Swedish speciality chemicals company Perstorp (Perstorp; www.perstorp.com) and 3D4Makers (Haarlem / The Netherlands; www.3d4makers.com) have developed a series of high-performance filaments for additive manufacturing that they said addresses the challenges posed by existing materials. The companies said their “Facilan” range is the world’s first soft-touch 3D printing material and also the first that is suitable for manufacturing applications. The filaments are aimed at companies that want to use 3D printing in high-throughput operations as well as high-quality prototyping applications.

The portfolio comprises compound materials Facilan C8, Facilan HT and Facilan Ortho, designed to be used in a wide range of medical and manufacturing products and claimed by Perstorp and 3D4Makers to be stronger than ABS and easier to process than PLA. Perstorp said many existing filaments have issues with layer adhesion, warping, surface quality and misprints.