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Author
Otero March, Miquel
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Abstract
This master's final project arises from the need to find a process that facilitates the set-up of ULTEMTM 9085 parts printed in FDM.
ULTEMTM 9085 is a thermoplastic polymer of the polyetherimide (PEI) family that shows very promising chemical, mechanical and thermal properties for the automotive and aeronautical industries, among others. Its resistance-to-weight ratio, its FST (flame, smoke and toxicity) certification, in which it is positioned as a flame retardant plastic, that does not emit fumes and is not toxic, and the possibility of printing it in FDM, make ULTEMTM 9085 a so interesting stuff.
In the printing process of the ULTEMTM 9085 it is necessary to use supports that, once the manufacturing process is finished, must be removed. However, it is very common to find parts in which manually removing the support is not possible because it is located in interior areas that are difficult to access. For materials such as PLA or ABS, the solution to this problem has been to dissolve their respective supports. But there is currently no such possibility for the ULTEMTM 9085 on the market.
The main objective of this work is to find a suitable solvent for the support material of the ULTEMTM 9085 parts. For this, 8 different solvents have been evaluated, and Infrared characterization techniques, SEM and mechanical tests have been used to verify the effect they have on the backing material and ULTEMTM 9085.
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