PEEK Filament for Industrial 3D Printing Applications

A 3D printable filament based on PEEK has been launched by Evonik (U.S. office in Parsippany, N.J.). The high-temperature and chemical-resistant ready-to-use material is particularly suitable for the additive manufacturing of demanding industrial plastic parts and is designed for processing in common extrusion-based 3D printing technologies such as fused filament fabrication (FFF) or fused deposition modeling (FDM).

New Infinam PEEK 9359 F is a natural-colored PEEK filament, which has a diameter of 1.75 mm, is wound on 500 g spools suitable for direct use in standard FFF/FDM 3D printers for PEEK materials. Thanks to its unique properties, such as high mechanical strength, hydrolysis resistance, or inherent flame retardancy, it is reportedly said to be particularly suitable for the production of lightweight and high-performance 3D parts for the aerospace, automotive, and oil & gas industries.

Compared to stainless steel, 3D parts made of Infinam 9359 F are approximately 80% lighter and 30% tougher with excellent fatigue resistance. This combination of properties, says Evonik, make this new filament the preferred high-performance material as a metal replacement in demanding lightweight applications. Infinam 9359 F also boasts outstanding wear resistance and low-sliding friction, making it ideal for manufacturing lightweight structural parts.

The 3D components printed from this filament reportedly can withstand long-lasting temperature effects of 250 C or short-lasting temperature effects of over 30 ℃.

Said Sylvia Monsheimer, who heads Evonik’s additive manufacturing & new 3D technologies, "Following the commercial success of the PEEK filament for medical technology, we are now expanding the product range to include an industrial material grade. We use our innovative strength in polymer chemistry to constantly develop and bring to the market new filaments, powders, or photopolymers to diversify the material landscape and thereby enable new infinite 3D applications."