Aerospace performance at 1/3 the price of PEEK.
Amber-colored Ultem combines USP Class VI biocompatibility with UL 94 V-0 flame retardancy and 170°C continuous service. The go-to plastic for aerospace cabin interiors, high-temperature medical devices, and demanding electrical insulation — at a fraction of PEEK's cost.
At a glance
- Density
- 1.27 g/cc
- Tensile strength
- 85 MPa
- Flexural modulus
- 3.3 GPa
- Elongation
- 60 %
- HDT (0.45 MPa)
- 200 °C
- Tg
- 217 °C
- Continuous service
- 170 °C
- Flame retardancy
- UL 94 V-0
Key data
- Density
- 1.27 g/cc
- Tensile strength
- 85 MPa
- Flexural modulus
- 3.3 GPa
- Elongation
- 60 %
- HDT (0.45 MPa)
- 200 °C
- Tg
- 217 °C
- Continuous service
- 170 °C
- Flame retardancy
- UL 94 V-0
Ultem grades.
Ultem 1000
SABIC Ultem 1000. Base unfilled grade. Amber transparent, USP Class VI, UL 94 V-0. Standard for most applications.
Ultem 2300
30% glass-fiber reinforced. Tensile doubles to 170 MPa, flexural modulus 9 GPa. Structural aerospace brackets, high-temperature mounting hardware.
Ultem 2100
Lighter fill for moderate stiffness improvement without sacrificing toughness. Good balance for complex parts with some structural loading.
Ultem HU1000
Higher purity for medical. ISO 10993 tested, autoclavable 200+ cycles at 134 °C. Surgical instrument handles, sterilization tray components.
Ultem 1010
Stratasys FDM printable grade. For high-temperature 3D-printed parts. Aerospace ducting, tooling masters, high-heat prototypes.
Ultem 9085
FST-compliant (flame, smoke, toxicity). Certified for Airbus and Boeing cabin interior 3D-printed parts.
Base Ultem 1000 for general applications. Filled and specialty grades for structural, medical, and electrical applications.
Why choose Ultem.
Biocompatibility
USP Class VI and ISO 10993-5 certified. Safe for medical device contact, surgical instrument handles, dental prototypes.
Flame retardancy
UL 94 V-0 without FR additives. Low smoke generation. FST-compliant grades certified for aircraft cabin interiors.
Autoclavable
Withstands 200+ cycles at 134 °C steam sterilization. Standard for reusable surgical tool components.
Cost advantage vs PEEK
Approximately 1/3 the cost of PEEK per kg. For applications not requiring PEEK's extreme properties, Ultem is the economical choice.
Ultem occupies the sweet spot between commodity engineering plastics and premium PEEK. For aerospace, medical, and electrical applications where you need high performance without PEEK's cost.
Ultem applications.
Aerospace cabin interiors
Air ducts, housing brackets, cabin trim — FST-compliant
Surgical instrument handles
Autoclavable reusable medical device components
Medical device housings
Non-implant housings, dental device bodies, analyzer components
Electrical connectors
High-temperature connector bodies, insulators, bus-bar supports
Semiconductor fixtures
High-temperature wafer handling, test-socket components
Sterilization trays
Reusable medical sterilization cases and fixtures
Circuit board carriers
High-temperature PCB fixtures, reflow oven parts
Food processing
FDA-grade Ultem for hot-fill food packaging hardware
Automotive under-hood
Sensor housings, high-temperature fluid handling, lighting hardware
Ultem finishing.
As-machined
Typical Ra 1.6 µm. Amber color shows tool marks — cosmetic applications usually require secondary finishing.
Bead blasted
Uniform matte finish, minimizes tool mark visibility.
Polished
Surface polishing to Ra 0.4 µm for cosmetic applications. Transparency slightly improves with polish.
Laser marked
Good contrast on amber Ultem. Standard for device serial numbers and part IDs.
Pad printed
Works with high-temperature pad-print inks rated for sterilization.
Machined threads
Threads machined directly — Ultem holds thread form reliably.
Sterilization prep
Clean-packaged for customer terminal sterilization via autoclave, EtO, or gamma.
Plasma treated
Surface activation for bonding or printing — without plasma treatment, adhesives bond poorly.
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Aerospace performance at 1/3 the price of — questions
Ultem vs PEEK — when does each make sense?
PEEK for: continuous service above 170 °C, chemical resistance to strong acids and bases, implantable medical, extreme fatigue resistance. Ultem for: cost-sensitive aerospace and medical, flame-retardant applications (PEEK requires FR additive), electrical insulation, general high-temperature. Ultem is ~1/3 the cost of PEEK and covers 70% of the same application space.
Is Ultem transparent?
Amber-transparent, not optically clear. Light transmission ~70% with strong amber color. Acceptable for seeing through (fluid level indicators, instrument windows) but not for color-critical optics. For optically clear, specify PC, PMMA or specialty optical polymers.
Can Ultem be 3D printed?
Yes, on industrial FDM printers. Ultem 1010 for general high-temperature applications, Ultem 9085 for FST-compliant aerospace parts. Both require high-temperature build chambers (160 °C+). Available through our <a href="/3d-printing-service.html">3D printing service</a> on Stratasys Fortus-class equipment.
Is Ultem resistant to steam sterilization?
Yes — Ultem (particularly HU1000 medical grade) is qualified for 200+ autoclave cycles at 134 °C. Among few plastics that survive repeated high-temperature steam sterilization without dimensional drift, yellowing, or embrittlement. Standard for reusable surgical tools, dental prototypes, and sterilization trays.
Does Ultem require any special machining precautions?
Sharp carbide tools with positive rake geometry. Moderate feeds and speeds (similar to polycarbonate). Air or light-mist cooling — avoid flood coolant as Ultem can absorb water. For glass-filled Ultem 2300, PCD diamond-coated tools extend life 10× over carbide. Anneal post-machining for tight-tolerance aerospace parts.
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