Material
Hollow Nylon Filament
Special-profile polyamide filament
Choose Hollow Nylon Filament based on its stiffness, recovery, wear, wet-service, chemical, and temperature behavior. The same material can produce different stiffness, so filament diameter, trim length, density, grade, and service conditions must also be defined.
Datasheet values
- Outside diameter
- 0.20–1.50 mm hollow-profile filament
- Temperature capability
- Use the selected nylon filament grade TDS; do not infer service temperature from melting or processing temperature
- Stiffness
- Soft to medium with reduced mass and flexible contact
Hollow Nylon Filament is a special-profile polyamide filament used as brush fill or a cleaning-contact element.
What is Hollow Nylon Filament, and what makes it different from other brush filaments?
Hollow Nylon Filament belongs to the special-profile polyamide filament group, supplied as hollow-profile filament 0.20–1.50 mm outside diameter, drawn in round, triangular, cross-shaped, hollow, star-shaped and rectangular sections and set in straight rows, helical, staggered, zoned, wavy and random fill patterns.
Hollow Nylon Filament is used in custom cleaning brushes for gentle washing, liquid transport, foam generation and surface-safe cleaning.
The realistic alternatives are Nylon PA, PBT and Polypropylene PP. What separates them here is moisture uptake and working temperature, not headline strength.
Use a softer polymer or natural fiber for lower marking; use abrasive or metal wire for greater cutting action.
What stiffness and contact pressure can I expect from Hollow Nylon Filament?
Hollow Nylon Filament is soft to medium with reduced mass and flexible contact.
Published ranges for the filament itself. A finished brush runs below them, because the fill carries load and heat at the same time.
| Property | Hollow Nylon Filament | Nylon PA | PBT | Polypropylene PP |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shore hardness | Soft to medium with reduced mass and flexible contact | Medium to firm; filament diameter and trim length control bending force. | Shore D 80–90 | Shore D 65–75 |
| Continuous temperature (°C) | 100 | 93 | 120–140 | 80–100 |
| Peak temperature (°C) | 130 | 121 | 160–180 | 120–140 |
| Water absorption, 24 h | 0.1–1.0% (24 h; industry reference range) | 0.3–9% by PA grade and conditioning | 0.05–0.20% (24h, ISO 62/ASTM D570) | ≤0.03% (24h, ISO 62/ASTM D570) |
| Filament diameter (mm) | 0.05–3.00 | 0.08–2.50 | 0.03–2.00 | 0.08–3.00 |
| Flexibility | Medium to High Flexibility | Medium to High Flexibility | Medium to High Flexibility | Medium Flexibility |
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.
How does water affect Hollow Nylon Filament performance?
Hollow Nylon Filament takes up 0.1–1.0% (24 h; industry reference range).
Suitable for the wet or dry conditions stated in the application list; wash and dry retained-residue constructions after use.
What this means for your application: it barely absorbs water, so dry and wet contact pressure are effectively the same and the brush behaves alike on both duties.
A practical check: soak a sample for an hour and re-measure the trim. If it has moved enough to change the contact band, the grade is wrong for the duty.
What temperature limits apply to Hollow Nylon Filament?
Temperature capability follows the selected nylon grade. Hollow geometry changes mass and flexibility, but it does not create a universal brush-service temperature rating.
Where it stops working: If the filament takes a permanent set under load, step up to PBT, which holds a higher continuous temperature.
The usable limit also moves with diameter, trim and contact pressure. A fine filament under light load tolerates more than a thick one under heavy scrubbing.
What chemicals attack Hollow Nylon Filament?
Use the grade-specific chemical profile and confirm it against the actual chemical, temperature, exposure-time, and load conditions of your application.
The same cleaner can be harmless or destructive depending on how strong it is, how hot it runs and how long it sits. Quote the concentration and the dwell time, not just the product name.
Before you commit to a quantity: Specify Hollow Nylon Filament form, diameter or grade, trim, density, working temperature, cleaning fluid, and surface finish.
