TY  - JOUR
A1  - Abbas, Karim
A1  - Hedwig, Lukas
A1  - Balc, Nicolae
A1  - Bremen, Sebastian
T1  - Advanced FFF of PEEK: Infill strategies and material characteristics for rapid tooling
T2  - Polymers
N2  - Traditional vulcanization mold manufacturing is complex, costly, and under pressure due to shorter product lifecycles and diverse variations. Additive manufacturing using Fused Filament Fabrication and high-performance polymers like PEEK offer a promising future in this industry. This study assesses the compressive strength of various infill structures (honeycomb, grid, triangle, cubic, and gyroid) when considering two distinct build directions (Z, XY) to enhance PEEK’s economic and resource efficiency in rapid tooling. A comparison with PETG samples shows the behavior of the infill strategies. Additionally, a proof of concept illustrates the application of a PEEK mold in vulcanization. A peak compressive strength of 135.6 MPa was attained in specimens that were 100% solid and subjected to thermal post-treatment. This corresponds to a 20% strength improvement in the Z direction. In terms of time and mechanical properties, the anisotropic grid and isotropic cubic infill have emerged for use in rapid tooling. Furthermore, the study highlights that reducing the layer thickness from 0.15 mm to 0.1 mm can result in a 15% strength increase. The study unveils the successful utilization of a room-temperature FFF-printed PEEK mold in vulcanization injection molding. The parameters and infill strategies identified in this research enable the resource-efficient FFF printing of PEEK without compromising its strength properties. Using PEEK in rapid tooling allows a cost reduction of up to 70% in tool production.
KW  - polyetheretherketone (PEEK)
KW  - rapid tooling
KW  - infill strategy
KW  - compression behavior
KW  - additive manufacturing
KW  - fused filament fabrication
Y1  - 2023
UR  - https://opus.bibliothek.fh-aachen.de/opus4/frontdoor/index/index/docId/10887
N1  - This article belongs to the Special Issue "Polymer Materials and Design Processes for Additively Manufactured Products"
VL  - 2023
IS  - 15
PB  - MDPI
CY  - Basel
ER  -