Conductive Nylon

Conductive Nylon belongs to the functional polyamide filament group, supplied as conductive pa6 or pa66 filament, carbon-filled molded component and grounded strip or detail brush fill, drawn in round, triangular and cross-shaped sections and set in straight rows, staggered, zoned and helical fill patterns.

Conductive Nylon is used in custom cleaning brushes for grounded ESD strip, roller and detail brushes used around films, electronics and charge-sensitive components.

The realistic alternatives are Anti-static Filament and Carbon Fiber. What separates them here is moisture uptake and working temperature, not headline strength.

Compare Conductive Nylon with Anti-static filament, carbon fiber, stainless conductive filament, standard PA6. Change material when wet stiffness, temperature, chemical resistance, conductivity, particle shedding, or surface marking becomes the limiting factor.

Conductive Nylon is grade- and additive-dependent; compare bend recovery and tensile properties with standard nylon rather than assuming equivalent bristle behavior; conductive Nylon changes brush stiffness through filament diameter, free trim, density, crimp, and contact. Use finer filament and longer trim for conformable contact; use coarser filament, shorter trim, or higher density for stronger displacement or cutting.

Published ranges for the filament itself. Read them as a shortlist tool, not as brush performance.

The part people get wrong: stiffness is not a property of the material on its own. A 0.50 mm filament on a 15 mm trim is stiffer than a 0.30 mm filament on a 25 mm trim in the same grade. Fix diameter and trim first, then confirm the material.

Conductive Nylon takes up 0.5–2.5% (Depending on Nylon Base Material, ISO 62/ASTM D570), rising to polyamide carrier behavior; PA612 or PBT carrier is used where lower wet-stiffness change is required at saturation, which is the figure that matters for anything left submerged.

PA6 and PA66 absorb moisture; PA610, PA612 and PA12 retain stiffness better in wet service; this moisture response matters in grounded ESD strip, roller and detail brushes used around films, electronics and charge-sensitive components.

What this means for your application: the filament grows and softens as it takes on water, and tip pressure goes with it. The reach you measured dry is not the reach you get wet.

A practical check: run one wet cycle and compare tip contact against the dry state. If the wet brush leaves residue behind or no longer reaches the bottom of the bore, change the material rather than the geometry.

Use the exact conductive-filament grade limit. Conductive nylon constructions are not one universal PA grade; supplier examples can differ substantially in maximum use temperature, so the carrier nylon and conductive treatment must be confirmed.

The filament tables quote 80–110°C continuous and 130–160°C peak. The tighter number above is the one to build to, because a brush is loaded while it is hot.

Where it stops working: validate with a sample if the process sits near the top of that band. If the filament takes a permanent set under load, step up to Carbon Fiber, which hold a higher continuous temperature.

Diameter, trim length and applied load all shift the real limit, so a thin filament touching lightly survives conditions that would flatten a thick one under pressure.

It stands up to water, oils, mild detergents and dilute alkalis.

What degrades it: strong mineral acids, phenols and strong oxidizers.

Compatibility is a function of concentration, temperature and contact time together. A short rinse in a dilute solution is a different exposure from an overnight soak in a concentrated one, even with the same chemical on the label.

Before you commit to a quantity: Specify the exact Conductive Nylon grade or alloy, filament or profile size, color, straight or crimped form, working temperature, wet or dry use, chemical exposure, surface finish, and any required material documentation.

The floor is roughly 0.05 mm; finer than that and the filament snaps rather than flexes. In practice you are choosing inside 0.05–1.00 mm.

Free trim runs 3–150 mm, and the two interact: a finer filament needs a shorter trim to keep useful stiffness, while a thicker one carries a longer trim and still lands pressure on the tip.

Split the range by duty: roughly 0.05–0.29 mm for light wiping, dusting and surfaces that mark easily, and 0.29–1.00 mm where residue is packed on and point pressure matters more than surface risk.

Tip treatments available on this filament: carbon black, carbon-fiber permanent conductive modification and end rounding.

In practical brush terms: reaching deep into a bore or crevice is a diameter problem before it is a length problem. A thicker filament on a moderate trim pushes further in before the tips fold over.

Grounded ESD strip, roller and detail brushes used around films, electronics and charge-sensitive components.

The applications that keep coming back to this grade:

• Connector & Slot Cleaning
• PCB Cleaning
• Dust Removal
• Brick, Tile & Building Material Machine Brush Use
• Carpet Machine Cleaning
• Mold Cavity Cleaning

The constructions that usually carry it:

• Custom Roller and Conveyor Brushes
• Custom Handheld Detail Brushes
• Custom Strip Seal Brushes

The trade-off: A material label without resistance data, conditioning, grounding and particle testing is insufficient for ESD or clean-process claims.

Send the brush type, filament diameter, free trim length, density, contact setting, wet or dry duty, working temperature and the actual cleaning chemistry together. Any one of them on its own leaves the stiffness undefined.

What usually goes wrong at this step:

• Selecting Conductive Nylon from the material name alone without setting filament diameter, trim length, and density
• Using dry stiffness to predict wet behavior without checking moisture absorption or liquid exposure
• Ignoring trapped abrasive particles, chemical concentration, temperature, or contact motion when assessing surface risk

Reference standards behind the figures on this page: ISO 527-1:2019; ASTM D638; ISO 62:2008; ASTM D570-22; ISO 868:2003; ASTM D2240-15(2021); ISO 4892-3:2024; ASTM G154-23; UL 94; IEC 61340-5-1:2024; IEC TS 61340-5-4:2021; ASTM D257.

Source: RTP Company — Conductive thermoplastic compounds. Surface resistivity for a conductive polyamide comes from the conductive additive and its loading, not from the nylon. A carbon-loaded filament and a carbon-coated one behave differently, so specify which construction you are buying.