Mechanical properties of ULTEM 9085 material processed by fused deposition modeling

With the advancement of fused deposition modeling (FDM) additive manufacturing process for producing end use products, there is a great need for new high-performance materials capable of meeting the requirements of different engineering applications. ULTEM 9085 is a thermoplastic material with superior performance that emerged a few years ago. To use this material in different sectors, it is essential to characterize its mechanical properties and predict its behavior and performance. Moreover, in the FDM process, the properties of materials are highly influenced by the processing parameters. In this study, the characterization of the mechanical (tensile, compression and flexural) properties of a high-performance ULTEM 9085 thermoplastic material was carried out. The study also investigated the influence of the parameters on these properties. Test specimens were prepared by varying two different process parameters of the machine (Fortus 450mc), layer orientation (0 degrees, +45 degrees/-45 degrees and 90 degrees) and build direction (flat, edge and upright). The test results show that the mechanical properties of the material are extremely dependent on the processing parameters. Maximum tensile stress is observed for the parameter combination of 0 degrees layer orientation and edge build direction, whereas maximum compression stress is registered for the parameter combination of 90 degrees layer orientation and flat build direction. Maximum flexural stress is registered for the parameter combination of 0 degrees layer orientation and flat build direction. Over all, among the considered parameters, edge printing direction and 0 degrees layer orientation, resulted in the highest mechanical properties.