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I am trying to develop a process to print fixtures/jigs that can withstand a convection oven temperature of 165 °C. The tricky thing is that these parts have to be considered ESD safe (surface resistivity of $10^4 - 10^11, with 10^5 - 10^7$ being optimal).

I have found tons of options where I can get one property or the other, but have had little to no luck finding any companies that are able to fulfill both requirements.

Also: the parts that I need to print need a high level of detail, (X/Y/Z accuracy of at least .005", ideally tighter) so from my experience, I have focused my efforts on resin printers, but am also open to filament printers if they can provide the accuracy I need.

If anyone has any suggestions on printers to look into or companies that I may be able to reach out to for an inquiry it would help me a ton.

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    $\begingroup$ Please prepare a list of materials that meet your needs. With that list, we might suggest various manufacturing methods. It may be that your can print something like PEEK or PPSU in near-net-shape, and then machine it to your tolerances (if needed). $\endgroup$
    – Davo
    Jul 9, 2021 at 17:42
  • $\begingroup$ Material selection is where I am struggling right now, from my research PEEK has a surface resistivity of about 10^16, which is considered insulative so it will not provide ESD protection against the electronics I am working with $\endgroup$
    – Bobby Jones
    Jul 9, 2021 at 17:48
  • $\begingroup$ There was a recent article on the subject here: 3dprinting.com/3d-printing-use-cases/… $\endgroup$
    – Ron Jensen
    Jul 9, 2021 at 19:10

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There are ESD safe nylon filaments available, but even they will be well above their glass transition (= softening and sagging under their own weight) before they get up to 165 °C.

What I'd recommend is looking for a method to resin print the parts and add your ESD protection as a post-process. Most UV cure resins are thermoset, in that they won't soften at temperatures below where they start to break down (i.e. char) -- but few if any are conductive enough to be ESD safe.

If you don't mind a coating that needs to be reapplied regularly (possibly before each bake cycle) I've seen liquid fabric softeners used to provide a conductive coating on home built ribbon tweeters (electrostatic speakers). Something in the formula of these liquids produces a coating that's quite a good conductor of high voltage static charges.

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  • $\begingroup$ Thanks for the response! I hadn't thought about using a coating post-print so I will look into that to see if I can find something that will work (ideally for more than one bake cycle but if it is a simple dunk to get ESD protection then that is do-able) $\endgroup$
    – Bobby Jones
    Jul 9, 2021 at 17:54
  • $\begingroup$ Hydrophilic surfactants depend on humidity to dissipate ESD. A hot oven usually has near 0% relative humidity. If you use a coating, it needs to conduct independent of humidity. $\endgroup$
    – Perry Webb
    Jul 12, 2021 at 13:38
  • $\begingroup$ Learn something every day -- I wasn't aware this stuff depended on humidity (though I was well aware humidity in a hot oven tends to be very low). $\endgroup$
    – Zeiss Ikon
    Jul 12, 2021 at 14:25

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