PEEK is also increasingly combined with other materials such as carbon fiber or glass fibers to create strong composite materials for industrial uses.
For PEEK 3D printers, read our PEEK & Ultem 3D printer buyer’s guide. With patents expiring for a number of innovations necessary for PEEK 3D printing, mostly concerning heated chambers to keep temperature consistent, PEEK 3D printer filament has seen an increase in use, with a number of specialist industrial 3D printers developed with PEEK additive manufacturing in mind. PEEK is predicted to become the most profitable segment of additive manufacturing, and account for 19% of 3D printing material revenues by 2026. It was developed by British company Imperial Chemical Industries (ICI) who are now defunct, but their PEEK material department was bought out by what is now Victrex, a London Stock Exchange-listed polymer company who manufacture PEEK today. PEEK was first marketed and sold over 40 years ago, as a niche material for aeronautics.
Offering fantastic mechanical properties, and as strong as steel by volume despite being 80% lighter, PEEK 3D printing is fast becoming adopted for a variety of industrial weight-saving applications. PEEK, also known as Poly Ether Etherketone, is seeing increasing use in 3D printing in recent times, but has been around since the 1980s.