Stratasys announced a new material that has some very interesting properties.
The new material is āAnteroā¢ 800NAā, which is a PEKK-based substance, which they say offers āhigh performance mechanical, chemical, and thermal properties.ā
PEKK (not āPEEKā) is a thermoplastic in the PAEK family, specifically named āPolyetherketoneketoneā. Itās said to be as strong as aluminum, but having only 40% of the weight of aluminum, which itself is a very light metal. The material is also quite resistive to chemicals.
Even more interesting is that this particular material is electro-static dissipative.
Apparently one of the first Stratasys customers using Antero is Lockheed Martin, who are using it to create several parts for NASAās Orion spacecraft. Above is an image of one of their parts, a component of the shipās docking ring.
The properties of great strength and lightweight are ideal for aerospace applications, including the Orion project. Iām wondering if this material might take a bite out of Stratasysā existing ULTEM materials market.
Currently Antero does not appear on Stratasysās otherwise comprehensive materials pages, so I cannot state the price of the material. That said, itās likely if you have a use for this material you may not be particularly concerned with the price, as the applicationās benefit from unusual parts produced with it could outweigh any price concerns.
Iāve often thought that the future of 3D printing, at least for the next few years, will center on the use of increasingly effective materials. Materials need to match the needs of a much broader set of applications.
That seems to be occurring here, with Stratasys developing a unique product that no doubt fits a number of application niches. And itās even possible its existence may create new niches that leverage the materialās properties.
Could this material be considered a āspin offā of the space program? Iām sure some will play it that way, but whether the chicken or egg came first, we now have yet another fascinating material to consider using in our projects.