Overcoming Impediments to the Qualification of Additively Manufactured Polymer Components: The Case of ULTEM

The qualification of additively manufactured (AM) components produced from engineering polymers poses unique challenges, particularly when evaluating mechanical properties according to ASTM D638. The application of high-performance thermoplastics, such as ULTEM™ 9085 and ULTEM™ 1010, frequently relies on manufacturer-provided datasheets for qualification. However, existing datasheets do not provide guidance specific to articles printed in the XY plane, which can be complicated by failures that initiate at microstructural anomalies rather than being driven by intrinsic material behavior. The objective of this study was to investigate the performance and qualification of ULTEM 9085™, examined according to ASTM D638, and pursue improvements through refined print parameters. A significant improvement in strength and conforming failures was achieved with modest adjustments to the print settings. For Type 1 samples printed with ±45° infill, gage section failures improved from only 5% to 100%, while samples with 0/90° infill achieved 80%. Correspondingly, the ultimate tensile strength increased from 49 ± 2 MPa to 61 ± 2 MPa and from 53 ± 3 MPa to 63 ± 6 MPa, respectively. These results underscore the critical role of process parameters, including contour overlap, in qualifying polymer AM materials, and their contribution to the performance and reliability of printed components.