Which Materials should I use to 3D print PPE or Medical Components?

If you want to use your 3D printer to help in the fight against COVID-19 with the production of Personal Protection Equipment (PPE), medical devices, or components for medical equipment, like a ventilator, then you need to pick the right type of material.

FDM Materials

Ideally you want to use FDM (Fused Deposition Modeling) materials used on professional 3D printers, such as ULTEM® 1010 resin with a Stratasys 3D printer. FDM parts are strong, reliable, and can be sterilized with an approved process such as steam autoclave. A list of the recommended FDM materials is shown below.

WARNING: Medical devices are typically sterilized at 121°C which will distort or melt most common 3D printing materials, such as PLA, used with consumer/hobby 3D printers.

Listed in the tables below are FDM materials that used in production and can be sterilized, along with the tested sterilization process. We recommend PPSF/PPSU, ULTEM 9085 and ULTEM 1010.

What about PolyJet Material?

With regards to Polyjet for manufacturing, a few recommendations from our technical team:

• Any parts being printed for ventilators, in a production capacity, should not be produced with Polyjet; best deployment of the technology in this circumstance is for rapid product development, iteration, and testing prior to production. Med-safe Polyjet parts do not retain biocompatibility over long term use.
• Any parts coming in contact with skin or mucous membranes, or components contacting air/fluids that will contact these tissues, must be printed with MED610, and processed post-print following the protocol outlined in the “Printing Biocompatible Parts on PolyJet™ 3D Printers with MED610TM” documentation by Stratasys.
• Non-medical Polyjet material are applicable for applications where the parts will not be in contact with human skin or mucous membranes, or in direct contact with air and fluids contacting these tissues:
  • Prototypes: PPE such as face shields, masks, not to be worn for human testing
  • Brackets, housings, anything not coming into direct contact with patients
  • Limited life or disposable medical device components: we recommend Digital ABS for these components as it will provide the best performance from a material characteristic standpoint. Please keep in mind that some individuals have a sensitivity to Polyjet resin, and therefore ensuring parts are thoroughly cleaned is important.

FDM Material	ABS-M30	ABS-M30i	ABS-ESD7
BIOCOMPATIBILITY	Not Tested (1)	Yes	Not Tested (1)
ISO 10993-3: Genotoxicity
ISO 10993-4: Hemocompatibility
ISO 10993-5: Cytotoxicity 4
ISO 10993-6: Implantation Effects
ISO 10993-10: Irritation & Sensitization 4
ISO 10993-11: Systemic Toxicity 4
USP Class VI: Systemic Injection Test
USP Class VI: Intracutaneous Test
USP Class VI: Implantation Test
STERLIZABILITY	Yes	Yes	Yes
EtO
Hydrogen Peroxide Gas Plasma
Gamma Radiation
Autoclave (steam)
Flash Autoclave

FDM Material	PC	PC-ABS	PC-ISO	PPSF/PPSU	ULTEM 9085	ULTEM 1010
BIOCOMPATIBILITY	Not Tested (1)	Not Tested (1)	Yes	Not Tested (1)	Not Tested (1)	Yes
ISO 10993-3: Genotoxicity
ISO 10993-4: Hemocompatibility						(2)
ISO 10993-5: Cytotoxicity 4						(2)
ISO 10993-6: Implantation Effects						(2)
ISO 10993-10: Irritation & Sensitization 4						(2)
ISO 10993-11: Systemic Toxicity 4
USP Class VI: Systemic Injection Test
USP Class VI: Intracutaneous Test
USP Class VI: Implantation Test
STERLIZABILITY	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
EtO
Hydrogen Peroxide Gas Plasma
Gamma Radiation
Autoclave (steam)
Flash Autoclave

Notes:

1. Material has not been tested for biocompatibility. Refer to ISO 10993 for appropriate test requirements for the intended application.
2. Biocompatibility tests conducted by raw material manufacturer.