3D printers for nylon and carbon fiber nylon: enclosed models with a hardened nozzle

Nineteen shipping 3D printers can print nylon and carbon fiber nylon out of the box. Each is enclosed and has a hardened steel, bimetal or tungsten carbide nozzle, a hotend that reaches at least 300 °C and a bed that reaches 100 °C. The Elegoo Centauri Carbon is the cheapest at a $299.99 launch price. Among those with an actively heated chamber, the QIDI Q2 costs least, at $499.

Those figures come from the filament makers. Bambu Lab’s filament guide sets carbon- and glass-fiber nylon at 260 to 300 °C on a 100 to 120 °C bed. It lists an enclosed printer for nylon and its filled grades (PA-CF, PA6-CF, PAHT-CF and PA6-GF) and marks a hardened steel nozzle as required for the filled ones. Prusa Research gives 285 °C and 110 °C for nylon.

Dry it before printing: Bambu Lab lists 80 °C for 8 to 12 hours in a drying oven, and Prusa warns that improper storage can let nylon absorb water weighing “up to 10% of filament weight.”

A bimetal nozzle is a brass body with a hardened steel tip. Elegoo calls the Centauri Carbon’s a “brass-hardened steel nozzle” and QIDI calls its own a “bimetal hardened steel nozzle,” so both count here. The Bambu Lab H2D Pro’s tungsten carbide nozzle qualifies as well: Bambu Lab rates it at HRA 90 on the Rockwell A hardness scale, against 74 for hardened steel.

The table sorts by US launch price for the base configuration, cheapest first. A dash in the chamber column means the maker states no chamber temperature.

What 3D printer can print nylon?

Any printer whose nozzle reaches 300 °C and bed 100 °C, inside an enclosure, meets what Bambu Lab’s filament guide asks for nylon. Nineteen shipping printers in the database do, and their hardened nozzles also handle carbon- and glass-fiber nylon. The cheapest, the Elegoo Centauri Carbon, launched at $299.99.

Twelve of the 19 heat their chamber actively. Ten are rated for 65 °C, and the Creality K2 Pro and Creality K2 Plus for 60 °C. Bambu Lab’s slicer switches a 60 °C chamber on by default for PA, PA-CF, PAHT-CF and PA6-CF on its X1E. The other seven have an enclosure without a chamber heater.

Not every filament maker asks for the enclosure. Prusa says carbon-fiber nylons such as its Prusament PA11 Carbon Fiber “can be printed without an enclosure.” Polymaker tells users of its nylons to keep the bed at 50 °C or less with any chamber doors open.

Prusa still calls a well-ventilated room or an enclosure “a must,” because nylon gives off a strong odor and ultrafine particles. The materials guide sets out what each maker lists per material.

Nylon 12 (PA12) needs the same hardware. Polymaker says its carbon-fiber PA12-CF10 absorbs “significantly less moisture than PA6/66 and PA6-based materials,” but still lists a 280 °C all-metal hotend, a hardened nozzle and a filament dryer.

Which 3D printers can print carbon fiber nylon?

Nineteen shipping printers in the database pair an enclosure with a hardened nozzle: hardened steel, bimetal with a hardened steel tip, or tungsten carbide on the Bambu Lab H2D Pro. Carbon fiber erodes brass and stainless steel nozzles, so Bambu Lab, Prusa Research and Polymaker all call for a hardened one.

Launch prices for the 19 run from $299.99 for the Elegoo Centauri Carbon to $3,799 for the Bambu Lab H2D Pro, the only one with a tungsten carbide nozzle.

Check the hotend ceiling. Bambu Lab sets PA-CF, PA6-CF and PAHT-CF at 260 to 300 °C, and Polymaker asks 280 to 300 °C for its PA6-CF20 and PA12-CF10.

Five of the 19 max out at 300 °C: the Bambu Lab P2S and X2D and the Creality K2, K2 Pro and K1 Max. The other 14 reach 320 to 370 °C. That also covers the 285 to 320 °C Bambu Lab gives for PPA-CF (carbon-fiber polyphthalamide, a high-temperature polyamide).

Glass-filled nylon needs the same nozzle. Polymaker requires a hardened steel nozzle for its PA6-GF25 “due to the abrasive nature of glass fibers,” and Bambu Lab groups PA6-GF with the carbon grades at 260 to 300 °C.

Two more points from Bambu Lab’s guide:

• Nozzle size. Its first choice for fiber-filled filament is a 0.6 mm hardened steel nozzle, which clogs less than the 0.4 mm nozzle fitted to all 19 printers.
• Multi-material units. It warns that some brands of PA-CF/GF and PAHT-CF/GF are too brittle or too abrasive for its AMS (Automatic Material System) feeder.

Carbon-fiber PLA (polylactic acid) and PETG (polyethylene terephthalate glycol) are a different case: Bambu Lab’s guide allows open-frame or enclosed printers for them. The printers with hardened nozzles list includes the open-frame models.

What is the cheapest 3D printer for nylon?

The Elegoo Centauri Carbon, at a $299.99 launch price, is the cheapest shipping printer with an enclosure and a hardened nozzle. It reaches 320 °C at the nozzle and 110 °C at the bed but has no chamber heater. With an actively heated chamber, the QIDI Q2 costs least, at $499 with a 65 °C rating.

The six cheapest in the table, by launch price:

• $299.99: Elegoo Centauri Carbon, 320 °C hotend, 110 °C bed.
• $399: Elegoo Centauri Carbon 2, 350 °C hotend, 110 °C bed.
• $399: QIDI Q2C, 370 °C hotend, 120 °C bed.
• $499: QIDI Q2, 370 °C hotend, 120 °C bed and a 65 °C heated chamber.
• $549: Bambu Lab P2S, 300 °C hotend, 110 °C bed and a 50 °C chamber rating without a heater.
• $549: Creality K2, 300 °C hotend, 100 °C bed.

The Creality K2’s 100 °C bed is the lowest in the table. That is the bottom of Bambu Lab’s 100 to 120 °C range for nylon and below Prusa’s 110 °C. The enclosed printers under $600 list sets these beside the enclosed models with other nozzles.

The Centauri Carbon is also the cheapest shipping enclosed printer of any nozzle type, so the answer holds for unfilled nylon. Without an enclosure, which Prusa and Polymaker accept for some nylons, the open-frame Elegoo Centauri 2 launched at $299 with a bimetal nozzle and a 350 °C hotend.

Do you need a hardened nozzle to print nylon?

Only for filled nylon. Bambu Lab, Prusa Research and Polymaker require a hardened nozzle for carbon- and glass-fiber grades because the fibers wear softer nozzles. For its unfilled PolyMide CoPA (a nylon 6 and 6,6 copolymer), Polymaker’s only hardware requirement is an all-metal hotend that reaches 250 °C, so brass and stainless steel nozzles qualify.

Six shipping enclosed printers are left out of the table by their stock nozzle alone:

• Sovol Zero ($499): no stock nozzle material stated, 350 °C hotend.
• Anycubic Kobra S1 ($549): brass, 320 °C.
• Bambu Lab P1S ($699): stainless steel, 300 °C.
• Prusa CORE One+ (Gen 2) ($1,299): brass, 290 °C.
• Prusa CORE One L+ ($1,999): brass, 290 °C.
• Snapmaker Artisan ($2,999): brass, 300 °C.

All six reach at least 290 °C, above Prusa’s 285 °C for nylon and Polymaker’s 250 to 270 °C for CoPA. The enclosed 3D printers list has every enclosed model, whatever its nozzle.