ABS ESD pellets

ABS ESD is a material developed to protect or support objects that are sensitive to electrostatic current discharges. ABS ESD is an antistatic material that conducts electricity, but not like a copper wire, it conducts only what is necessary to conduct electrostatic electricity.

This material is based on Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene (ABS) with Carbon Black as an additive. Carbon Black is a material produced by the incomplete combustion of petroleum products that has a very high surface to volume ratio and high electrostatic and thermal conductivity. It is widely used as a reinforcement base for automotive tyres to improve tensile strength and wear resistance.

ABS ESD is widely used by all types of industries to make protective housings, mounting brackets and assembly tooling for electronic components, which are very sensitive to electrostatic electrical discharges, such as the assembly of a hard disk drive. Another common application of this material is to make dust-free parts for laboratories and high development centres, as most commonly used plastic materials attract dust and dirt by accumulating static electricity.

Image 1: Hard disk mounting tool made of ABS ESD. Source: Nanovia

ABS ESD pellets do not incorporate recycled or reclaimed material. Because of these qualities, ABS ESD pellets are perfect for 3D printing, achieving high print quality. There are several methods for using pellets in 3D printing:

• ABS ESD pellets can be used in the manufacture of filament for FDM 3D printers using Filastruder or any other filament extruder.
• It is possible to use a pellet extruder for 3D printing directly.

• With the combination of ABS ESD pellets and a good filament extruder such as Filastruder, it is possible to obtain 3D printing filament with qualities similar to those of a commercial ABS ESD filament such as Nanovia's ABS ESD filament. 

  When using ABS ESD Pellets to make filament with a filament extruder such as Filastruder or using a pellet extruder for direct 3D printing, it should be noted that the extrusion temperature must be regulated in relation to the extrusion speed used. For optimal results, it is recommended to read the product's usage tips.

In order to achieve the highest possible electrostatic conductivity, it is recommended to use the highest possible extrusion temperature recommended by the manufacturer (270°C).