Luvocom® 3F PPS CF 9938 BK Filament.

Luvocom 3F PPS CF 9938 BK is a linear polyphenylene sulfide reinforced with 15% carbon fibre, in black. It is a serial-production material for end-use parts that have to survive their surroundings.

Chemical resistance is the headline. Below 200 °C there is effectively no solvent that attacks this material, and it carries its thermal resistance alongside that rather than trading one for the other. The carbon reinforcement makes it strong and stiff while keeping it light.

It is dimensionally stable, with very low mould shrinkage and low water absorption, and it is inherently flame retardant. It is tested against the full set of transport fire standards: UN-ECE R.118.03 for the fire behaviour of materials in buses, the UL 94 vertical burning test, EN 45545 for materials in trains, ISO 4589-2 oxygen index at R22 and R23 across HL1, HL2 and HL3, ISO 5659-2 smoke density at those same levels, and AFNOR NF CIT gas toxicity at R22 HL1 and R23 HL1 to HL3.

With enough hotend power it runs on conventional FFF and FDM systems without a heated chamber, which for this performance class is unusual. The carbon fibres make it abrasive, so the nozzle you use matters as much as the temperature you set. Printed parts get a very good surface quality, and it is a cost-effective alternative to PAEK polymers.

Print at 310 to 340 °C on a bed above 50 °C. The material supplier prints it without adhesive on a 3D-MATT plate or structured PEI, and the part releases once it has cooled; on glass or a smooth PEI sheet, use Magigoo HT. The filament is carbon-filled and abrasive: use an adapted nozzle larger than 0.5 mm in an abrasion-resistant material, because a brass one will not survive the job. It can also be printed at high speed when the hotend has the power: the supplier tested it at 200 mm/s on a Bambu Lab H2D.

Dry it first.

Pre-drying is mandatory before printing. Use a convection oven with an even temperature distribution. A high-performance polymer that has taken up moisture will not give you the chemical and mechanical performance you paid for. Between prints, keep the spool in a dry box at 80 °C so no moisture condenses on the filament.

Annealing.

On a printer without a heated chamber, anneal the printed part to relieve stresses and reach full crystallinity: heat it from room temperature to 80 °C and hold it there, then heat to 95 °C and hold for one hour per mm of wall thickness, and let it cool to room temperature. A programmable drying cabinet is the recommended tool for it.