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DMLS 17-4PH Stainless Steel vs. SLS PA12 Nylon

Compare DMLS 17-4PH Stainless Steel vs. SLS PA12 Nylon strength, stiffness, weight and thermal properties.

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DMLS 17-4PH Stainless Steel3D printed metal (DMLS)
SLS PA12 Nylon3D printed (SLS)
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Mechanical
Yield strength861MPasourcemean, as built, horizontal (N=72)not given (tensile used)
Ultimate tensile strength886MPasourcemean, as built, horizontal (N=72)48MPasourcetypical
Elongation at break19.9%sourcemean at break, as built, horizontal18%sourcetypical
Young's modulus (stiffness)197GPasourcebase material: wrought 17-4 PH, Condition H 900 (Cleveland-Cliffs)1.65GPasourcetypical
Density7,790kg/m³sourcemean part density (ISO 3369)930kg/m³sourcetypical
Strength to weight110kN·m/kg2.14x higher51.6kN·m/kg
Stiffness to weight25.3MN·m/kg14.3x higher1.77MN·m/kg
Poisson's ratio0.272sourcebase material: wrought 17-4 PH, all conditions (Cleveland-Cliffs)not sourced
Shear modulus77.4GPanot sourced
Bulk modulus144GPanot sourced
Speed of sound5,029m/s1,332m/s
Thermal
Thermal conductivity17.9W/m·Ksourcebase material: wrought 17-4 PH, Condition H 900, at 149 °C (Cleveland-Cliffs)not sourced
Thermal expansion10.4µm/m·Ksourcemean 25-100 °C, ASTM E228, AFTER atmospheric heat treatment (as-built value not published)not sourced
100 mm part over a 50 °C swing52µm growthnot sourced
Specific heat460J/kg·Ksourcebase material: wrought 17-4 PH, Condition A, 0-100 °C (Cleveland-Cliffs)not sourced
Heats up and cools (diffusivity)5mm²/snot sourced
Thermal shock resistance5,474W/mnot sourced
Melting pointnot sourced176°Csourcetypical
Max service temperaturenot sourced64°CsourceHDT 1.8 MPa, X orientation
Values forEOS StainlessSteel 17-4PH IndustryLine (powder 9011-0041), EOS M 290, 40 µm, default job 17-4PH_040_StainlessM291_100, as built, horizontal; ISO 6892 & ASTM E8MEOS PA 2200 (PA12) Material Data Sheet, process parameter 'Balance' at 120 µm layer thickness, X orientation, dry (conditioned values not given). Live MDS status 04.10.2026, last changed 10.09.2026; PDF via ?topdf=... link on the same page.

Every value links to the document that states it. "Not sourced" means no citable source states it (or only a specification minimum); figures computed from it are left out too.

DMLS 17-4PH Stainless Steel and SLS PA12 Nylon are 3D printed: their properties depend on build direction and print settings; these are typical values.

Questions

Is DMLS 17-4PH Stainless Steel stronger than SLS PA12 Nylon?

DMLS 17-4PH Stainless Steel is stronger: its yield strength is 861 MPa against tensile strength 48 MPa for SLS PA12 Nylon (17.9x).

Which is lighter, DMLS 17-4PH Stainless Steel or SLS PA12 Nylon?

SLS PA12 Nylon is lighter: 930 kg/m³ against 7,790 kg/m³ for DMLS 17-4PH Stainless Steel.

Which is stiffer, DMLS 17-4PH Stainless Steel or SLS PA12 Nylon?

DMLS 17-4PH Stainless Steel is stiffer: Young's modulus 197 GPa against 1.65 GPa for SLS PA12 Nylon, so the same part in DMLS 17-4PH Stainless Steel deflects less under the same load.

Which is lighter for the same job, DMLS 17-4PH Stainless Steel or SLS PA12 Nylon?

For the same stiffness or strength: DMLS 17-4PH Stainless Steel is lighter for a stiff rod or tie (tension), stiff beam (bending), strong rod or tie; SLS PA12 Nylon is lighter for a stiff panel or plate, strong beam, strong panel or plate.

Part that must beDMLS 17-4PH Stainless SteelSLS PA12 Nylon
Stiff rod or tie (tension)lighter14.3x heavier
Stiff beam (bending)lighter30% heavier
Stiff panel or plate1.7x heavierlighter
Strong rod or tielighter2.14x heavier
Strong beam22% heavierlighter
Strong panel or plate1.98x heavierlighter

For the same stiffness or strength, mass scales with density over stiffness (or strength) raised to a power set by how the part is loaded: 1 for a rod in tension, 1/2 for a beam in bending, 1/3 for a panel (the standard material-selection indices).

Among 59 materials

1k10k0.1110100Density (kg/m³)Young's modulus (GPa)Plastic PLAPlastic PETGPlastic ABSPlastic TPUPlastic NylonAluminumSteelIronTitaniumSteel AISI 1018Stainless Steel 304Stainless Steel 316Aluminum 6061-T6Aluminum 7075-T6Brass C360Copper C110GlassSteel AISI 1045Steel AISI 4340Steel A992Stainless Steel 303Stainless Steel 17-4PHAluminum 2024-T351Aluminum 5052-H32Aluminum 7050-T7451Titanium Ti-6Al-4VBrass C260Nickel Inconel 718Magnesium AZ31B-H24Zinc Zamak 3Plastic ABS (bulk/injection)Plastic PolycarbonatePlastic POM/AcetalPlastic Nylon PA6Plastic Nylon PA66Plastic PEEKPlastic UHMWPEPlastic HDPEPlastic PolypropylenePlastic PMMAFDM ASAFDM PolycarbonateFDM PAHT-CFFDM HIPSSLA Resin Tough 2000DMLS AlSi10Mg AluminumDMLS Ti-6Al-4V ELI TitaniumDMLS 316L Stainless SteelDMLS 17-4PH Stainless SteelSLS PA12 Nylon
Stiffness against density
1k10k101001kDensity (kg/m³)Yield strength (MPa)Plastic PLAPlastic PETGPlastic ABSPlastic TPUPlastic NylonRubberAluminumSteelIronTitaniumSteel AISI 1018Stainless Steel 304Stainless Steel 316Aluminum 6061-T6Aluminum 7075-T6Brass C360Copper C110GlassSteel AISI 1045Steel AISI 4340Steel A992Stainless Steel 303Stainless Steel 17-4PHAluminum 2024-T351Aluminum 5052-H32Aluminum 7050-T7451Titanium Ti-6Al-4VBrass C260Nickel Inconel 718Magnesium AZ31B-H24Zinc Zamak 3Plastic ABS (bulk/injection)Plastic PolycarbonatePlastic POM/AcetalPlastic Nylon PA6Plastic Nylon PA66Plastic PEEKPlastic PTFEPlastic UHMWPEPlastic HDPEPlastic PolypropylenePlastic PMMAFDM ASAFDM PolycarbonateFDM PAHT-CFFDM HIPSSLA Resin Tough 2000SLA Resin Elastic 50ADMLS AlSi10Mg AluminumDMLS Ti-6Al-4V ELI TitaniumDMLS 316L Stainless SteelBrickDMLS 17-4PH Stainless SteelSLS PA12 Nylon
Strength against density

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