore D |
Carbon-fibre reinforced PA12 | Highest stiffness-to-weight powder-bed nylon — for lightweight brackets, drone and motorsport parts; strongly anisotropic and brittle. | — | 72 | 4 | 83 Shore D |
What is Formlabs Nylon 12 Tough Powder?
Formlabs Nylon 12 Tough Powder is Formlabs' PA12 powder for Selective Laser Sintering on Fuse 1+ 30W — a ductile PA12 powder for accurate, impact-resistant parts with reduced warpage and economical powder reuse. Formlabs Nylon 12 Tough Powder has a tensile strength of 42 MPa (6.09 ksi), weaker than 55% of polymer grades. Elongation at break is 25% and the elastic modulus is 1.45 GPa (0.21 Msi).
About this powder
“Nylon 12 Tough Powder offers the best-in-class refresh rate among Nylon powders, high ductility, and great dimensional accuracy across the build chamber. Print more durable parts for prototyping and small batch production that have reduced warpage without sacrificing strength.” — Formlabs, product description
- Manufacturer
- Formlabs
- Product
- Nylon 12 Tough Powder
- Base polymer
- PA12
- Process
- Selective Laser Sintering (SLS)
- Printers
- Fuse 1+ 30W
- As-printed colour
- Gray — Formlabs lists the as-printed colour as Grey; dyeing options depend on the base colour and grade
- Build envelope
- 165 × 165 × 300 mm. Usable part size depends on orientation, spacing and process allowances.
- Powder refresh
- 20 % fresh powder in the recorded recipe. Follow the manufacturer’s build and powder-management conditions.
- Formlabs categories
- General Purpose · Impact Resistant · High Stiffness · Temperature Resistant · Medical
- Reported material classifications
- Skin Contact · Mucosal Membrane Contact · ISO 10993-5 · ISO 10993-10 · ISO 10993-11 · ISO 10993-23 · UL 94 HB. Scope and test conditions apply; these do not certify the finished part or assembly.
- Manufacturer data source
- Formlabs source reference (Rev 01 2024-08-10)
- FabDigit material reference
- Download reference PDF — FabDigit layout with Formlabs data and source attribution.
- Ordering
- Specify this powder in your quote notes for an availability review.
Formlabs positions it for manufacturing aids, rapid tooling, end-use parts, rapid prototyping, small-batch production and long parts prone to warping.
Choosing Nylon 12 Tough Powder
A more ductile Formlabs PA12 for impact-resistant prototypes, compliant mechanisms and long parts where reduced warpage matters.
- Consider it for
- Snaps, ratchets and hinges · Impact-resistant functional prototypes · Long or large-section parts that are prone to warping
- Tradeoffs
- The higher ductility comes with lower stiffness and much lower heat-deflection performance at the higher test load than the standard or glass-filled Formlabs PA12 choices.
- Design and validation
- Validate the actual snap, hinge or compliant mechanism in its intended orientation. This powder is limited to Fuse 1+ 30W and requires the maker's powder-aging procedure before the first print.
- Finishing
- Gray is the as-printed colour. Confirm a separate dye or coating route for another colour, and test any tumbling or blasting step on flexible edges and fine features.
- Before choosing
- Does the part need ductility and impact tolerance more than stiffness? Is the design a long or compliant geometry that benefits from the reduced-warpage positioning?
Selection notes based on Formlabs Nylon 12 Tough Powder product page · Formlabs Nylon 12 Tough Powder TDS, Rev 01. Published test results depend on the stated printer, orientation and conditioning. Compare material families · Choose a finishing route.
Formlabs Nylon 12 Tough Powder properties
Typical values for Formlabs Nylon 12 Tough Powder (Rev 01 2024-08-10); review each property’s test condition. Only this product’s reported properties are shown; unreported properties are omitted. Bars are the position among polymer grades.
Mechanical6
Formlabs Nylon 12 Tough Powder has a tensile strength of 42 MPa (6.09 ksi), weaker than 55% of polymer grades. Elongation at break is 25% and the elastic modulus is 1.45 GPa (0.21 Msi).
per ASTM D638-14 Type 1
per ASTM D638-14 Type 1
per ASTM D638-14 Type 1; X/Y 25 / Z 15
per ASTM D790-17
per ASTM D790-17
per ASTM D256-10
Thermal4
per ASTM D648-16
per ASTM D648-16
per ASTM D1525
3.00 mm
Physical1
per ASTM D570; printed part
Use published values for design screening. Confirm the grade, build direction, conditioning and available lot documentation when quoting.
