jasu
1
Hi Hubbers,
We need to create spare parts for lab equipment which is usually made out of polytetrafluoroethylene/Teflon. So, we are wondering whether it is possible to print this material using 3D printers? It typically melts at much higher temperature than your run-of-the-mill 3D printer (330°C vs. 260°C). But I’m thinking that there may be printers out there with hotter hotends or faster melting PTFE-like materials. Do you know more?
No. PTFE will disintegrate before melting. Otherwise I would have done it already 
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No, as said, PTFE will break down before melting. On top of that, above 250C PTFE starts releasing some truly nasty fumes that are known to be fairly toxic. Please don’t try it.
Most products with Teflon such as nonstick cookware is made with the Teflon directly applied to the surface. Products made from solid Teflon are usually milled. It’s unfortunately not very feasible to (as a normal consumer) create Teflon parts, but you may find a service willing to mill Teflon for you.
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Osiris
4
Perhaps you may want to look into Perfluoroalkoxy alkane (PFA) or more likely Fluorinated ethylene propylene (FEP) (brandnames: Teflon FEP, Neoflon FEP, Daikin/Dyneon FEP) which have lower melting temperatures (particularly FEP with a melting temperature of 260C for the purpose of melting and injection molding. I don’t know if this topic has been discussed (anywhere) or if anyone has tried it. One may want to do some additional research prior to using it, especially if it’s to be used with biological organisms. If you are to believe the information on Wikipedia it seems that it could work, in theory.
Searching for these materials results in products not suitable for 3D printing (i.e., sheets, tubes, rods at McMaster-Carr and US Plastics), unless you can extrude the filament yourself. However a Google search of “1.75mm FEP” may be promising.
I do see some results for printing with such types of plastics on the RepRap wiki and some other possible sites. Some have been looking into alternative plastics as well (such as PVDF) for certain characteristics, so depending on the application you can perhaps try an alternative plastic.
Hi Jasu,
This is possible now with a patent pending technology from 3M. Read more here: https://www.3m.com/3M/en_US/design-and-specialty-materials-us/3d-printing/
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braxm7
7
3M just released a 3D PTFE (Teflon) printer.
Where can I print PTFE ( Teflon) parts?
