Printing PEEK, PEKK, and ULTEM: A Guide to MatterHackers' High-Temperature 3D Printers
Which 3D printer can actually print PEEK, PEKK, and ULTEM? A breakdown of MatterHackers' high-temperature printers and how each one gets there.
Printing PEEK, PEKK, and ULTEM: A Guide to MatterHackers' High-Temperature 3D Printers
PEEK, PEKK, ULTEM (PEI), PPSU, and PPS are not filaments you can run on a standard desktop printer. These are semi-crystalline, high-performance polymers used in aerospace brackets, medical implants, and oil and gas components precisely because they hold up where ABS and PLA cannot. But printing them successfully takes more than a hot nozzle. It takes a nozzle that can reach 450 to 500 degrees Celsius, a chamber that stays actively heated well above 90 degrees Celsius to prevent warping and delamination, and a build plate that can hold its shape at high, sustained temperatures.
MatterHackers' High Temperature 3D Printers collection is built around machines that clear that bar, along with a few high-speed, engineering-grade printers that push into advanced composites without going all the way to PAEK territory. Here is a rundown of what each machine can do, and how it gets there.
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| PEEK, PEKK, and ULTEM Printers |
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| Choosing the Right Printer for Your Materials |
The PEEK, PEKK, and ULTEM Printers
These four machines are built specifically to process the PAEK family and other ultra-high-temperature polymers, with actively heated chambers and nozzles rated for 450 degrees Celsius or higher.
Prusa Pro HT90
The HT90 takes a different approach to high-temperature printing than most machines in this collection. It uses delta kinematics and a cylindrical build volume (300mm diameter by 400mm tall), paired with magnetically swappable print heads that let a user switch between a High-Flow head, rated up to 300 degrees Celsius for materials like ASA and PETG, and a High-Temp head, rated up to 500 degrees Celsius for PEEK, PEKK, and PEI (ULTEM).
The chamber heats to 90 degrees Celsius and includes a servo-controlled airflow flap that redirects cooling to specific areas of a print without overcooling the rest of the model, which helps with both overhangs and layer adhesion on demanding materials. A HEPA and carbon filtration system handles the fumes that come with printing at these temperatures, and the printer can run fully offline for shops that need air-gapped security.
Intamsys Funmat Pro 310 Apollo
The Apollo is built for production, not just prototyping. Its IDEX (independent dual extrusion) system runs PAEK materials at speeds up to 200mm/s, roughly four times faster than typical high-temperature printers, and can mirror or duplicate a print across both nozzles to double throughput. The chamber holds a stable 100 degrees Celsius, the build plate reaches 160 degrees Celsius, and the nozzles top out at 450 degrees Celsius, enough headroom for the full PAEK family alongside PC, PPA-CF/GF, PPS, and various fiber-reinforced options.
What sets the Apollo apart is its INTAMQuality system, which logs data through the entire print for traceability, and its included INTAMBox, a sealed, heated filament storage unit that keeps hygroscopic materials dry through long, multi-day production runs. That combination makes it a strong fit for manufacturers who need repeatable, auditable output rather than one-off parts.
Intamsys FunMat HT Enhanced
The FunMat HT Enhanced is a more accessible entry point into PEEK printing without giving up the fundamentals. It maintains a 90 degree Celsius chamber, a 160 degree Celsius build platform, and a swappable hotend that reaches 450 degrees Celsius, enough for PEEK, PEI, PEKK, and PPSU. The Enhanced edition added automatic bed leveling and a new glass-ceramic build plate that resists thermal deformation better than the original borosilicate glass, both of which matter when a single failed print in PEEK can be a costly one.
An in-chamber camera lets users monitor prints remotely, and the redesigned hotend is built to resist clogging at sustained high temperatures, which was a common pain point on earlier high-temp desktop printers.
Vision Miner 22 IDEX V4
The 22 IDEX V4 pairs two independent extruders, both rated to 500 degrees Celsius, with an actively heated chamber that holds above 100 degrees Celsius and a self-leveling 200 degree Celsius bed. Because it runs a fully open material system, it is validated for PEEK, PEKK, CF-PEEK, AM200 PAEK, and both ULTEM 9085 and ULTEM 1010, along with PPSU and a long list of engineering nylons and composites.
