Unlocking AM for high-performance polymers 

Radiative Heating vs. Hot Air Convection

When engineers evaluate an industrial PEEK 3D printer vs injection molding, the failure points of additive manufacturing (AM) are voids, warping, delamination, and a weak Z-axis. Since 2018, Orion AM has been focused on solving these limitation with a novel approach to heating parts as they print.

Rather than heating via air convection, which can be inefficient and create severe thermal gradients that result in poor interlayer bonding, Orion AM's proprietary Thermal Radiation Heating applies continuous and fully customizable thermal history control with penetrating radiation. 

This enables in-situ crystallization of PEEK and other ultra-high-performance polymers, achieving the strength and densities of injection-moulding, and eliminating the need for post-print annealing.

99.95% Part Density & Isotropic Strength ​

Because the heat penetrates through the material, the layers truly fuse together. This interlayer welding in PEEK results in exceptional mechanical integrity:

• Up to 99.95% part density PEEK printing: Eliminates internal porosity, making our process capable of producing hermetically sealed 3D printed parts for vacuum and submerged applications.
• 90+ MPa Z-axis strength 3D print: Consistently achieves or exceeds the tensile strength of traditional injection molding (about 90 MPa, varying per filament material), validating our systems for load-bearing, end-use parts production.

Applications

Orion AM's TRH process unlocks additive manufacturing for ultra-high-temperature polymers in new aerospace and medical applications.