Webinar: How to produce engineering-grade parts on material extrusion platforms

Material extrusion, also known as Fused Filament Fabrication (FFF) technology is still the most widely used technology in the AM market. In recent years, this segment of AM has undergone many changes: in particular, there has been an increase in industrial machines and compatible materials that enable more professional applications. Even though historically this technology was mostly used for prototyping, today it is increasingly used for serial production, and even industrial production. Not so long ago, Essentium released a study on the state of industrial 3D printing that revealed that full-scale 3D printing had doubled between 2018 and 2019, rising from 21% to 40%.

For these applications, manufacturers need to be able to ensure repeatability in the process, so that each part meets the same standards. In fact, high quality parts produced with material extrusion additive manufacturing are only achievable with high quality feedstock materials and a proper material handling procedure, on a capable printer.

In this webinar, Essentium and SABIC shared the critical specifications and material handling requirements for producing engineering-grade parts on material extrusion platforms. We reviewed polymer classes for hygroscopic and hydrophobic materials, the effects of moisture on thermoplastics during melt processing, sources of material contamination, and look at filament specifications including diameter, ovality and flaws that can dramatically affect part quality, with focus on Essentium 9085 filament made with SABIC’s ULTEM™ 9085 resin. Several equipment options for feeding, storing and drying filament spools were presented, along with an introduction to the new Essentium DryBox™.