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Material of the Month: ULTEM 9085

AdvancedTek Material of the Month
March 27, 2020 News

ULTEM 9085 is an amorphous, high-performance PEI thermoplastic that is available on Stratasys FDM 3D Production systems. The material has a unique combination of key features that make it highly desirable, including:

  • High strength-to-weight ratio
  • Flame resistance
  • High chemical resistance
  • Pre-existing certifications for Flame, Smoke and Toxicity (FST) ratings
ULTEM vs Other FDM Materials

ULTEM 9085 in comparison to other engineering-grade FDM materials

As a high-performance plastic,  ULTEM 9085 is more expensive to purchase than other 3D printing thermoplastics, such as Nylon or ABS, but it  is still one of the most popular FDM materials Stratasys offers. Why? Because not only does it provide  superior mechanical/thermal properties, chemical resistance, and FST certifications, but often times it is cheaper than machining or molding low volumes of ULTEM due to high scrap rates and tooling cost. 

ULTEM Price Comparison

ULTEM price compared to other Stratasys FDM materials

Another reason to use ULTEM 9085 is that Stratasys FDM printers make it an extremely easy material to print with.  Their heated build plates and circulating heated build chambers reaching temps over 180° C allow you to print ULTEM 9085 without the fear of warping or curling.  

One thing to mention about ULTEM 9085 is that it uses breakaway support rather than soluble support, meaning it needs to be removed by hand. This can be a quick and easy process for parts with large features, but for those with small features it can be more of a challenge.  To combat this at AdvancedTek, we try redesigning or re-orienting the part to make support removal easier;if this doesn’t work, we turn to Insight software to delete support out of small holes and channels under 0.25” in diameter. 

ULTEM 9085 is available on the following Stratasys printers in .010” and .013” slice heights with tan and black color options:

Stratasys customer Boom Supersonic uses ULTEM 9085 for advanced prototyping, test fixtures, and end-use parts.  Each part produced saves the company thousands of dollars and weeks of lead time. To read the full story check out the blog Boom posted here

ULTEM 9085 Flight Control Test Rig

Flight Control Test Rig Produced with ULTEM 9085

If you are searching for a high performing FDM material to meet the rigorous demands of your project, ULTEM 9085 should be high on your list. 

To learn more about ULTEM 9085 and other high performing Stratasys FDM materials click here or reach out to us at sales@advancedtek.com.

David Kadlec, AdvancedTek Application Engineer

Posted by Heather Adams