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FDM Material Selection Engineering Grade Thermoplastics 3D Printing

FDM Material Selection Engineering Grade Thermoplastics 3D Printing

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Materials characterize manufacturing processes and manufacturing processes influence the material properties of the final product—additive manufacturing is no different. The technologies are identified by the materials they use and the quality of the output is controlled by the processing methods. In the case of fused deposition modeling (FDM), there is a wide range of industrial-grade thermoplastics with high-performance engineered options. Each has unique characteristics to consider, so to pick the right material, seek the best combination of material traits while placing priorities where they belong. As you review the many options versus other additive technologies like selective laser sintering (SLS) or multi jet fusion (MJF) with less to choose from, remember that FDM uses the same types of raw materials used in the injection molding process—leverage what you already know when it comes to a critical performance standard (e.g. chemical inertness) or personal preference (e.g. no-touch post processing). To read technical information about each material below, click on the link to access the material datasheet.


Many materials for FDM have a lot in common—Upload your files today for a service quote or request a machine demo to speak with an expert at Fathom about which material is right for your application—whether you place a service order with Fathom or want to bring an additive manufacturing system in-house.

White Paper Credit: Thermoplastics / / The Strongest Choice For 3D Printing—When Material Stability And Long-Term Performance Is Paramount By Fred Fischer Stratasys

Comprehensive Capabilities for Rapid Manufacturing

At Fathom we offer a unique advantage of speed and agility-our experts help companies go from concept to prototype to manufacturing in ways not previously possible. 

90+ Machines  
SLS / / Two-day  SLA / / Next-day 
FDM / / Next-day DMLS / / Three-day 
PolyJet / / Same-day MJF / / Two-day
   

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30 Second Quotes
Prototype Tool / / As soon as 10 days
10K Parts / / 10 days
Production Tool / / As soon as 3 weeks
 

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3 & 5 Axis Milling & Turning
(Plastics, Composites and Metals)

Tolerance Accuracy Range
from +/-0.001″ to 0.005″

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Injection Molding Adjacent
without High Costs of Metal Tools

Most Commonly Used for High-Volume
Prototyping & Bridge to Production

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Finishing, Production Painting and Color Matching

Assembling, Including Embedded Electronic
Components, Threaded Inserts, and More

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CAD, DFAM and DFM Services

Apply Methods to Increase Speed
and Decrease Total Cost

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Highly Trained Staff / / Full-Time & Part-Time
Support as Short-Term & Long-Term Strategy

Decrease Downtime with Customizable
Staffing Accelerates Implementation

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