Polyamide Nylon is a thermoplastic and is commonly used in such products as women's nylons, parachutes, and carpet. Thermoplastics are synthetic polymers known as polyamides. A polyamide is a polymer that has monomers of amides joined by peptide bonds.

Polyamide Nylon is used in 3D printing as a powder that can be used to print 3D parts. Selective Laser Sintering (SLS) is used to fuse the powder together by a laser. First, a layer of powder is deposited onto the print bed. The laser fuses the powder together and a fresh layer of powder is added. Unsintered powder surrounds the part as support material. The process repeats until the part is complete. The part is removed from the powder and cleaned.

See Polyamide Nylon used in a 3D Printer

Nylon was first created in 1935 by Wallace Carothers working at the DuPont Experimental Station. Nylon replaced silk stockings and parachutes during World War II due to the silk shortage and has been used in everyday products since then.