ThermaX™ PEI 9085

In the world of FDM/FFF 3D printing, there is a family of materials that has stood out clearly above all others for some years now, the PAEK family (polyaryletherketone or polyaryletherketone ether ketone). The materials belonging to this class are semi-crystalline plastics, which withstand high temperatures (around 200 ºC) while maintaining high mechanical strength values.

The PAEK family includes PEEK, PEKK and PEI. All of them have high mechanical strength, chemical resistance and high temperature flammability.

ThermaX™ PEI 9085 filament is one of the materials offered by 3DXtech, a renowned North American manufacturer specialising in technical filaments for professional applications. ThermaX™ PEI 9085 is a high-performance filament made with Sabic's ULTEM™ 9085 resin. This resin is FAA approved for FST (Flame/Smoke/Toxicity) applications and complies with FAR 25.853 and OSU 65/65.

PEI is a high-performance amorphous polymer. Filaments made from ULTEM 9085 resin offer the possibility to create parts with excellent properties at elevated temperatures due to a high glass transition temperature of 186 °C. Thus, ThermaX™ PEI 9085 filament combines excellent thermal properties, exceptional dimensional stability, inherent flame resistance and good chemical resistance.

The most outstanding properties of 3DxTech's ThermaX™ PEI 9085 filament are:

• High thermal properties. Glass transition temperature of 186 °C.
• Inherent flame resistance with low smoke evolution and low smoke toxicity.
• Long term hydrolytic stability.
• Excellent dimensional stability and highly reproducible part-to-part dimensions.
• Good resistance to a wide range of chemicals such as automotive fluids, fully halogenated hydrocarbons, alcohols and aqueous solutions.
• Stable dielectric constant and dissipation factor over a wide range of temperatures and frequencies.

Thanks to these properties, ThermaX™ PEI 9085 is a material suitable for:

• Aerospace applications, due to the excellent balance between flame retardancy, low smoke emission and low smoke toxicity ThermaX™ PEI 9085 filament is an excellent candidate for this type of application. ULTEM™ 9085 complies with FAR 25.853 and OSU 65/65 with low toxicity, smoke and flame retardancy. Ultem™ resins are found in applications such as personal service units, oxygen panels and components, ventilation system components, connectors, cable ducts, latches, hinges, food tray containers, door handles, interior trim parts, etc.
• Automotive and transportation applications, providing automotive manufacturers with a cost-effective, high performance, chemically resistant and thermally stable alternative to metal that is strong enough to replace steel in some applications and light enough to replace aluminium in others. For applications such as transmission components, throttle bodies, ignition components, sensors and thermostat housings, etc.
• Electrical/electronic applications, making it an excellent choice of material for today's demanding electrical applications, including connectors, MCB components such as housings, shafts and levers, hard disk drive internals, FOUP's, BiTS, PCB's, MCCB internals, Plenum devices, LCD projector internals, fuel cell components and many other applications.

This material is an advanced material that requires the use of a industrial 3D printer that reaches printing temperatures between 350-380 °C and a bed temperature of 140-160 °C. Due to its difficulty in printing, this filament is recommended for expert users.