When you’re in the business of using additive technology for aerospace applications, finding ways to produce parts faster, more consistently, and at the lowest possible cost is arguably a daily objective. As an early adopter of 3D printing technology, the aerospace industry is very familiar with its capabilities for delivering solutions that save fuel, cut lead times, and make cost-effective flight parts. But in the unceasing drive to push the envelope, the inevitable question always surfaces: can we make it even better?
The answer is yes. The latest improvement is the pairing of ULTEM™ 9085 resin CG (certified grade) material with the F3300® FDM® printer. It’s a match made in aerospace heaven because it gives manufacturers higher yield, lower cost, and more speed.
Let’s get into the details.
ULTEM™ 9085 resin CG, which has been available for several years, is now being manufactured with a more restrictive diametrical tolerance for use on the F3300. The tolerance has been tightened over 50% from + 0.0028 inches to + 0.0012 inches.
Why does that matter? The tighter tolerance results in a more uniform filament thickness, improving the regularity of material flow from the print head (volumetric control). In practical terms, this means that the printer can extrude a more consistent bead of material with fewer variations. That’s important because those variations can impact a part’s physical properties. In contrast, consistent material application improves part properties, including strength and other mechanical characteristics.
But that’s only part of the picture. This updated version of ULTEM™ 9085 resin CG is being paired with the F3300 3D printer, which can achieve twice the print speed or more, compared to legacy FDM printers. And the F3300’s print head redundancy and autocalibration provide significant uptime performance, essential in a production environment.
The significance of this combination is that it allows aerospace manufacturers to increase throughput of parts made with aerospace-grade material. This ultimately reduces the cost per part. Put simply, the F3300’s faster print speed enables more parts to be produced in the same time, spreading fixed operating costs across a higher number of units and driving the unit cost down.
The upgraded ULTEM™ 9085 resin CG with tighter diametrical tolerance also produces stronger parts with less variation. This lower variance enables a 1% infill increase – the amount of material used to fill the inside of a part. Although 1% may not appear to be significant, it’s enough to increase part density and strength, as proven with in-house engineering tests.
The bottom-line result? Stronger parts, produced faster, at a lower unit cost.
Keep in mind that ULTEM™ 9085 resin CG comes with complete documentation about its provenance, enabling full traceability from material origin to finished part, a critical requirement in highly regulated industries like aerospace.
With the addition of ULTEM™ 9085 resin CG to the F3300 material lineup, aerospace manufacturers now have more options for on-demand, cost-effective alternatives to traditional manufacturing for production parts.
Learn more about the F3300’s advantages and how it has changed the FDM playing field. And get a closer look at ULTEM™ 9085 resin CG to find out how aerospace manufacturers benefit from this high-performance polymer.