Test basis and additional results
Read the values with the specimen preparation and test conditions that produced them.
- Manufacturer document
- 2401997-TDS-ENUS-0 · Rev 01 · 2024-08-10
- Specimen preparation
- Fuse 1+ 30W using aged powder on a bed-temperature-tuned printer; specimens conditioned at 23 °C and 50% relative humidity for 40 hours.
- Build direction
- Elongation is reported separately for X/Y (25%) and Z (15%). The other table values do not state an orientation.
The reviewed reference copy retains manufacturer document ID 2401997 and the Rev 01 cover and includes an outdoor-aging appendix; the current live official PDF uses a descriptive filename and is two pages without that appendix.
Solvent compatibility screen
24 h immersion mass change reported by the manufacturer
| Solvent | 24 h weight gain |
|---|---|
| Acetic acid 5% | 0.2% |
| Acetone | 0.2% |
| Bleach (~5% NaOCl) | 0.1% |
| Butyl acetate | 0.1% |
| Diesel fuel | 0.6% |
| Diethyl glycol monomethyl ether | 0.5% |
| Hydraulic oil | 0.9% |
| Hydrogen peroxide (3%) | 0.1% |
| Isooctane | 0.1% |
| Isopropyl alcohol | 0.3% |
| Mineral oil (heavy) | 1.0% |
| Mineral oil (light) | 0.8% |
| Salt water (3.5% NaCl) | 0.2% |
| Skydrol 5 | 0.8% |
| Sodium hydroxide solution (0.025%, pH 10) | 0.1% |
| Strong acid (concentrated HCl) | 5.6% |
| TPM | 0.8% |
| Water | 0.1% |
| Xylene | 0.2% |
TDS test article: printed 1 × 1 × 1 cm cube. Weight change alone does not establish sealing, retained strength, or long-term chemical life.
Biocompatibility endpoint results
ISO 10993 endpoints listed in the manufacturer TDS
| Standard / endpoint | Result |
|---|---|
| ISO 10993-11:2017 — systemic toxicity | No systemic toxicity |
| ISO 10993-5:2009 | Not cytotoxic |
| ISO 10993-23:2021 | Not an irritant |
| ISO 10993-10:2021 | Not a sensitizer |
| ISO 10993-11:2017 — pyrogenicity | Nonpyrogenic |
Manufacturer material-sample result. It does not qualify a finished part or device for its intended use.
How to interpret this data
The original formulation document keeps its manufacturer document ID even when the current live official PDF uses a different filename.
The TDS says properties may vary with part geometry, print orientation, and temperature.
The ASTM D570 water-absorption row does not state a 24-hour duration.
Outdoor-aging results in the extended reference copy are graph-only; the PDF provides no exact numeric point table.
Formlabs Nylon 12 Tough Powder — frequently asked
What is Formlabs Nylon 12 Tough Powder used for?
A more ductile Formlabs PA12 for impact-resistant prototypes, compliant mechanisms and long parts where reduced warpage matters. Consider it for snaps, ratchets and hinges, impact-resistant functional prototypes and long or large-section parts that are prone to warping. The higher ductility comes with lower stiffness and much lower heat-deflection performance at the higher test load than the standard or glass-filled Formlabs PA12 choices.
What should I validate before using Formlabs Nylon 12 Tough Powder?
Validate the actual snap, hinge or compliant mechanism in its intended orientation. This powder is limited to Fuse 1+ 30W and requires the maker's powder-aging procedure before the first print. Does the part need ductility and impact tolerance more than stiffness? Is the design a long or compliant geometry that benefits from the reduced-warpage positioning?
How can Formlabs Nylon 12 Tough Powder be finished?
Gray is the as-printed colour. Confirm a separate dye or coating route for another colour, and test any tumbling or blasting step on flexible edges and fine features.
How should I interpret the published values for Formlabs Nylon 12 Tough Powder?
Fuse 1+ 30W using aged powder on a bed-temperature-tuned printer; specimens conditioned at 23 °C and 50% relative humidity for 40 hours. Elongation is reported separately for X/Y (25%) and Z (15%). The other table values do not state an orientation. Read each value with the stated method, specimen preparation and conditioning.
Sources
Product values come from the selected manufacturer source and are normalised for comparison. Confirm the quoted process, build direction, conditioning and available lot documentation for the finished part.