CarbonX™ Carbon Fiber Reinforced PEEK 3D Filament

CarbonX™ Carbon Fiber Reinforced PEEK 3D Filament:

Sold in:  250g and 500g rolls to New Zealand

CarbonX™ CF-PEEK is one of the premier polymers in FFF/FDM 3D Printing.  Made using 10% high-modulus chopped carbon fiber for exceptional stiffness, strength, and dimensional stability.  

Carbon fiber reinforced peek filament is one of the highest performance thermoplastics ever invented.  It is used in some of the most demanding applications such as seals, gears, bushings, bearings, and pump & compressor components.  Industries such as Auto, Aerospace, Defense, Semi-conductor, and Oil/Gas depend on PEEK for applications where failure is not an option.  

CarbonX™ PEEK Properties Include:

• Superior Mechanical Properties, especially at elevated temperatures
• Excellent Chemical Resistance
• Low Coefficient of Linear Thermal Expansion (CTE)
• Near Zero Moisture Absorption
• Low smoke and toxic gas emissions

PEEK has an excellent resistance to hydrolysis in boiling water and superheated steam (sterilization/autoclave) at temperatures in excess of 250°C (482°F).

PEEK+CF10 Thermal Properties:

• Heat Deflection Temperature (HDT) 280°C
• Glass Transition Temperature (Tg) 143°C
• Melt Temperature (Tm) 343°C

CarbonX™ CF-PEEK is carbon fiber reinforced and abrasive - resulting in high wear on a brass nozzles.  We recommend our Hardened Steel Nozzles.

Printing with CarbonX™ PEEK

PEEK has a melt temperature (Tm) of 343°C, therefore, you will need an all-metal extruder capable of reaching (and holding) temps upwards of 400°C or more depending on your specific printer.  Every printer / slicer is different and you will need to tinker a bit to find a process that works for you.  One of the more difficult aspects of printing with PEEK was getting it to stick to the build plate.  The best material we found was Ultem® PEI sheet or tape.

Here are our recommendations - which should act as a good starting point for you and your particular set-up.  

• Extruder Temps:  380 - 410°C
• Bed Temps:  130 - 150°C
• Bed Prep:  Ultem® PEI tape or sheet
• Nozzle: We strongly recommend a 0.4mm orifice or larger using one of our A2 Hardened Nozzles
• Layer Height:  Ideal layer height is 60% of nozzle diameter.  We do not recommend printing layers below 0.25mm with carbon fiber grades.  Lower than 0.25mm may create too much back pressure in the hot end and result in poor feeding, jams, drive gear clicking, and eating a notch into the filament.
• Please note - PEEK has a tendency to stick to metal (PEEK loves metal).  Please make sure to purge out your extruder before it cools down or you run the risk permanent clogs.  Seriously - we know this first hand.  
• Drying Instructions:  Please see the following instructions for when you want to dry out this filament.

Recommended Printing Experience

Novice:  A beginner using an entry-level 3D printer should have minimal problems using this material
Intermediate:  User has several months of experience with a moderate to high quality printer
Advanced:  User has > 1 year of printing experience and is using a high quality commercial printer
Expert:  User has significant amount of experience and is using a high-performance or heavily modified printer

These categories are somewhat arbitrary, but come from many years of our own printing experience as well as troubleshooting with customers.