A group of designers experiences HP nylon plastic for the first time
Shapeways has so many materials available that it’s easy to lose track of what you can print with. We wouldn’t want that to mean that you miss out on one of our most advanced and interesting materials — one that you have the opportunity to put to innovative new uses: HP nylon plastic.
It’s the newest material we offer, and it’s also one of the most exciting. HP spent years developing a new way to turn nylon powder into super-strong products. The result is a material that’s denser and stronger than most, and one that we’re helping to pioneer as a consumer material. HP nylon plastic is exclusively maker-only, which means that only our creators can access it (and sell products printed in it outside the Shapeways marketplace).
Glasses Frame with Customizable Inscription by Pookas
Designed for industrial uses, it’s well known that HP nylon plastic works incredibly well for HP’s big manufacturing clients looking to move over to 3D printed production parts. And it performs outstandingly for functional uses. But our uniquely varied community of creators has shown that its applications go far beyond the purely industrial, redefining its possibilities along the way.
People like you are discovering that everything from sleek eyeglasses to intricate designs for items like jewelry, phone cases, and miniatures printed in HP look wonderful and hold up to impacts, daily manual use, and other wear and tear. So bring on your living hinges, coils, connectors, and brackets. And don’t forget that decorative elements shine in this material.
A Selection of Bracelets from creators MulderenDeVries
It’s a Prototype AND a Finished Product
If you want to really put your designs to the test, HP nylon plastic is an extraordinary prototyping material. And the best part about using it to prototype is that it can then seamlessly become a production material — one that allows you to keep iterating even as you ship end-use products to your customers. With the experience and investment of a company like HP, combined with the unmatched 3D printing knowledge of Shapeways, this material is uniquely able to meet tricky consumer demands.
Oh, the Possibilities…
Mega Flora Ring by Nervous System
Makers in the Shapeways community are already doing great things with HP Nylon Plastic. We’ve been working with HP since 2014 on this material, and it’s only since last year that we’ve been able to offer it to our community. However, the result has been nothing short of spectacular. Shapeways creators have already stepped up and helped define and redefine what’s possible with this material, and we can’t wait to see what the future has in store.
Need more in depth description? We are specifically looking for material with the best outgassing properties for use in vacuum technology