<p>There are few materials that go up to that temperature and beyond.</p>

<p>A very nice generic overview is given by <a href="https://www.simplify3d.com/support/materials-guide/properties-table/" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Simplify3d</a>:</p>

<p><em>This figure shows an overview of many of the used materials in 3D printing</em>
<a href="https://i.sstatic.net/em4Xd.jpg" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/em4Xd.jpg" alt="enter image description here"></a></p>

<p>When looking closely, and without pointing to specific brands (to avoid a commercial posting), your best chances for appropriate filaments for your application is to look at Nylon, Polycarbonate (do not consider Polypropylene; that is very difficult to print) or (not mentioned in the overview as they are more recent filaments) Co-Polyester polymers.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-07-27T08:29:08.847Z
2018-07-27T08:29:08.847Z
0scar
<p>Referring to the table provided in 0scar's answer, the key challenge with high temperature materials is the gap between the glass transition temperature (bed temperature) and the extruder temperature.</p>

<p>Polycarbonate for example is listed as usable up to 121°C, printing on a bed at 80-120°C, but requiring an extruder temperature of 260-310°C. This extruder temperature is potentially going to challenge the mechanical, thermal and measurement properties of a printer.</p>

<p>In this application, you don't strictly require 100°C operation, so Nylon (80-95°C) and ABS (98°C) might be worth trying. Even if one side of the part is at this temperature, immersed in steam, the opposite side is exposed to air and convection cooling. Providing there is sufficient thermal insulation and internal rigidity, the upper shell of the part is likely to support it. However, if the inner face does start to flow it may take some time before a problem is apparent.</p>

<p>So long as the material is not <em>soluble</em>, absorbing moisture may not be a major issue.</p>

<p>When it comes to being food-safe, this is a huge can of worms, and you're really looking to investigate 'how much of a risk' rather than get a go/no-go answer.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-07-27T13:22:42.600Z
I agree -- there's a lot of plastics which aren't FDA "food-safe" but which you could chow down on regularly without any medical risk.
Carl Witthoft
CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-07-27T21:01:54.963Z
@CarlWitthoft: the danger is not always the material; 3D prints often have tiny gaps between layers where microbes can live and grow. these pathogens can be hard to wash away and can leech into food stored in such prints. As the lid to a steaming teapot, it's not likely a concern as steam disinfects, but it's worth mentioning here...
dandavis
CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-07-29T20:30:14.990Z
You don't adress the "food safe" issie: ABS and Nylon are not "food safe" AFAIK
Trish
CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-07-27T09:58:06.947Z
2018-07-27T09:58:06.947Z
Sean Houlihane
<p>I recommend PEEK if you are able to print around 400&nbsp;°C.</p>

<p>From <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polyether_ether_ketone" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Wikipedia - Polyether ether ketone</a></p>

<p><a href="https://i.sstatic.net/RU7QR.png" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/RU7QR.png" alt="Wikipedia&#39;s property chart"></a></p>

<hr>

<p>As requested in comments, here is the setup I use to print small PEEK parts: </p>

<ul>
<li>Hyrel3D Engine, Standard Resolution (ESR): $2500 list</li>
<li>Hyrel3D MK1-450 print head for 1.75mm filaments between 300&nbsp;°C and 450&nbsp;°C: $450 list</li>
</ul>

<p><em>Please note that larger parts will require (and all parts will benefit from) a heated build chamber. <br>Also note that annealing PEEK parts after printing (we use a circuit board reflow oven) recrystallizes (strengthens) the PEEK (and is recommended, but not required).</em></p>

<p>Here is one of our videos from 2015 showing the 410&nbsp;°C prototype for this head printing PEEK: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Om9cjxMXuxY" rel="nofollow noreferrer">YouTube - Introducing Hyrel's MK1-450 Printing PEEK and PC</a></p>