Its IDEX configuration means it can run true dual-material prints, soluble supports, or duplicate the same part on both extruders at once. A heated internal filament storage compartment keeps hygroscopic polymers dry during long prints, and HEPA plus activated carbon filtration manages the byproducts of high-temperature printing. It is one of the largest build volumes in this collection at 350 x 350 x 450mm, which matters for anyone printing full-size brackets or tooling rather than small coupons.
High-Speed Engineering and Composite Printers
These three machines do not print PEEK-class materials, but they belong in a conversation about advanced materials because they push aggressively into carbon fiber and glass fiber reinforced nylons, PETG-CF, and other composites that need serious hotend and, in some cases, chamber heating to perform.
Bambu Lab H2D Pro
The H2D Pro opens this group with a 350 degree Celsius dual-nozzle system and a genuinely active 65 degree Celsius heated chamber, a step up from the passive heating on machines like the Pantheon HS3. That combination covers an unusually wide material list for a printer in this price range, including PC, PA/Nylon, PPS, PPA, PET, ASA, and their carbon and glass fiber reinforced variants, alongside standard materials like PETG and ABS. Tungsten carbide nozzles add durability against abrasive filaments, and a Vision Encoder plate delivers 50 micron motion accuracy for repeatable results across production runs.
The H2D Pro also stands apart on the security side, with a physical network killswitch, WPA2-Enterprise Wi-Fi authentication, and 802.1X network access control, features aimed squarely at institutions and enterprises with strict IT requirements rather than hobbyist users.
UltiMaker S8
The S8 is not a PEEK printer, its nozzle tops out at 340 degrees Celsius, but it is one of the fastest dual-extrusion machines built for engineering-grade materials. Its Cheetah motion system runs up to 500mm/s with 50,000 mm/s² of acceleration, and it is compatible with more than 300 materials, including PET-CF, nylon CF, and UltiMaker's PC and CPE+ lines. For shops that need reliable, fast dual-material printing in composites and heat-resistant polymers without stepping up to full PAEK capability, the S8 covers a wide range of that ground.
Pantheon HS3
The HS3 is built around speed for carbon fiber composites specifically, claiming 5 to 10 times faster carbon fiber printing than traditional FDM through a combination of Teknic Clearpath servo motors, precision ball screws, and a hotend rated to 500 degrees Celsius. Its chamber and print head use passive heating up to 45 degrees Celsius rather than an actively controlled high-temperature chamber, which positions it less as a PEEK printer and more as a dedicated production tool for carbon and glass fiber nylon parts that need to be made quickly and repeatably.
Pantheon HS PRO
The HS PRO scales up the HS3's approach with a larger 400 x 400 x 300mm build volume and an actively heated, closed-loop chamber that holds 60 degrees Celsius, a meaningful step up for layer bonding and warp resistance on reinforced materials. Its 500 degree Celsius hotend and 145 degree Celsius bed are built for carbon fiber nylon, glass fiber nylon, PETG-CF, and flexible 95A materials at production volume, with Pantheon citing throughput up to 2kg of finished parts per day.
Choosing the Right Printer for Your Materials
The right machine in this collection comes down to which materials a project actually calls for. If PEEK, PEKK, or ULTEM is a requirement, the field narrows to the Prusa Pro HT90, Intamsys Funmat Pro 310 Apollo, Intamsys FunMat HT Enhanced, or Vision Miner 22 IDEX V4, each of which offers an actively heated chamber and a nozzle rated for 450 degrees Celsius or above. Within that group, production volume and traceability point toward the Apollo, budget-conscious entry into PEEK points toward the FunMat HT Enhanced, and larger parts or dual-material work point toward the 22 IDEX V4 or the HT90.
If the work leans more toward carbon and glass fiber composites, PETG-CF, or high-heat nylons rather than PAEK, the Bambu Lab H2D Pro, UltiMaker S8, Pantheon HS3, and Pantheon HS PRO deliver speed and material strength without the added cost of full PAEK capability. For institutions with strict IT and data security requirements, the H2D Pro's network killswitch and enterprise Wi-Fi authentication make it a standout choice within that group.
Whichever machine fits, working with a supplier who understands both the hardware and the materials makes the transition to advanced filaments smoother. MatterHackers offers expert guidance on machine selection, along with setup assistance and ongoing maintenance support, to help departments and production shops get real, repeatable results from day one rather than learning the hard way through failed high-temperature prints.