FDM Digital Solutions, the UK's leading Additive Manufacturing company, today, 25th March 2019, announced that it is bringing 3D printing of PEEK into the UK aerospace industry, with an investment in Roboze's fusion filament technology.

PEEK is a notoriously difficult thermoplastic to 3D print as it needs a very specialised system to allow successful production. Roboze who are based in Italy have developed a HVP (High Viscosity Polymer) extruder to reach temperatures of over 450 degrees C, overcoming the barriers of other Fusion filament machines currently on the market.

FDM Digital's production experience and design skills in additive layer manufacturing (ALM) puts it in a perfect position to develop unique high value applications using this innovative Beltless machine which adds even more accuracy to the parts produced.

PEEK is well known in industry with properties such as: resistance to high temperature; high strength-to-weight ratio; chemical resistance; excellent reliability with improved fatigue strength and creep resistance; useable in extreme wear environments because of its excellent abrasion resistance.

Combining the power of 3D printing with the durability of PEEK will open up many new high value applications in the many aerospace sectors allowing the Additive Manufacturing sector to take another step forward.

Working closely with leading filament providers who have developed the PEEK filament for the Roboze system we are able to work on not only producing repeatable parts but also the post processing adding further value to the production process.

Graeme Bond, FDM's CEO, said: "3D printing has been proven to be a fantastically efficient and effective manufacturing process across the aerospace industry. Marrying it with PEEK brings another whole world of opportunity in many industry sectors. Though it's very early days, we are really looking forward to seeing how far we can take this cutting-edge Roboze technology as we drive it from an engineering perspective."

John Beckett, MD of Europac which distributes the Roboze machine in the UK, said: "If anyone is going to manufacture innovative applications using this technology, then it's FDM Digital. We are really pleased to be working with the team and are anticipating a wide range of prototypes and products. No-one really knows the extent of this machine's abilities, but we are now on track to finding out."