British brand Filamentive offers a large line of filaments for FDM 3D printers, including refractory engineering thermoplastics PEEK, PEKK, Ultem (PEI), and PPSU, as well as carbon fiber composites, including those based on polyamide and polypropylene. Not all 3D printers can print with these materials, but only those that have good insulation, a heated build chamber (at least 70 °C), and an extruder temperature of at least 400 °C. One such example is the Intamsys Funmat HT. Read a detailed review here.
The new filaments were developed in cooperation with the chemical companies Mitsubishi Chemical and Lehmann & Voss. All are designed in one way or another to 3D print functional products with high strength, heat, and chemical resistance, and all meet the standard of flame resistance UL 94-V0 – self-extinguishing within ten seconds after cessation of fire exposure, without the formation of burning droplets.
The list of materials in the Filamentive Pro line includes:
- PEI Ultem 1010 – polyesterimide with a glass transition temperature of 217°C;
- PEI Ultem 9085 – another variant of polyesterimide with high mechanical properties;
- PPSU, a polyphenylene sulfone with high impact strength and chemical resistance even higher than that of the Ultem family of polymers;
- 3F PEKK 50082 NT is a polyether ketone ketone-based filament with high impact strength, chemical, thermal and abrasion resistance;
- 3F PEEK CF 9676, a carbon filled PEEK with increased stiffness and compressive strength;
- 3F PEEK 9581, a pure PEEK offered as an alternative to some metal alloys;
- 3F PAHT 9825 is a high temperature version of polyamide;
- 3F PAHT 9936 is a variant of polyamide with improved tensile strength, high impact strength, and the ability to operate continuously at temperatures around 100-120 °C;
- 3F PAHT CF 9891 – polyamide-6 with higher stiffness due to 15% carbon fiber content;
- 3F PP CF 9928 – carbon-filled polypropylene with antistatic properties.
More information about the Filamentive Pro line is available on the official Filamentive website.
