Controlling Crystallization: A Key Factor during 3D Printing with the Advanced Semicrystalline Polymeric Materials PEEK, PEKK 6002, and PEKK 7002

Controlling the crystallization of advanced, high-performance polymeric materials during 3D printing is critical to ensure that the resulting structures have appropriate mechanical properties. In this work, two grades of polyetherketoneketone (PEKK 6002 and PEKK 7002) are used to print 3D specimens via a fused filament fabrication process. The samples are compared with polyetheretherketone printed under the same conditions. Two approaches for controlling the crystallization process are undertaken. The first involves adjustment of the chamber temperature between room temperature and 190 °C to create two regions where crystallization is governed by the slow diffusion process and elevated by limiting the nucleation process. The second approach involves selection of PEKK materials with varying crystallization kinetics, namely. Application of this method into 3D-printing process allows for printing semicrystalline materials with tailored mechanical, thermal, and chemical properties as either amorphous or in situ crystallized products. The studies undertaken here provide the basis to eliminate expensive and time-consuming post-processing of 3D fabricated parts. In particular, solutions for the avoidance of poor adhesion to the building plate and weak interlayer adhesion that can lead to warping are described. The materials are divided into three groups, slow, moderate, and too fast crystallization kinetics.