<p>I work for Hyrel 3D. The company page is linked in my profile.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-07-27T13:20:14.427Z
That's a seriously high temp for stock hotends!
Carl Witthoft
CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-07-27T13:40:15.380Z
Why not add ULTEM (PEI) which is easier to print. This is not something that normal "hobby" printers can print out of the box. Also the bed temperatures associated for printing these materials are pretty high for such printers to reach.
0scar
CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-07-27T15:30:43.937Z
@0scar - we're not restricted to hobby printers here, and I think it is often useful to see the 'high end' answer to these questions - it can help to drive innovation.
Sean Houlihane
CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-07-27T19:04:41.413Z
@CarlWitthoft I agree about limitations, if the OP has an plus $ 8k machine capable of +360 &deg;C I'll take back my comment and I'll secretly be very jealous :-)
0scar
CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-07-27T20:14:52.077Z
Why $8k? I have a $2500 machine with a stock $450 head that prints PEEK at up to 450C. And I find PEEK much easier to print than PEI.
Davo
CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-07-28T14:16:14.970Z
@0scar This might be of interest to you, if you haven't already stumbled upon it: https://ntrs.nasa.gov/archive/nasa/casi.ntrs.nasa.gov/20170000214.pdf
typo
CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-07-28T14:27:33.163Z
@Davo Nice setup! Very interesting, please share your machine and print head in the answer!
0scar
CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-07-28T17:25:27.073Z
@typo Very interesting stuff that you can find on NASA's technical report server! Thanks for sharing, very much appreciated. Also please update your question to include the printer you have, this may limit the amount of filament options.
0scar
CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-07-29T15:47:11.990Z
@0scar Details added. And note that Hyrel equipment is mentioned in that NASA article, even though we're not open-source.
Davo
CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-07-27T11:50:02.833Z
2018-08-18T07:30:08.133Z
2018-08-18T07:30:08.133Z
Davo
<p>I need to replace the lid of my water kettle and am searching for a filament, that is suitable for this purpose. The requirements are:</p>

<ol>
<li>Stable at 100°C (212°F)</li>
<li>Resistant to steam/moisture</li>
<li>Food-safe</li>
</ol>

<p>Has anyone experimented with this or similar purposes?</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-07-27T11:52:39.957Z
You may need to provide some information about your printer's capabilities, or if you're hoping to use a specialist manufacturing service.
Sean Houlihane
CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-07-27T13:21:23.310Z
Once you find a material with high-enough melting point, you might consider printing and then applying a waterproof, food-safe overcoat of some paint-like material.
Carl Witthoft
<filament><filament-choice>
3D printing filament resistant to steam
typo
# 3D printing filament resistant to steam

(Asked by: username_0 on 2018-07-27)

I need to replace the lid of my water kettle and am searching for a filament, that is suitable for this purpose. The requirements are:

1. Stable at 100°C (212°F)
2. Resistant to steam/moisture
3. Food-safe

Has anyone experimented with this or similar purposes?

**Tags:** filament, filament-choice
> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: You may need to provide some information about your printer's capabilities, or if you're hoping to use a specialist manufacturing service.  
> **username_2**: Once you find a material with high-enough melting point, you might consider printing and then applying a waterproof, food-safe overcoat of some paint-like material.  

---

## 3 answers

### Answer by username_1 on 2018-07-27. Score: 6

Referring to the table provided in 0scar's answer, the key challenge with high temperature materials is the gap between the glass transition temperature (bed temperature) and the extruder temperature.

Polycarbonate for example is listed as usable up to 121°C, printing on a bed at 80-120°C, but requiring an extruder temperature of 260-310°C. This extruder temperature is potentially going to challenge the mechanical, thermal and measurement properties of a printer.

In this application, you don't strictly require 100°C operation, so Nylon (80-95°C) and ABS (98°C) might be worth trying. Even if one side of the part is at this temperature, immersed in steam, the opposite side is exposed to air and convection cooling. Providing there is sufficient thermal insulation and internal rigidity, the upper shell of the part is likely to support it. However, if the inner face does start to flow it may take some time before a problem is apparent.

