Taulman3D Releases Nylon 680 3D Printer Filament — FDA Approved for Food Contact & More

March 30, 2015 by Heidi Milkert 3D Printing 3D Printing Materials

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When it comes to the material science behind 3D printer filaments, few companies, if any, have the experience that taulman3D does. They have released some of the most versatile filaments we have seen to date, specializing in a variety of nylon materials.

Back in November, we announced that taulman3d had partnered with another very interesting company within the 3D printing materials space, Graphene 3D Lab. As a part of this partnership, the companies announced that Graphene 3D Lab would have exclusive distribution rights to a forthcoming nylon material which taulman3D planned to release sometime in the first quarter of 2015. With just one day remaining in the quarter, today appears to be that day.

Called Nylon 680, this polymer is unlike any you have seen in the past. Under development for over 8 months, it is FDA approved for applications requiring contact with food or beverages. This is because of its ability to handle high temperatures inherent with steam, boiling water and dishwasher usage. It is specifically developed for FFF 3D printing and like all of taulman3D’s filaments, it has a consistent melt viscosity.

Unlike many filaments we discuss, where the process of turning the pellets into strands and spools of filament require heated extrusion, this new Nylon 680 filament is not extruded, but instead drawn, under constantly refreshed water, which maintains a 7.0 – 7.2 pH level.

Below you will find the full specifications of this new filament. It’s important to note that these results are based on tests performed on 3D printed tensile bars which were first boiled in water at ~100C for 15 minutes and then placed in a dry room at 15% humidity for 12 hours.

Color: Subtle translucent Shell White when printed solid – May be dyed with acid based dyes.
Availability: 1.75mm and 2.85mm material is on-hand and shipping worldwide now.
Tensile Strength: 4,686PSI +
Modulus PSI: 28,634
Required Cold Print Bed: BuildTak with coat of PVA
Required Hot Print Bed: Glass heated to 50C with coat of PVA
Max Elongation at break: 226%
Print Temperature: 250C – 255C
Shrinkage: 0.006 in/in
Transmission: ~70%

Another benefit of Nylon 680 is its translucent as well as somewhat transparent properties. This enables printed parts to be visually inspected for defects such as failed internal fill adhesion, without the need for destructive testing.

According to Taulman3D, their partnership with publicly traded Graphene 3D Lab should help propel their materials research and continue to widen the capabilities of this Nylon 680 offering. For those interested in this new filament it is available for $70.00/1 lb spool. Let us if you’ve had an opportunity to use it and what your thoughts were. Discuss in the Nylon 680 forum thread over at 3DPB.com.