How to Print Nylon and PA-CF on Bambu Lab Printers

Nylon is the most capable FDM material most people never print successfully. It’s stronger than ABS, more flexible than PLA, and genuinely suitable for load-bearing mechanical applications. PA-CF (carbon fiber reinforced nylon) is what you print when you need serious engineering performance.

I print PA-CF regularly for drone frame components and functional mechanical parts. Here’s what actually works.

Why Nylon Is Hard (And Why It’s Worth It)

Nylon is difficult for two reasons:

It absorbs moisture aggressively. A spool of nylon left open overnight in Florida humidity will be printing garbage by morning. Wet nylon produces stringy, bubbly, dimensionally inconsistent parts.
It warps. Not quite as bad as ABS, but bad enough that enclosure and bed adhesion are mandatory, not optional.

The payoff: Nylon parts are genuinely useful in ways PLA and PETG parts aren’t:

Wear resistance (bearings, gears, sliding mechanisms)
Chemical resistance (oil, fuel, solvents)
High impact strength (doesn’t shatter)
120-180°C heat resistance (depending on grade)
Fatigue resistance (flexes without cracking)

PA-CF adds: 3× higher stiffness, lower weight, very low shrinkage, excellent print surface.

Nylon Grades on Bambu Lab

PA (generic nylon, usually PA12):

Easiest nylon grade to print
Good balance of flexibility and strength
Lower moisture absorption than PA6
Heat resistance ~120°C

PA6 (nylon 6):

Higher strength than PA12
Higher moisture absorption (more critical to dry)
Higher heat resistance (~130°C)
More warping tendency

PA-CF (carbon fiber reinforced nylon):

Very low warping (carbon fiber controls shrinkage)
High stiffness
Requires hardened steel nozzle (carbon fiber is abrasive)
Most consistent results of any nylon grade
This is what I recommend for most people starting with engineering filaments

PA6-CF:

Highest performance grade
Requires X1C with active chamber heating for best results
180°C+ heat resistance

Recommended brands:

Bambu Lab PA-CF — pre-tuned profiles, hardened nozzle required, excellent results
eSUN ePA-CF — budget-friendly, consistent
Polymaker PolyMide PA6-CF — high-performance, requires active chamber

Printer Requirements

X1C — Best for nylon ✅

Active chamber heating: critical for PA6 and PA6-CF
HEPA/carbon filter handles any outgassing
LiDAR-based flow calibration handles nylon’s variable viscosity
Hardened steel nozzle included

P1S — Good for PA and PA-CF ✅

Enclosed chamber (passive heating to ~40-45°C)
Adequate for PA12-CF and PA-CF
May struggle with PA6-CF on complex geometries without active heating
Requires hardened steel nozzle upgrade

P2S — Same as P1S ✅

A1 / A1 Mini — Not recommended ❌

No enclosure means nylon will warp badly
Small prints (under 40mm) might work with careful settings but it’s fighting the design

The Single Most Important Rule: DRY YOUR FILAMENT

If you take nothing else from this guide: nylon must be completely dry before printing.

Not “dried a few days ago.” Dried within the last 2-4 hours.

Wet nylon symptoms:

Popping and crackling sounds from the hotend
Excessive stringing (much worse than normal)
Bubbly, rough surface texture
Dimensional inconsistency
Poor layer adhesion

Drying protocol:

Temperature: 70-80°C (PA12), 80-90°C (PA6, PA-CF, PA6-CF)
Time: 6-8 hours minimum, 12 hours for very wet spools
Equipment: SUNLU S2 dryer or oven at low temp

Keep it dry during printing: If your print takes more than 2 hours, run the dryer with the tube feeding directly into the printer. Nylon will re-absorb moisture during a long print session in humid environments.

Print Settings

Temperature

PA / PA12:

Nozzle: 260-270°C
Bed: 70-80°C
Chamber: 40-50°C minimum (X1C can push to 55°C)

PA-CF:

Nozzle: 270-280°C
Bed: 75-85°C
Chamber: 45-55°C

PA6 / PA6-CF:

Nozzle: 275-285°C
Bed: 80-90°C
Chamber: 55-60°C (active heating strongly recommended)

Bed Adhesion

Nylon’s biggest challenge. Options:

Garolite (G10) sheet — Best option. Nylon bonds when hot, releases when cool. Get a G10 sheet cut to fit your bed.

PEI (textured) + glue stick — Works. Apply thin layer of glue stick (or PVA glue diluted in water) to the plate. The glue creates a bonding layer.

Bambu Textured PEI + glue stick — My daily approach for PA-CF. Thin glue stick application, 80°C bed. Pops off easily when cool.

Always use a brim. 8-10mm brim is not optional with nylon. Even PA-CF, which warps much less than plain nylon, benefits from a brim.

Nozzle Selection

Hardened steel nozzle is mandatory for any CF-filled nylon. Carbon fiber will destroy a brass nozzle in 2-3 spools.

Bambu Lab Hardened Steel 0.4mm — works well, Bambu-optimized
Consider 0.6mm for PA-CF if you don’t need fine detail — higher flow rate, less clogging

Speed

Slow down for nylon. It needs more heat soak time per layer:

Outer wall: 50-80mm/s
Inner wall: 80-120mm/s
Infill: 120-180mm/s
First layer: 20-30mm/s (critical for bed adhesion)

Cooling

Like ABS: minimal cooling to keep inter-layer temperatures up:

Part cooling fan: 20-30% maximum
First layer: 0%
Bridges: 50-60%

Retraction

Length: 0.8-1.0mm (direct drive)
Speed: 30mm/s
Z hop: 0.4mm (helps reduce stringing on travel moves)

Common Nylon Failures

Warping / Lifting

Dry the filament first
Use glue stick on the bed
Brim 8mm+
Bed temp 80°C minimum
Close enclosure completely
Pre-heat chamber for 10 minutes

Excessive Stringing

Almost always wet filament — dry it more thoroughly
Drop nozzle temp by 5°C
Z hop enabled
Fast travel speed

Layer Delamination

Increase nozzle temp by 5°C
Reduce cooling fan to near-zero
Check enclosure temp (need 45°C minimum)
Reduce print speed

Poor Bed Adhesion

Is the filament dry? (check this first)
Apply fresh glue stick to plate
Increase bed temp by 5°C
First layer speed to 20mm/s
Lower Z offset slightly (more squish)

My PA-CF Settings (Production)

For drone frame structural parts on X1C:

Material: Bambu Lab PA-CF
Nozzle: 280°C (hardened steel 0.6mm)
Bed: 80°C on textured PEI + glue stick
Chamber: 55°C
Speed: Standard (not fast)
Fan: 20% (0% first layer)
Walls: 4 (structural parts need walls)
Infill: 40% gyroid (high strength)
Brim: 8mm outer only
Z offset: -0.02mm vs PLA baseline
Dried: 12 hours at 80°C before printing

These parts have survived multiple drone crashes that would have shattered PETG. PA-CF is genuinely better for anything structural.

More engineering material guides: ABS/ASA Guide, PETG Guide, Best Filament Dryer. Full calibration reference: Print Quality Bible on Ko-fi.

See PA6-GF Nylon in Action

Our Avata 2 Roll Cage is printed in PA6-GF on a Bambu Lab X1C — the same material and machine discussed in this guide. 120g geodesic exoskeleton that absorbs freestyle crash energy so your drone doesn’t. $54.99 with free US shipping.

Want to print your own? Get the STL — $17.99 with optimized print settings for engineering-grade nylon.