The Nylon Family
- By ai_admin ai_admin
- 21 Jan 2020
Science and Discovery
Nylon is a synthetic plastic material that is composed of polyimides of high molecular weight. Nylons were first developed during the early 1930’s by a research team, headed by an American chemist, Wallace Carothers. The team originally set out to research commercial application for polymers. Carothers and the team made the polymer by combining hexamethylenediamine, a crystalline substance that easily bonds with acids, with atopic acid. Wallace produced what is now known as Nylon 66 (one of the most common and popular variants). The demand of nylon and synthetic materials grew in World War II when natural items like silk, rubber, and latex were short in supply.
Nylon today
Nylon is a synthetic thermoplastic linear polyimide and is used in a wide range of applications. Some of these include toothbrushes, umbrellas, fishing line, toilet brushes, guitar strings, cable sheaves, gears, medical implants and more.
Find more about the range of products we offer!
Nylon Properties
As polyamides, Nylon 6 & 66 have their own separate and distinct benefits, yet, they do share the same core properties. Within this family, the most important ones are: Nylon 6, Nylon 66, Nylon GS and Nylon GS. Some of their main characteristics are as follows:
- Wear Resistance
- High Strength & Toughness
- Large Size Capabilities
- Custom Castings
- Minimal cost
- Heat Resistance to 100°C
The Nylatron family
There are different grades available in nylon, each having its own unique properties and characteristics, most of which are available at Ai Plastics and Mitsubishi Chemical Advanced Materials. These include:
Nylon GSM
Nylatron GSM contains finely divided particles of molybdenum disulphide that enhance its bearing and wear behaviour without impairing the impact and fatigue resistance to unmodified cast nylon grades.
It is commonly used for gears, bearings, sprockets and sheaves.
Nylatron GS
Nylaytron GS comes in the form of a sheet and rod at Ai Plastics and has good mechanical and electrical properties. Nylatron GS is an ideal balance of strength and toughness. With the added filler of Molybdenum disulphide (MoS2), it helps improve the crystalline structure, bearing and wear properties.
It is commonly used for gears, bearings and pulleys.
Nylatron 6
Nylon 6 is a general purpose grade for mechanical construction and maintenance due to its optimal combination of strength, stiffness, mechanical damping properties and wear resistance combined with a good electrical insulating ability and chemical resistance.
It is commonly used in applications of mechanical engineering, aerospace technology, electronics and the automotive industry.
Nylatron 66 Natural
Nylatron 66 (also known as nylon 66) is known for its rigidity, abrasion resistance and thermal dimensional stability. It is suitable for machining on automatic lathes and has been used in a wide range of applications ranging from electronics, marine and automotive industry to forestry, construction and mining.
The difference?
Whilst Nylon 6 and Nylon 66 are very similar in properties, they still vary a little in terms of chemical structure. Nylon 6 is made from one monomer which has 6 carbon atoms whilst Nylon 66 is made from 2 monomers, each having 6 carbon atoms.
There is a range of other specialised products that Mitsubishi Advanced Chemical offer. For more details, download the data sheets from below:
Find us!
Shop with us and get a range of products in the shape and size you want. For more information visit wwww.aiplastics.com or call us on 0161 7270250.
