ULTEM 1010™ resin
VERSATILE & DURABLE THERMOPLASTIC
ULTEM™ 1010 resin is a high-performance polyetherimide (PEI) thermoplastic and is also one of the strongest FDM thermoplastics available for Stratasys advanced FDM 3D printers – F400mc, F450mc, and F900mc.
Engineered with high heat resistance, chemical resistance, and thermal stability, withstand autoclave operations associated with sterilization and composite fabrication tooling.
To get the highest quality 3D printed parts, ULTEM should be paired with a well-performing high-temperature printer like the Stratasys Fortus Series that has been optimized for ideal results.
CHARACTERISTICS
TENSILE STRENGTH, YIELD
64 MPa (XZ Axis) and
42 MPa (ZX Axis)
TENSILE MODULUS
2770 MPa (XZ Axis) and
2200 MPa (ZX Axis)
HDT
216 °C
IZOD IMPACT, NOTCHED
41 J/m (XZ Axis) and
24 J/m (ZX Axis)
UNDERSTANDING ULTEM 1010™
Available in general-purpose and certified grades (CG), ULTEM™ 1010 resin offers excellent strength, highest heat resistance, thermal stability, and the ability to withstand steam autoclaving.
ULTEM™ 1010 CG has the following certifications:
- NSF 51 – Strict criteria of analysis and guarantee of product purity. Approved to come in contact with foodstuffs, solid or liquid.
- ISO 10993 – Bio-compatibility certification.
- USP Class VI – Used to designate that a raw material is safe in manufacturing of medical devices.
CONSIDERATIONS
- High-temperature resistance and strength applications
- Medical and food applications
- Tooling applications
TYPICAL ULTEM 1010™ APPLICATIONS
Aerospace
- Clips, housings and ducts
- Semi-structural components
Automotive
- Under the hood
Food Production/Processing
- Baking sheets, patterns, dies, fixtures
- Food contact certified: NSF 51
Medical
- Ability to sterilize and autoclave
- Medical device certified: USP Class VI
- Bio-compatible certified: ISO 10993
- Surgical guides
- Custom fixtures and trays
Industrial
- Produce production parts
- Need advanced tooling applications
CASE STUDY #1 – CUSTOM NOZZLE
UTC Aerospace Systems builds a number of large and critical assemblies for many global leaders in commercial and military aircraft including the world’s two newest commercial twinjets, the Boeing 787 Dreamliner and the Airbus A350 XWB.
In one situation, they needed to build a custom nozzle for a fume collection system supplied with a machine tool and found tremendous potential with ULTEM 1010™.
CASE STUDY #2 – MOONCAKE MOLD
Collaborated with Swatow Seafood Restaurant to produce mooncakes as a door gift for attendees at our User Conference 2018 which was produced using ULTEM 1010™ CG 3D printed molds to demonstrate the potential of 3D printing for low volume, high mix one-off production.
Although ULTEM is known to be an expensive material, the cost of the mooncake mold was just $54/pc in this case compared to $1k/pc if it was done traditionally. The mold production took just a week from design to the final part, compared to a month with traditional manufacturing from different sources.
Even though FDM is not known for printing smooth surfaces, our engineers were able to overcome that by tweaking printing parameters with Insight Software and rely on the over 200° patented heated chamber of Stratasys machines.
CASE STUDY #3 – NASAL TEST SWAB
Created in response to the COVID-19 pandemic with nasal test swabs crucial in identifying COVID-infected patients, but the ramping up of global test capacity led to supply shortages.
ULTEM 1010™ CG proved to be a capable material in this because of several safety considerations:
- Heat Resistance
- Low Outgassing
- Biocompatibility
Typically, nasal swabs are actually quite long due to safety reasons during handling. After the swab is done using the ULTEM 1010™ CG 3D printed swab, it can be broken easily at an intentionally weak point that are a few centimeters from the tip so that the important portion can be placed into the test tube.
