Solvay introduces latest AM-ready filament.
At Formnext this week, chemical company Solvay has announced the launch of a new 3D printing material, its first offering as the latest member of Ultimaker’s Material Alliance programme.
The new filament, Solef polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) AM filament MSC NT 1, is said to be particularly well suited for outdoor applications and parts that come into contact with harsh chemical environments due to its long-term performance up to 120°C, including exceptional chemical, UV, weathering and oxidation resistance. The material is also intrinsically endowed with very high purity.
“As AM technologies are rapidly expanding their scope from prototyping to tooling to small series production in the most demanding industries, our new Solef PVDF filament extends material options for engineers and designers to include fluorinated semi-crystalline thermoplastics. The filament opens up a wide range of new FFF possibilities especially in the chemical processing, semiconductor and oil & gas industries.” says Christophe Schramm, Manager of New Technologies for Solvay’s Specialty Polymers global business unit. “We are pleased to partner with Ultimaker for a plug-and-play experience with Solvay's new AM filament material and Ultimaker's large installed base of printers.”
The filament, designed for filament extrusion-based systems, joins Solvay’s current range of AM-ready materials such as KetaSpire polyetheretherketone (PEEK) and Radel polyphenylsulfone (PPSU) on the company’s direct e-commerce platform. As part of the newly formed alliance with Ultimaker, Solef PVDF’s print profile has now been added to the Ultimaker Marketplace to enable optimised printing on the company’s popular desktop machines.
“Solvay’s partnership with Ultimaker underscores our commitment to building a strong and diversified AM ecosystem that meets the increasing needs of our customers for high-performance 3D printable specialty polymers,” adds Paul Heiden, SVP Product Management, Ultimaker. “We encourage manufacturers and designers to explore Ultimaker’s Marketplace and use the print profile of Solef PVDF AM filament for evaluation.”
