ULTEM 9085 from SABIC Innovative Plastics is a high-performance thermoplastic that was developed, in large part, for the aerospace industry, and has been certified for use in and on commercial aircraft. It is strong, light, heat resistant up to 320°F, and flame-retardant. While it has been deployed particularly in aircraft interiors, it has also found use in applications ranging from electric/electrical components to pump and valve parts. And, Patrick Hunter, vp of sales and marketing for Quickparts, a custom manufacturing service provider, says the thermoplastic can be utilized for digital manufacturing projects, from jigs and fixtures to low-volume production.

The material can be used in FDM (fused deposition modeling) machines, the Stratasys  Fortus 900mc and Fortus 400mc machines. According to Hunter, because the material is comparatively viscous, the capabilities of the machine heads of these units permits them to produce parts with the material.—GSV