Designing for additive manufacturing poses several challenges, not the least of which includes the lack of established design allowables for parts used in regulated industries. Unlike metal, where these statistically derived mechanical properties are well established, there are few such resources available for polymer additive manufacturing.
The good news is this is changing. The new Stratasys AIS™ additive industrial solution provides a path to access the design allowables for three high-performance FDM® materials:
- ULTEM™ 9085 resin polyetherimide (PEI) polymer
- Antero® 800NA PEKK-based polymer
- Antero® 840CN03 PEKK-based polymer with electrostatic dissipative properties
Datasheets and Design Allowables – What’s the Difference?
Stratasys publishes datasheets for all of its materials and they include physical and mechanical properties, among other characteristics. So how does that differ from a design allowables database, since that also provides information on material properties?
In short, standard datasheets provide a 3D printing material’s baseline capabilities. In contrast, a material’s design allowables database contains statistically derived design values based on extensive testing across multiple material batches, printers, and conditions. It also includes requirements for standardized processing, printer configuration, and quality controls to ensure repeatability and traceability. This is usually required for critical applications or for parts used in a regulated industry such as aerospace.
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