Sediment

Biology

Materials science

Peek

Deposition (geology)

Bending

Layer (electronics)

Ultimate tensile strength

3D printing

Polyether ether ketone

Paleontology

Polymer

Organic chemistry

Composite material

Sintering

Chemistry

Fused deposition modeling

Ether

Selective laser sintering

Materials

Compared to the common selective laser sintering (SLS) manufacturing method, fused deposition modeling (FDM) seems to be an economical and efficient three-dimensional (3D) printing method for high temperature polymer materials in medical applications. In this work, a customized FDM system was developed for polyether-ether-ketone (PEEK) materials printing. The effects of printing speed, layer thickness, printing temperature and filling ratio on tensile properties were analyzed by the orthogonal test of four factors and three levels. Optimal tensile properties of the PEEK specimens were observed at a printing speed of 60 mm/s, layer thickness of 0.2 mm, temperature of 370 °C and filling ratio of 40%. Furthermore, the impact and bending tests were conducted under optimized conditions and the results demonstrated that the printed PEEK specimens have appropriate mechanical properties.

Mechanical Properties Optimization of Poly-Ether-Ether-Ketone via Fused Deposition Modeling