Cast Nylon 6 Plate

Cast nylon 6 is poured as liquid caprolactam into a mould and polymerised in place at atmospheric pressure, rather than melted and forced through a die. That route gives higher crystallinity and almost no internal stress, so thick sections machine without moving on you, and it makes diameters and plate thicknesses extrusion cannot reach. It is stiffer and stronger in compression than extruded 6/6 - 16,000 psi flexural strength on a 500,000 psi flexural modulus and 15,000 psi compressive strength at 10% deflection against 15,000 and 450,000 and 12,500 - with 12,000 psi tensile strength, Rockwell M85 (R115) hardness and Shore D85.

It is the material for large gears, sheaves, sprockets, star wheels, wear pads, slide plates, bushings, rollers and conveyor components, chosen because it comes in big sections, machines quietly and weighs about a seventh of bronze. It runs dry against steel at 0.20 with a published limiting PV of 3,000 psi-ft/min, and natural stock is FDA, USDA and 3A-Dairy compliant. Know the trade against extruded 6/6 before you specify: cast nylon 6 melts at 420F rather than 500F, carries a 200F continuous service rating, and is the less impact-tough of the two. Moisture is the usual nylon caution - 0.60% in 24 hours and 7.0% at saturation, with dimensional growth to match.