Special PA Nylon steel sheet

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The Original Prusa magnetic heatbed is designed to hold a removable double-sided flexible spring-steel sheet, designed specifically for easy removal of printed objects from the print surface.

Special PA Nylon steel sheet (color may differ from yours)	The underside of a printed object

The special PA Nylon sheet is made for printing polyamides (Nylon) since their adhesion to standard PEI sheets is generally very poor. The sheet comes with a matt texture, similar to the satin steel sheet with a PEI surface. The sheet is compatible with most polyamides and PETG, other materials may have insufficient adhesion and should be printed on our standard PEI sheets.

Main attributes

• Compatible with many types of polyamide
• Made for printing without using a glue stick and other means of increasing adhesion
• Slightly textured surface
• Double-sided! Both sides can be used repeatedly
• Easy maintenance and good adhesion qualities

Considerations

• Never clean the special PA Nylon sheet with acetone, IPA (isopropyl alcohol), or other alcohol-based solvents (window cleaners, Windex, etc.)! This will damage the surface.
• For easy print removal, wash the print surface with water before every printing.
• Check the proper first layer height! If the Live Z value is too low and the first layer is too squeezed, print removal may be difficult and may damage the sheet.
• PA Nylon sheet should be cleaned only with water and degreased with dish-washing soap!
• Some types of polyamide may be prone to warping and require using brim or are suitable only for printing small parts and models with sparse infill.
• Keep the sheet as clean as possible! Any grease stain will decrease adhesion.
• Live Z value needs to be readjusted if you switch sheets. See Steel sheet profiles.
• Not scratch-resistant!!! Do not use metal spatulas with sharp edges to remove the prints. Be extremely careful when removing the print.
• Small PETG prints may require a Brim.

Maintenance

• Wash the print surface before every print with clean water (use a wet cloth or sponge…), then dry it. Greasy stains, such as fingerprints, can be cleaned with water with dishwashing soap.
• Never use anything to clean PA Nylon steel sheet but water (with a drop of dish-washing soap)! Unlike the PEI sheets, the PA Nylon sheet must not come in contact with alcohol-based solvents (IPA, Ethyl alcohol, etc.), Acetone, window cleaners, 3DLAC, etc. Using any unrecommended solvents leads to a shorter sheet lifespan and risk of damaging the surface!
• Some types of paper towels may leave traces on the sheet (fiber pieces). 

Filaments

We have done a lot of testing and compiled our results for you to use. To easily see how to prepare your sheet for any filament type, please see our Material table.

Prints don’t stick

If your print surface is perfectly clean and all grease has been removed by wiping it with a paper towel soaked in water and dish-washing soap, the first layer height is set properly and the print won’t stick, check out First layer issues.

Keep in mind that polyamides in general tend to warp more than other materials. Sometimes warping may be so strong that larger models (or with dense infill) detach from the surface even over the best surface adhesion. If you experience such strong warping, we recommend using another type of PA for selected print - for example, our Prusament PA11 Carbon Fiber shows almost no warping at all. You can find more in the articles about polyamide and warping.

Notes

As a result of the temperatures to which the plate is exposed during printing, its surface gradually becomes glossier or may develop smaller, duller areas. This visual change does not adversely affect the printing properties and is not considered a reason for a warranty claim.

Note that with the Original Prusa MK4 and XL, the PA Nylon sheet wear is especially noticeable at the Z probing points, where the nozzle leaves visible marks on the surface. This does not affect the surface adhesion and overall printability.

A new batch of the PA Nylon sheet will be released during July / August 2024. The new version will get a slightly rougher surface texture. This change will not affect the print sheet's functional properties. You can examine the changes in the gallery below.

Example of a glossier surface	Diagonal lines	Minor scratch	Varying color shades	Scratched hole	Horizontal lines	Example of a glossier surface	Old texture (bottom) vs new texture (top)	Old texture (left) vs new texture (right)	Visible marks at Z-probing points