PA Vacuum Casting

PA, also called nylon, the abbreviation of polyamide, belongs to synthetic polymer family. Types of nylon are popular, including nylon 6, nylon 66, nylon 12, nylon 610, etc.

Vacuum casting PA (nylon) parts are versatile for applications that demand high strength and toughness, temperature and chemical resistance, and strong mechanical properties.

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Material Performance

Abrasion and Temperature Resistance
High Tensile Strength
High Toughness
Low Friction
Chemical Resistance
Great Mechanical Properties

Advantages

Light weight. PA (nylon) vacuum casting is ideal solution to create rapid prototypes that require light weight design.
Low cost. PA (nylon) is an affordable, versatile and useful plastic to vacuum casting end-use functional parts.
Durable and rigid. PA (nylon) offers strong mechanical properties and excellent ductility. PA (nylon) vacuum casting parts are long lasting.
Excellent electricity properties. PA (nylon) has high volume resistivity, making it not easily crack through high voltage. Besides, PA (nylon) has good electrical insulation in dry environment or high humidity situation.

Applications

> Electrical and Electronics

> Gears and Bearings

> Screws and Sprockets

> Manifolds and Valves

> Pump Parts

How to PA vacuum casting?

1. Master Model Building.
First of all, producing vacuum casting prototypes require a high-quality master model with high dimensional accuracy. To ensure the final vacuum casting parts are the same as expected, creating flawless master model is the vital foundation. Master model can be created by 3D Printing or CNC Machining, and dedicated post-processing, grinding, for instance, is necessary. These steps make sure that the master model is perfect to use. At Wenext, we will go through all details before making the master model, like design file checking to guarantee a manufacturable master model.

2. Silicone Mold Making.
Master model is ready to use. Then it’s time to pour liquid silicone into the casting box and fully immerse the master model. It takes several hours to cure the silicone naturally. After the mold is cured, cut open the mold and take the master model out of the mold. You will see a hollow space in the middle of the silicone mold, which fits the dimensions and specifications of the master model. Later on, the silicone mold needs to be cured again at a high temperature in an oven because the mold is still soft and sticky. Curing time would be based on size of the mold.

3. Parts Producing.
The final step is casting parts with the silicone mold. Before casting, clean the surface of the silicone mold again is necessary. Then spraying the silicone mold internal structure with special release agents, attach tape to the edge, and even insert steel bars inside for large mold. All these steps make sure that mold release without damages. Prepare PA (nylon) in advance, then fully fill the mold with PA (nylon), the process is done in a vacuum chamber for degassing, ensuring air bubbles are removed. Afterwards, move the PA (nylon) part in an oven for curing. Curing time is based on part size as well. The vacuum casting PA (nylon) part can be removed from silicone mold after cool down.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. Why would you choose vacuum casting over 3D Printing?

The major consideration when choosing vacuum casting over 3D Printing is material performance and quality. Vacuum casting provides higher performance materials than better mimic those used in commercial products. If material performance and product appearance are on top priority, vacuum casting should be the alternative.

2. Why would you choose vacuum casting over injection molding?

The critical consideration is cost and quantity. Vacuum casting is more affordable and cost-effective for rapid prototypes to low volume production.

3. How much does it cost to vacuum casting PA (nylon) parts?

Prices are based on the structure of the part, order volume, machining processes, etc. You can use our instant quoting engine to get price, or you can email hello@wenext.com for more information.

4. What is PA (nylon) vacuum casting?

PA (nylon) vacuum casting is the process of casting PA (nylon) parts by using vacuum to draw the PA (nylon) into the mold, thus making PA (nylon) parts with desired structures and geometries.

5. What is PA (nylon)?

PA Nylon is a thermoplastic with low density and high thermal stability. Polyamides have outstanding wear resistance, good coefficient of friction, and very good temperature and impact properties.

6. What is the difference between cast and 3D Printed PA (nylon) parts?

Cast PA (nylon) parts is more ductile than 3D Printed PA (nylon) parts. Whereas, 3D Printed PA (nylon) parts have higher temperature resistance. Cast PA (nylon) can produce larger parts and is more cost-effective.

7. Which is better PA or PP?

Both polypropylene (PP) and nylon (PA) are synthetic polymers, and they are both durable and resistant to stress. PP, sometimes referred to as steel plastics, is stronger and owns better waterproof properties than PA. Whereas, PA is more heat-resistant and more malleable than PP. Besides, PA has better electrical properties, making it suitable for electrical insulation applications.