Nylon is one of 32 materials in this atlas, grouped under textiles: history, structure, measured properties, process routes, uses, safety and market — not a product catalogue.
Scores compare Nylon with the rest of the atlas on strength, heat, fire behaviour, insulation, workability and circularity. They are editorial, not certificates.
Seven chapters follow. Fire and insulation claims name test families (Euroclass, ASTM E84, ISO 5660, KS F) rather than inventing a single safety number.
Deep introduction
Deep dive: Nylon
Nylon (PA6 / PA66) is a family of grades whose density ~1.14 g/cm³, heat band PA6 ~220 °C; PA66 ~260 °C, and fire letter combustible, melt-drip.
What “the material” actually is
Nylon is sold as grades, not as a single substance. Chemistry PA6 / PA66, density ~1.14 g/cm³, heat band PA6 ~220 °C; PA66 ~260 °C.
This atlas treats Nylon as a system: mill route, coatings, tests and the cavity it sits in.
Heat, fire and insulation
Conductivity note: low. Insulation score 30/100 is relative to 32 entries — metals lose, VIPs and aerogels win.
Fire letter in editorial use: combustible, melt-drip. Do not equate A1 with “safe in a blaze” or E with “illegal”. Assemblies decide.
How it is made and used
Origin: DuPont 1935–38, United States. The process chapter follows feedstock → conversion → forming → finish → install.
Uses span buildings to defence / safety. Pairings matter: polyester.
Market and circularity
Producers below are landmarks, not an endorsement ranking. Prices are bands, not live quotes.
Circularity mark 32/100. Ask which scrap, which certificate, which year.
Related atlas
Around Nylon
Related atlas entries, a short glossary, and three threads that keep Nylon honest.
Decision walkthrough on Nylon: fire 26, insulation 30, and one fact already on file — not a code stamp.
Read the fire-performance mark — Fire on this hub is 26/100 — teaching comparison among atlas materials.
Read the insulation mark — Insulation is 30/100 — heat-flow story, not the same question as flame.
Sit one published fact beside them — Quick fact on file: Families: PA6 / PA66.
Sustainability is not a fire skip — A high sustainability mark does not replace fire protection in a real assembly.
Not a building-code rating — Named tests, thickness and build-up still decide compliance — this page is literacy only.
On Nylon, fire 26 and insulation 30 answer different jobs; Families: PA6 / PA66 grounds one real detail.
Editorial atlas marks. Not a code certificate or product approval.
Thermal mark or safety fact first?
Second lab decision on Nylon: heat-resistance 46 beside published thermal fact Conductivity — literacy, not a code stamp.
Read the heat-resistance mark — Heat resistance on this hub is 46/100 — a thermal story, different from the fire/insulation pair.
Sit one thermal fact beside it — Properties chapter lists Conductivity among published thermal rows.
Heat resistance is not a fire skip — A high thermal mark does not replace named fire tests in a real assembly.
Still not a building-code rating — Thickness, build-up and named tests decide compliance — this page teaches axes only.
On Nylon, heat 46 and Conductivity are a second thermal/safety reading after fire vs insulation.
Editorial atlas marks. Not a code certificate or product approval.
Heat line to keep
A decision from printed marks. Not a building permit.
Frequently asked questions
Is Nylon non-combustible?
Declared reaction class in this atlas: combustible, melt-drip. Assemblies still need resistance tests.
Does Nylon insulate?
Thermal mark 30/100 versus the atlas. Conductivity note: low.
What is the density band?
~1.14 g/cm³
How is it made?
Origin story: DuPont 1935–38 (United States).
Can it be recycled?
Circularity mark 32/100 — editorial, route-specific.
Typical melting or failure heat?
PA6 ~220 °C; PA66 ~260 °C
What should it be paired with?
polyester: The cheaper filament that took shirts.
Where is it specified?
Buildings, transport, energy and consumer goods — see the uses chapter.
Is the fire-performance score a building-code rating?
No. It is an editorial 0–100 teaching mark among materials in this atlas. A real wall or garment needs a named product test, thickness and assembly. This page is not a lab stamp.
When should I read insulation instead of fire?
Use the insulation pick when the question is heat flow — lining, loft, or a cold-bridge — and the fire pick when the question is how the same material behaves in flame. Both numbers already sit on this hub; they answer different jobs.
Does a high sustainability score mean I can skip fire protection?
No. Sustainability here is a relative atlas mark (growth, reuse, embodied story). Bamboo and timber can still char like wood. Fire protection stays a separate specification.
Why is bamboo missing in some languages?
A language URL is published only when the seven chapters are real prose in that language. Bamboo exists in English, Korean, Japanese, Chinese and Spanish. French, German, Portuguese and Russian stay withheld — earlier machine drafts leaked English, so those URLs are not opened.
Icons
Wallace Carothers
United States · 1935
Wallace Carothers is a reference point in the public image of Nylon.
2
Nylon stockings
United States · 1939
Nylon stockings is a reference point in the public image of Nylon.
Parachute
Allied · WWII
Parachute is a reference point in the public image of Nylon.
PA6 fishing net
Global · 20th c.–
PA6 fishing net is a reference point in the public image of Nylon.
Climbing rope kernmantle
Europe · 1960s–
Climbing rope kernmantle is a reference point in the public image of Nylon.
Airbag cushion
Global · 1990s–
Airbag cushion is a reference point in the public image of Nylon.
7
Tyre cord
Global · 1950s–
Tyre cord is a reference point in the public image of Nylon.
Toothbrush bristle
United States · 1938
Toothbrush bristle is a reference point in the public image of Nylon.
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Similar materials
Closest neighbours on the six atlas axes — strength, heat, fire, insulation, workability and circularity.
