9/3/2023 0 Comments Peek plastic 3d printingIn this workflow, it is possible to print supports that can be peeled out of hardly accessible places. Supports made with Z-SUPPORT HT are very hard in high temperature but become pliable when the model cools down which makes them easier to remove. The support material designed to work in such high temperatures is called Z-SUPPORT High-Temp, and can be used to make breakaway support structures. In this mode, Z-PEEK is printed in very high temperature possible to achieve in Zortrax Endureal’s extrusion system. For this reason, Zortrax calibrated the Endureal to print Z-PEEK in dual-extrusion together with easily removable support material. It is extremely tough, so using it to print support structures leads to issues with peeling them off the model. Z-PEEK is a challenging material to print with. Such gear pairs have been working properly for over 22 million cycles.ģD PRINTED PEEK GASKETS: Seals for piping in oil industry 3D printed with Z-PEEK on the Zortrax Endureal 3D Printer. Various experiments confirmed, that this material is strong enough to work in polymer-metal gear pairs operating at 1600 rpm under significant loads. The strength-to-weight ratio of Z-PEEK is comparable to stainless steel. Due to its superior mechanical properties, this filament can work in demanding engineering applications here on Earth as well. Space applications are not the only ones where using Z-PEEK makes sense. CT scans of the samples made before and after the experiments revealed that thermal vacuum cycling did not degrade the models in any way. Parts 3D printed with Z-PEEK on the Endureal passed those tests with flying colors. Models 3D printed on the Zortrax Endureal have been sent to ESA’s ESTEC facilities in Netherlands where they underwent demanding tests in thermal vacuum chambers. To check that, Zortrax have been working with the European Space Agency for over a year. The only remaining question was whether 3D printing process in any way affected the properties of the material. For this reason, PEEK have already been used in various space missions. Atomic oxygen bombardment, charged particles and everything else have been found to have no effect on PEEK. Decreased elastic modulus of the material has been attributed to high levels of UV exposure, which, of all the constituent parts of cosmic radiation, is the easiest to deal with. Upon examination back on Earth, PEEK did not exhibit any significant signs of degradation apart from a slight discoloring and increased brittleness. What’s more, the samples have been placed in holders exerting various level of stress to check if space conditions have any effect on PEEK mechanical performance. Up there on orbit, they have been exposed to space environment without any shielding for as long as 46 months. JAXA, the Japanese Space Agency, sent PEEK samples to the International Space Station as part of the MPAC & SEED experiment. Samples made with the same PEEK blend we use to make Z-PEEK filament have already been launched into space and thoroughly tested. RADIATION-RESISTANT RINGS Radiation-resistant bearing ring for a spacecraft gimbal 3D printed with Z-PEEK on the Zortrax Endureal Space Readiness of Z-PEEK Below, its properties are discussed in more detail. Z-PEEK is a filament made to withstand it all with healthy margins and more. Radiation, atomic oxygen bombardment and heavy vibrations components are exposed to during launch are all to be taken into account when choosing materials for space applications. Space-grade materials therefore need to withstand rapid transitions between extreme heat and extreme cold.Īnd extreme, rapidly changing temperatures are just one of the problems. It is so because there is no air on orbit and no air means no convection which is a heat-transferring process that on Earth is responsible for distributing heat evenly around the environment. What’s more, materials operating in space need to withstand both these extremes at the same time. Surfaces facing away from the sun are cooled down to -100 ☌. The sun-facing surface of a spacecraft on Low Earth Orbit is exposed to temperatures reaching 140 ☌. Challenges of SpaceĬonditions in space are unlike anything that can be found on Earth which makes them particularly challenging for materials. Now, we are making it available for the Zortrax Endureal industrial 3D printer. This material has withstood extreme temperatures, been paired with stainless steel in polymer-steel gear pairs working at 1600 rpm, and been launched to the International Space Station where it survived 46 months of exposure to space environment with no shielding. Z-PEEK is one of the strongest polymers on the planet.
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