PA6-CF Print Settings: Temps, Drying, and Bed Prep That Actually Work

PA6-CF is the strongest, stiffest carbon fiber nylon you can buy - and one of the easiest to ruin. Skip the drying step and your part comes out weak and bubbly. Skip the bed prep and the corners lift overnight. But once you nail the settings below, PA6-CF prints as reliably as PETG, and the parts feel like injection-molded brackets instead of hobby prints.

Dry It First. There Is No Shortcut

PA6 soaks up moisture faster than any filament in your drawer, which is why "print from the dryer" is a rule, not a tip. Wet PA6-CF pops, hisses, and strings like crazy, and the layers bond weakly no matter what temperature you run.

Dry your spool 12 to 24 hours at 70-80°C in a real filament dryer. Then print straight from the dryer or move it to a sealed dry box. A spool left on the machine overnight in Florida humidity is wet again by morning, so I keep PA6-CF in the dryer until the spool is done.

Hotend, Bed, and Chamber Temps

Run the nozzle at 280-300°C. PA6 needs real heat to flow; anything under 270°C gives you weak layer adhesion and a matte, undercooked surface. Use an all-metal hotend - a PTFE-lined one won't survive - and a hardened steel nozzle. Carbon fiber chews through brass in a single spool.

Bed at 60-80°C for the first layer, and keep the chamber warm if you have one: 40-60°C helps a lot. No heated chamber? Use an enclosure or at least a draft shield, or big parts will warp and pop off the plate.

Bed Prep: Texture Plus Adhesive

Textured PEI is the right surface for PA6-CF, but don't rely on it alone. Clean the plate with warm water and dish soap, dry it, then lay down a thin coat of Nano Polymer adhesive. It goes on with a wipe, no fumes, and it's the difference between a print that finishes and one that curls up at 3 AM.

Keep the bed hot for the whole print. PA6-CF releases from the plate as it cools - that's normal. Let the bed drop below 40°C before you try to pop the part off.

Speed, Fans, and Shrink

PA6-CF isn't a speed demon. Run 40-60 mm/s and you'll get clean walls and tight corners. Keep the part fan off for the first few layers, then run it low - 20-30% at most. More cooling means weaker layer bonds, and strength is the whole reason you bought nylon.

Expect about 1% shrinkage. If your part needs precise clearance, compensate in the slicer. And for overhangs and bridges, don't lean on fan speed - set your supports right and let the material do its job.

What We Use

We test every filament on our own machines before it gets a settings page on this site. Right now the spool in the dryer is TINMORRY PA6-CF - it's clean and consistent, and the settings above are exactly what we run with it. For bed prep we use Nano Polymer on a textured PEI plate. Both product pages carry our full tested print settings.

Affiliate disclosure: some links are affiliate links - you pay the same price, we earn a small commission that keeps our testing free.