PEEK 3D Printing coming soon

[oldpro]

 Just read this
https://3dprintingindustry.com/news/evonik-launches-new-peek-filament-suitable-for-3d-printing-medical-implants-171411/

[Insanity]

That will be nice to use.

[Motorhead]

That is really cool ...
Will be interesting if the matrix of a PEEK printed part can be made AIR TIGHT so it can handle very high pressure and be utilized in say a PCP internally ?

[Wayne52]

I know that things gotta be really hot for printing peek though, watched a youtube about it, the PEEK filament is super expensive too

[Insanity]

I print petg at around 250c. Scott I think it would on small parts where top layer stays hotter than one like a larger print. Like say printing one popet at a time.

[AGEnthused2]

I suspected that high end printers were used in testing the PEEK filament, so I skimmed the article and sure enough one of the printers mentioned was the M220 and a quick search shows they are expensive.
But I’m sure that the non medical approved PEEK could be used on our much cheaper FDM printers.
It’s an interesting article which shows some great potential for 3d printing.

[nervoustrigger]

Sounds interesting for medium load-bearing parts like maybe printing a Picatinny accessory rail or something like that.  Not sure it makes sense for internal parts like a poppet.  Maybe a hammer, but whatever surface imperfections are present, that’s not going to be fun to smooth out.  Sanding PEEK seems like it’s slower than some metals.

[Scotchmo]

I'm doubting that PEEK will work on typical 3D printers as they are not usually designed to run at PEEK temperatures. I have printed Nylon and even attempted Acetal. I had to run a little over the recommended temps. Acetal warps badly and pulls from the bed. Nylon worked OK for small parts (bushings, gears, etc.). I printed a couple of Nylon hammers and they work well enough. Is the PEEK filament a special type of PEEK (lower temp)?

The thermal expansion coefficient causes problems when printing at high temperatures. When you are printing at higher temps, a heated enclosure is needed. For suitable PEEK temperatures, it would be like printing in an oven.

[Madd Hatter]

I'm not sure about the peek they're using for printing but back when I worked for a aerospace composites manufacturer peek was some dangerous stuff at high temps where it cured at. I know around the time I was layed off that the R&D Chemist were close to making it non toxic.

[Insanity]

I'm not sure about the peek they're using for printing but back when I worked for a aerospace composites manufacturer peek was some dangerous stuff at high temps where it cured at. I know around the time I was layed off that the R&D Chemist were close to making it non toxic.

I stopped printing ABS for two reasons one the stink and two my new printer was not inclosed. If peek is toxic even if the high cost is driven down I would have to move my printer to a area that is unoccupied and better ventilated. I am not really interested in that right now.

[Madd Hatter]

Like I said, I'm not sure what the peek that they are using now does. I was layed off from that company way back in 1995 so one heck of a lot of development has taken place in the ensuing years. I'm sure that it wouldn't be available to the general public if it outgassed dangerous fumes especially in this sue crazy society we have now.

[Madd Hatter]

Okay guys, my sometimers got me on this. It wasn't peek that was dangerous it was polyamide that was the dangerous one. If I had just stopped and thought a little more I would have remembered that peek is a thermal plastic and polyamide is a thermal set as in you can't 3d print with a thermal set. Sorry 😲

[Scotchmo]

Okay guys, my sometimers got me on this. It wasn't peek that was dangerous it was polyamide that was the dangerous one. If I had just stopped and thought a little more I would have remembered that peek is a thermal plastic and polyamide is a thermal set as in you can't 3d print with a thermal set. Sorry 😲

Polyamides can be thermoplastics. I'm not a chemist, so don't fully understand why a polymer becomes thermoset vs thermoplastic. These days, they seem to be able to synthesize polymers with customized properties. I originally thought that polyurethane was always a thermoset. But I now use thermoplastic polyurethane for 3D printing.