So long as the material is not *soluble*, absorbing moisture may not be a major issue.

When it comes to being food-safe, this is a huge can of worms, and you're really looking to investigate 'how much of a risk' rather than get a go/no-go answer.

> **Comments:**
> **username_2**: I agree -- there's a lot of plastics which aren't FDA "food-safe" but which you could chow down on regularly without any medical risk.  
> **username_4**: @CarlWitthoft: the danger is not always the material; 3D prints often have tiny gaps between layers where microbes can live and grow. these pathogens can be hard to wash away and can leech into food stored in such prints. As the lid to a steaming teapot, it's not likely a concern as steam disinfects, but it's worth mentioning here...  
> **username_5**: You don't adress the "food safe" issie: ABS and Nylon are not "food safe" AFAIK  

---

### Answer by username_3 on 2018-07-27. Score: 3

There are few materials that go up to that temperature and beyond.

A very nice generic overview is given by [Simplify3d](https://www.simplify3d.com/support/materials-guide/properties-table/):

*This figure shows an overview of many of the used materials in 3D printing*
[![enter image description here](https://i.sstatic.net/em4Xd.jpg)](https://i.sstatic.net/em4Xd.jpg)

When looking closely, and without pointing to specific brands (to avoid a commercial posting), your best chances for appropriate filaments for your application is to look at Nylon, Polycarbonate (do not consider Polypropylene; that is very difficult to print) or (not mentioned in the overview as they are more recent filaments) Co-Polyester polymers.


---

### Answer by username_6 on 2018-07-27. Score: 2

I recommend PEEK if you are able to print around 400 °C.

From [Wikipedia - Polyether ether ketone](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polyether_ether_ketone)

[![Wikipedia's property chart](https://i.sstatic.net/RU7QR.png)](https://i.sstatic.net/RU7QR.png)

---

As requested in comments, here is the setup I use to print small PEEK parts:

* Hyrel3D Engine, Standard Resolution (ESR): $2500 list
* Hyrel3D MK1-450 print head for 1.75mm filaments between 300 °C and 450 °C: $450 list

*Please note that larger parts will require (and all parts will benefit from) a heated build chamber.   
Also note that annealing PEEK parts after printing (we use a circuit board reflow oven) recrystallizes (strengthens) the PEEK (and is recommended, but not required).*

Here is one of our videos from 2015 showing the 410 °C prototype for this head printing PEEK: [YouTube - Introducing Hyrel's MK1-450 Printing PEEK and PC](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Om9cjxMXuxY)

I work for Hyrel 3D. The company page is linked in my profile.

> **Comments:**
> **username_2**: That's a seriously high temp for stock hotends!  
> **username_3**: Why not add ULTEM (PEI) which is easier to print. This is not something that normal "hobby" printers can print out of the box. Also the bed temperatures associated for printing these materials are pretty high for such printers to reach.  
> **username_1**: @0scar - we're not restricted to hobby printers here, and I think it is often useful to see the 'high end' answer to these questions - it can help to drive innovation.  
> **username_3**: @CarlWitthoft I agree about limitations, if the OP has an plus $ 8k machine capable of +360 &deg;C I'll take back my comment and I'll secretly be very jealous :-)  
> **username_6**: Why $8k? I have a $2500 machine with a stock $450 head that prints PEEK at up to 450C. And I find PEEK much easier to print than PEI.  
> **username_0**: @0scar This might be of interest to you, if you haven't already stumbled upon it: https://ntrs.nasa.gov/archive/nasa/casi.ntrs.nasa.gov/20170000214.pdf  
> **username_3**: @Davo Nice setup! Very interesting, please share your machine and print head in the answer!  
> **username_3**: @typo Very interesting stuff that you can find on NASA's technical report server! Thanks for sharing, very much appreciated. Also please update your question to include the printer you have, this may limit the amount of filament options.  
> **username_6**: @0scar Details added. And note that Hyrel equipment is mentioned in that NASA article, even though we're not open-source.  

---

