Advanced Polymers
Advanced Polymers – like the reference category of Advanced Materials – are intended by VoxelMatters Research as all polymers (photopolymer, thermoplastics and thermosets) that display unique and advanced characteristics. Typically advanced polymers used in 3D printing are PAEK family thermopolymers, available both as filaments and pellets for material extrusion technologies and as powders for PBF processes. These are materials that display unique characteristics in terms of strength as well as high-temperature and chemical resistance, making them suitable for metal replacement activities.
There are many producers and compounders of modified PEEK polymers in the world: companies and products include Lehmann & Voss (LUVOCOM), Victrex, SABIC, Solvay (KetaSpire) and Evonik (VESTAKEEP). Most of these companies also have made investments and hold significant stakes in the additive manufacturing industry.
Other thermoplastics that we consider Advanced Polymers include polyetherimide or PEI (usually referred to by its SABIC commercial name ULTEM) and, more recently, the family of polysulfones introduced for 3D printing mainly by Solvay. Polysulfones are a family of high-performance thermoplastics that in some applications can be used as an alternative to PAEK polymers or as a superior replacement for polycarbonates. Three polysulfones are used industrially, these are polysulfone (PSU), polyethersulfone (PES or PESU) and polyphenylene sulfone (PPSU).
The Advanced Polymers category doesn’t refer only to thermoplastics. Because they are digital materials whose properties can be accurately fine-tuned, many photopolymers also fall into VoxelMatter’s Advanced Polymers categorization. For example dielectric materials such as those developed by Fortify and Rogers Corporation, or highly durable materials that integrate thermosets such as those used in many high-speed photopolymerization processes.
While we don’t usually include “standard” chopped fiber CFR and GFR composites among Advanced Polymers (as they have their own Composites category), other types of composites that integrate and digitally orient ceramic fibers, graphene or CNTs fall into this category as well.
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Mechnano PC ESD pellets validated on Arburg 3D printers
Arburg, one of the world’s leading manufacturers of plastic processing machines, has successfully printed Mechnano’s new Polycarbonate thermoplastic pellets with static dissipative properties PC ESD on their Freeformer line of…
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VoxelMatters Polymer AM Focus 2023 eBook
The additive manufacturing industry has come a long way in terms of polymer materials. While some of the first commercialized 3D printing materials, like the earliest SLA resins and PLA…
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LFAM: putting the ‘super’ in superyacht
From air, to land, to sea, additive manufacturing is helping to revolutionize virtually all forms of travel and transport. It’s today well known how the aerospace and automotive industries are…
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All about TPU and other thermoplastic elastomers for 3D printing
Polyurethanes are one of the most versatile polymers in use today. They are used in a wide variety of applications to create all manner of consumer and industrial products. Polyurethanes…
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Stratasys acquires Covestro’s AM materials business
Stratasys Ltd has completed the acquisition of the additive manufacturing materials business of Covestro AG. The acquisition, which is immediately accretive, includes R&D facilities and activities, global development and sales…
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Supercars and Windform RS: a match made in heaven
What do Ferrari, Lamborghini, Maserati, Dallara, Ducati and Pagani have in common? Yes, they are all Italian car brands. But more than that, they all come from the same part…
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Conductive PEEK 3D printed parts set for Moon touch down
The European Space Agency (ESA) announced on January 12th that the very first European technology to make contact with the surface of the Moon will include 3D prints produced by…
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Mechnano releases Tough ESD, a tough ESD photopolymer resin
Mechnano has developed another additive manufacturing (AM) resin based on its MechT technology that utilizes the power of discrete Carbon Nanotubes (dCNTs). The new photopolymer, known as Tough ESD, delivers…
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Stanford engineers develop new nanoscale 3D printing material
Researchers at Stanford have developed a new material for printing at the nanoscale – capable of creating structures that are a fraction of the width of a human hair. The…
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Ketonex PAEK patent portfolio acquired by Oxford Performance Materials (OPM)
Oxford Performance Materials (OPM), an industry leader in advanced polymer science, coating technologies, and 3D printed biomedical devices, has agreed to acquire the patent portfolio of England’s Ketonex, Ltd., which…