Announcing New Nylon 11 Pro Powder for Impact-Resistant, Ductile Parts
Announcing New Nylon 11 Pro Powder for Impact-Resistant, Ductile Parts
Nylon 11 Pro Powder is optimal for parts that need to flex, absorb impact, or survive handling without cracking.
The Fuse Series has been the world's best-selling selective laser sintering (SLS) ecosystem since its release, making it possible to produce everything from functional prototypes to end-use parts. With Fuse X1, we expanded what's possible on the platform, increasing part size and throughput. Now, a new material for Fuse 1+ 30W and Fuse X1 lets users deliver end-use parts for demanding environments: Nylon 11 Pro Powder.
Nylon 11 Pro Powder is the first SLS material that combines the toughness and durability of injection-molded engineering thermoplastics with the ease of use and consistent print performance of Nylon 12. It's built for parts that need to bend, absorb impact, and survive daily use, while maintaining the same 30% refresh rate and excellent print success rate as Nylon 12, so it's just as economical to run.
It's ideal for:
- Impact-resistant functional prototypes or end-use parts
- Durable jigs and fixtures
- Snap fits, clips, and living hinges
- Thin-walled ducts and enclosures
- Orthotics, prosthetics, and wearable devices
From light, robust drone parts to durable orthotics, Nylon 11 Pro Powder produces long-lasting parts with fine features that are strong from every angle.
When to Use Nylon 11 Pro Powder
This fixed-wing drone airframe is just 0.5 mm thick — light enough to take off, sturdy enough to survive both media blasting during post-processing and a hard landing.
Nylon 11 Pro delivers roughly five times the elongation at break and twice the notched Izod impact strength of Nylon 12, for functional parts that absorb drops, contortion, and repeated use without cracking. Improved elongation at break and isotropy mean parts perform predictably regardless of print orientation, which makes packing builds faster and easier.
|
Nylon 11 Pro |
Nylon 12 |
Nylon 11 |
|
|---|---|---|---|
|
Ultimate Tensile Strength |
46 MPa (X/Y), 45 MPa (Z) |
50 MPa |
49 MPa |
|
Tensile Modulus |
1580 MPa |
1900 MPa |
1600 MPa |
|
Elongation at Break |
49% (X/Y), 26% (Z) |
8% (X/Y), 5% (Z) |
40% (X/Y), 19% (Z) |
|
Flexural Strength |
50 MPa |
66 MPa |
55 MPa |
|
Flexural Modulus |
1120 MPa (X/Y), 1200 MPa (Z) |
1600 MPa |
1400 MPa |
|
Notched Izod |
50 J/m (X/Y), 44 J/m (Z) |
32 J/m |
71 J/m |
| Unnotched Izod | 1675 J/m (X/Y), 1220 J/m (Z) | N/A | N/A |
|
Gardner Impact Strength @ 1/32” (0.8 mm) |
2.9 J |
N/A |
N/A |
|
Work of Fracture |
1550 J/m2 |
N/A |
N/A |
|
Heat Deflection Temp. @ 1.8 MPa |
50 °C |
87 °C |
46 °C |
|
Heat Deflection Temp. @ 0.45 MPa |
178 °C |
171 °C |
182 °C |
|
Vicat Softening Temperature |
202 °C |
175 °C |
189 °C |
In parts printed with Nylon 11 Pro Powder, fine features — thin walls, snap-fits, living hinges, and small details — survive media blasting and tumbling. That makes it the best choice for intricate geometries, enabling reliable production of detailed performance parts with less hands-on labor.
Outstanding ductility enables features that flex repeatedly without failing. This bike light holder pairs a living hinge that wraps around the seatpost with a clip-in mount for the light.
Compatible With Fuse Series
Nylon 11 Pro Powder is available for Fuse 1+ 30W now and will be available for Fuse X1 in Q1 2027, supporting applications from large prototypes to high-volume production of end-use parts. The thermal uniformity and multi-pixel IR sensing of Fuse X1 help Nylon 11 Pro print consistently, with little to no workflow difference between Nylon 11 Pro and Nylon 12.
Nitrogen and a textured roller are required to print the material. The roller's bead-blasted surface texture reduces powder curling during the build for successful prints. Fuse X1 includes this roller as part of its design, and current Fuse 1+ 30W users will receive a complimentary roller, Fuse 1 Generation Recoater Roller V2, and installation instructions with an order of Nylon 11 Pro Powder.
Lightweight strength, flexibility, and fatigue resistance suit insoles, AFOs, and braces — devices worn daily for months, flexing thousands of times without cracking or losing their shape.
Skin-safe, biocompatible, and ductile, Nylon 11 Pro Powder works for wearables: sensor housings, glasses frames, hearing aid shells, and headset frames that sit against skin for hours and survive accidental drops and daily wear.
Case Study: Rivian Prints Harness Clips and Robot Tooling in Nylon 11 Pro
Rivian has been searching for a 3D printing material that could exceed polypropylene (PP), the automotive workhorse, and bring it in-house instead of costly and slow outsourcing.
“It's been an 18-month hunt for a high-performance powder material like this, and we're thrilled it's finally here. Our engineers are calling it the most performant material out of our entire 100+ material portfolio.”
One common application for the material is snap-fit clips that secure wire harnesses to sheet metal. On the Fuse 1+ 30W, the team can turn around parts in less than three days to validate designs on prototype vehicles before committing to tooling.
“I have both the older part and the new Nylon 11 Pro part, a small clip that holds the cable for the front camera assembly. With the older material, assembly operators — who work fast and apply full force — would easily snap the rigid clips, requiring constant repairs. With the new material, the flexural strength allows repeated cyclic loading and snap-fitting without breaking.”
The material has moved onto the production line as well, including a multi-part robot end-effector consolidated into a single printed component.
“Robots move fast, operate in harsh environments, and occasionally crash. Standard materials on end-effectors often break or lack the surface grip required. We recently replaced a complex, multi-part end-of-arm assembly with a single-shot printed component using this material. It's been running on the production line for six weeks now, and we're scaling it across our 6-million-square-foot facility."
Internal demand followed the results. The engineers who received parts came back for more, which is why Rivian is expanding capacity.
“We're actually upgrading to the Fuse X1. We're hoping to be one of the first customers running this material on the X1."
With Fuse X1 and its larger build volume, Rivian gains headroom to pack far more parts per build, take on bigger tooling in a single piece, and expand to new applications, while keeping the three-day turnaround that changed how quickly their engineers can decide.
Start Printing Nylon 11 Pro Powder
The Formlabs Material Library keeps growing as we develop the materials you need to deliver parts for any application — all with agile workflows that eliminate reliance on external providers or tooling. New materials enable new applications and deliver improved part performance.
Nylon 11 Pro Powder delivers ductile, impact-resistant parts for demanding applications, so you can move from functional prototypes to end-use production in a single material.
Ready to print functional parts that absorb drops, contortion, and repeated use without cracking? Request a sample part to evaluate Nylon 11 Pro Powder for yourself, buy Nylon 11 Pro Powder to start printing, or contact sales for more information about bulk powder discounts.