What is the practical lower limit for filament diameter?
About 0.05 mm. Below that the filament turns fragile and breaks under ordinary contact pressure, so 0.05–3.00 mm is the working range.
Free trim runs 3–300 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 0.05–0.79 mm for light wiping, dusting and surfaces that mark easily, and 0.79–3.00 mm where residue is packed on and point pressure matters more than surface risk.
Tip treatments available on this filament: end rounding, tapered-tip grinding, silicone-oil coating, anti-static coating and antibacterial coating.
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.
What applications typically use Hollow Nylon Filament?
Gentle washing, liquid transport, foam generation and surface-safe cleaning.
The applications that keep coming back to this grade:
- Industrial Machine Cleaning
- Dust Removal
- Brick, Tile & Building Material Machine Brush Use
- Laboratory Tube Cleaning
- Household Dish, Teapot & Kitchen Detail Cleaning
- Carpet Machine Cleaning
The constructions that usually carry it:
- Custom Handheld Detail Brushes
- Custom Tube & Pipe Bore Brushes
- Custom Roller and Conveyor Brushes
- Custom Polishing Buffing Wheels
If the sample comes back rejected: Performance depends on the actual hollow profile and nylon grade; do not assume the same stiffness, cleanability, or service conditions as a solid filament without supplier or test data.
How do I specify Hollow Nylon Filament for a custom brush?
A usable specification carries the construction, the filament diameter and free trim, the density and contact setting, and the service conditions: wet or dry, temperature, and what the cleaner actually is.
The mistakes that most often send a sample back:
- Selecting Hollow Nylon Filament without setting diameter, trim and density
- Using the material on a surface that cannot accept its contact level
- Ignoring temperature, liquid, motion or residue retention
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; ISO 13061-1; ASTM D143.
Source: Perlon — Synthetic Brush Filaments. Public manufacturer or material data supports the listed material form and service direction. Functional/profile labels do not replace grade-specific thermal data. Functional/profile labels do not replace grade-specific thermal data.
What else does the datasheet specify for Hollow Nylon Filament?
| Filament cross-section | Round/Triangular/Cross-Shaped/Hollow/Star-Shaped/Rectangular |
|---|---|
| Electrical behaviour | Insulating |
Questions this page is asked
Which dimensions should define a hollow nylon brush filament?
Specify the polyamide grade, outside diameter, wall thickness, void shape and area, concentricity, profile orientation if controlled, filament mass per length, surface finish and lot. Inspect cut cross-sections from defined locations because outside diameter alone cannot reveal a thin wall, off-center void or collapsed section that changes contact and cleanability.
How can hollow and solid nylon filament be compared fairly?
Choose whether the comparison holds outside diameter, filament mass, initial contact force, or brush fill weight constant, and state that basis before building matched brushes. Condition both constructions through the same humidity, water and chemistry cycle, then compare force, recovery, drag, fatigue, breakage and cleaning result instead of treating equal outside diameters as mechanically equivalent.
What should prove that hollow nylon filament releases retained residue?
Expose open and service-worn filament ends to the representative soil, wash and rinse them by the intended procedure, dry the brush in its installed orientation, and inspect internal sections for retained matter or moisture. Set limits for residue, drying time, odor, microbial-control indicators where applicable, and repeat contact performance, then reject sealed, split or damaged profiles that cannot be verified as clean.
Where these figures come from
| Property | Published value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Published specification |
|
Perlon Retrieved 2026-07-22 |
Guides that go deeper on this
We have not written a guide specific to this one yet. The material that covers selection, filament, dimensions, maintenance and sourcing is collected in the technical resources library.
No catalogue item for this yet
Every brush here is made to order, and this one has no catalogue entry so far. Send the working surface, the residue, the access opening and the quantity, and it is quoted through the same specification route as the rest of the range.
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“We need a brush to remove wet residue from a stainless steel conveyor, about 800mm wide. The current brush wears quickly. We can send photos.”
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