Material of the Month: ULTEM 9085
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 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 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:
- Fortus 400mc
- Fortus 450mc
- Fortus 900mc
- F900
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.
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