Vision Miner’s Patrick Smith and Rob Lent sit down to talk about why choosing high-temperature plastics is the smart, long-term investment for many businesses in 2019.

Firstly, there is such a huge demand coming right now for high-temperature thermoplastics. Companies can not only perform rapid prototyping but also develop functional parts with high-performance 3D printers that are as strong as steel. So when you can rapid prototype and create functional parts, you save on cost and time compared to other manufacturing processes like injection molding or CNC. Alongside demand, high-temperature 3D printing is bringing more jobs to the manufacturing industry in the form of printing services.

Since the beginning, 3D printing has allowed people to make impossible objects, stuff you cannot machine from a block of material. Compared to the old methodologies like injection molding or CNC machining, you used to have to buy a block of PEEK at a cost and then machine it for an additional fee plus a wait time. Now, these are a thing of the past due to high-temperature thermoplastic printing.

With all of the discussion focusing on materials such as PEEK or PEI, why are we not talking about ABS and PLA? The bottom line is that while these materials are cool and affordable, they’re not functional. Yes, you can use them just for checking fit, but if you want to do an assembly like a gimbal, PLA and ABS won't be able to hold the weight of the application itself. Furthermore, operating costs are on the decline for filament, too.

High-performance printing used to be tens of thousands of dollars to integrate into businesses, but now, it’s affordable in the machines, the materials, and all in an open material system.

Vision Miner is always available for anyone considering thermoplastics. Please reach out to us if you have any questions and we’ll guide you in the right direction every time.