What filament would be best to print gears that would have a small load (pressure) on them that can be printed with the A1+AMS lite? The gears would be on the smaller side, like 1 to 2cm in diameter.
Verify this for yourself, but I have run direct comparisons between PLA, PETG, PC, and PA6 for printed gears. In my testing, PA6 nylon consistently performed best in terms of dimensional accuracy, strength, and quiet operation. This was especially noticeable when press-fitting bearings onto printed axles.
I built a filament respooler based on a Printables design and tested identical gear sets in different materials. PETG performed reasonably well due to its relatively low surface friction and adequate toughness. PC, while strong, tended to produce noticeably more noise during operation. When I switched to PA6 nylon, the difference was immediate: tighter fits, smoother meshing, and significantly quieter operation.
I demonstrated this by swapping gears side by side for a friend who is a long-time 3D printing enthusiast, and the performance difference was obvious even without instrumentation.
This is the filament I tested. At the current $49.90, I will not be revisiting this filament, itâs way over priced.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DFLRGNV5
I paid substantially less in April of last year (2025)
I havenât tried this one out but at $27, itâs a contender and Iâve had very good luck with other yxpolyer filament products.
https://www.amazon.com/YXPOLYER-Printer-Filament-Heat-Resistant-Printing/dp/B0DHTX2Q4Y/
Also, their pricing often dips below $24, another reason why itâs on my hit list.
Just one important note: If youâre printing precision parts like gears, you must absolutely make sure that the filament is dry and perfectly calibrated, otherwise you just might as well flush your filament money down the toilette. I had to waste almost 100g of PA6 before I took drying seriously even though I had dried it for 12 hours at 65C. I ended up drying the spool another 36 hours until it stopped losing weight and then it printed perfectly.
3 Likes
PA, no question. Itâs what actual molded gears are often made from. Good strength, wear characteristics and to some extent, Nylon on Nylon gears are âself-lubricatingâ.
And yeah, Nylon loves to absorb water. However long youâd usually dry filament, double it for Nylon. And if you leave it in your AMS (not Pro or HT, which can actively dry) it wonât stay dry for more than a couple of weeks before itâll need drying again.
Itâll print as cleanly as any other filament but only if itâs good and dry.
3 Likes
it says that PA6 filament isnât AMS lite compatible. Iâm gonna have to try and find the next best thing
Be careful with blanket statements. PA6 can be run through multi-spool systems if moisture is controlled and the spool geometry cooperates. I run PA6 through a Creality CMS, which is actually less tolerant of third-party spools than the Bambu AMS.
That said, for structural PA6 parts, an AMS usually provides little value. These parts are typically single-material prints, and the longer filament path and added system complexity increase failure risk. Direct-spool feeding is cleaner and more reliable.
If the intent is to use an AMS for separate support materials, support material for PA6 is uncommon but not nonexistent. Nylon-compatible breakaway and specialty soluble supports do exist, but they are niche, highly moisture-sensitive, and generally impractical for AMS use. Standard supports such as PVA or HIPS are not suitable for nylon due to temperature, adhesion, and moisture constraints.
It is also worth noting that gears should be printed flat on the build surface. In that orientation, supports are not required, even for complex tooth profiles.
The sunlu is $25/kg on ebay right now if you buy it as jayo.
Looks like itâs $22 if you buy a 4 pack.
And a 15% coupon right now.
2 Likes
You wonât go wrong with this Nylon filament for gears. Pre-dried and prints very easily. Only offered in natural/white colour unfortunately but is available direct from Inslogic or from Amazon.
1 Like
At first I thought this ad copy was a gag. I guess not. 
âPre-dried filamentâ is not a feature. It is the bare minimum.
Every filament spool is dried before it is sealed. Or at least that is the bare expectation. If it were not, it could not be packaged and shipped at all. No manufacturer deserves credit for doing what is already required.
Advertising filament as âpre-driedâ is the same logic used to sell Monster HDMI cables. Take something ordinary, attach a technical-sounding buzzword, raise the price, and rely on buyers to confuse marketing with engineering. âMy amp goes to 11â.
Filament does not stay dry because a marketer typed a phrase into an Amazon listing. It stays dry because of packaging quality, storage conditions, and what happens after the bag is opened. Moisture problems begin in the userâs environment, not at the factory.
Calling filament âpre-driedâ is misleading at best. At worst, it insults the buyerâs intelligence. Educated buyers wouldnât fall for that.
If we are going to play this game, I look forward to:
- Factory-calibrated nozzles
- Pre-aligned build plates
- Pre-oxygenated air
- Fully hydrated bottled water
This kind of ad copy exists because it works. And it only works because too many people mistake marketing language for technical merit.
Can the A1 print nylon succesfully? I need to close and preheat my X1C in order to print PA without warping.
If this is only one small gear, I think I would try PETG first before investing in a spool of PA.
If your model is going to be under ~1cm tall, youâd be surprised what you can get away with on a bedslinger. Force it to generate a draft shield skirt (aka skirt with 999 layers), crank the bed to 100 and give it a shot. If youâre familiar with the dummy 13 project, his bones can be made out of ASA/ABS perfectly on an A1. If you start getting far enough away from the bed to lose the heat, it all falls apart. I havent tried nylon thru it but I both agree with the others that it is the clear choice, and that you should try it if it is a noncomplex flat disc shape
1 Like
Thatâs a brilliant suggestion. 
Iâm going to try that with a particular PC model that gives me grief even in a heated enclosure and glue.
You probably know that Orcaslicer will create a shield for you?
Yes, I did see it but up until now, I really couldnât think of too many use-cases. Thatâs why I stick around here. I always learn something.
Youâre probably correct in everything youâve said but I have to add from experience that this particular PA blend filament does actually print very easily and with great results right out of the box in complete contrast to other PA filaments Iâve tried. Reviews from other users would appear to support that. I have dried it before use after the initial printing though before using it again.
1 Like
So far, Iâve steered clear of PA filaments because Iâve read that you MUST anneal the parts after printing to prevent warping. How is the xypolyer PA6 in that regard? A $28 PA is intriguing.
I think on that you are completely on the wrong track. Most filament is being submerged in water to cool it down after extrusion and then it is directly wound on spools. Drying the spools would take a lot of time which would add a lot to the cost. So I typically expect filament to be wet out of the box and dry filament is a pleasant surprise and not the norm.
There are a bunch of documentaries on YouTube about filament production. See for yourself if you donât believe it 
The nurdles have to be dry or they could never be extruded into solid filament of a precise diameter. But then the cooling water bath after extrusion can re-introduce moisture.
Donât know if it is blown dry after a bath, or some other drying method is used, but there is a reason Bambu PETG-HF and other filaments need drying fresh out of the bag.
Packaging that filament ships in is not hermetic. The âhumidity time constantâ is long, but itâs not infinite. You have no idea what the filament you just bought was exposed to from the time it left the filament factory. Sitting on a shelf in an un-airconditioned warehouse someplace in SE Asia for a few months, itâs going to get to you needing to be dried. There is no enforceable guarantee from any filament supplier on dryness. Even if they say âwe dry itâ, itâs not a sure bet. I gave up rolling the dice long ago and always dry even a new roll before I waste any time on it.
3 Likes