BASF Ultrafuse® 316L and BASF Ultrafuse® 17-4 PH are industrial-grade, metal-polymer composite filaments compatible with the LPD Plus Zortrax M300 Dual and Zortrax Endureal 3D printer. The filaments can be used for 3D printing industrial-grade, stainless steel components, such as elements of tooling, jigs, or parts intended for grinding, welding, drilling or sterilization. The 3D printed parts gain their metal-like properties, such as high mechanical strength, hardness, UV and temperature resistance, once they’re post-processed in a proprietary catalytic debinding and sintering process, outsourced at Elnik Systems GmbH.

This manual provides detailed guidelines on the use of BASF Ultrafuse® 316L and BASF Ultrafuse® 17-4 PH. The article is divided into sections that discuss: 3D modeling, preparing models in Z-SUITE, 3D printing, as well as preparing 3D prints for post-processing.

1

BASF Ultrafuse® 316L and BASF Ultrafuse® 17-4 PH Comparison

BASF Ultrafuse® 316L and BASF Ultrafuse® 17-4 PH filaments contain two most commonly used types of steel powders: 316 surgical-grade stainless steel and 17-4 PH hardened steel, respectively. Thanks to low carbon content, the 316L type is highly resistant to corrosion, but is relatively soft. The 17-4 PH type contains more carbon and is treated through the precipitation hardening method, which leads to high tensile strength and high hardness.

The 316L type has austenitic microstructure (non-magnetic), whereas the 17-4 PH type has martensitic microstructure (magnetic).

Parts 3D printed with both filaments are isotropic, and can easily be welded, polished, sterilized, or machined.

Storage:
Both BASF Ultrafuse® 316L and BASF Ultrafuse® 17-4 PH filaments should be stored at temperatures between 15 and 25 °C in original packaging. The storage area should be clean and dry. If the recommended storage conditions are observed, the filaments have up to 12 months of shelf life.

more information about:
BASF Ultrafuse® 316L
BASF Ultrafuse® 17-4 PH
Comparision

2

3D Modeling Guidelines

3

Z-SUITE Preparation

4

3D Printing Guidelines for Endureal

5

3D Printing Guidelines for M300 Dual

6

How to use Zortrax Full Metal Package

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Before being post-processed, 3D prints made with BASF Ultrafuse® 316L and BASF Ultrafuse® 17-4 PH, are called “green parts” which contain metallic powder and polymeric filler in them. After the first stage of post-processing, that is debinding, such prints are called “brown parts” and they no longer contain the polymeric filler. Next, after sintering, which is the last step of the whole procedure, you obtain fully metal “white parts.”

7

How to Order Post-Processing Services

8

How to Pack and Send “Green Parts” for Post-Processing

9

Pick up your metal parts

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Within about 10 working days (depending on the date of shipment) you will receive ready metal parts that you can further process depending on your needs. The metal parts are suitable for grinding, welding, drilling, threading, machining, etc.

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