Prusament PC Space Grade Black 850g

About PC Space Grade Black

Prusament PC Space Grade Black is a material developed for the space industry and particle physics applications. Its main advantages are its ESD-safe properties and very low outgassing. Plus, its affordable price and ease of printing on common desktop printers make it something unique in this industry. Due to its excellent ESD properties and compatibility with desktop 3D printers, it’s suitable not only for parts exposed to outer space but also for advanced personal projects, such as housings for electronic devices and more.

High-end material accessible to everyone

Our goal was to create a professional, yet affordable material that would make prototyping and manufacturing space components easier. Until now, only costly materials like PEEK, PEKK and PEI with ESD-safe properties were suitable in this field. All of these materials require highly expensive industrial printers. Prusament PC Space Grade Black can be printed on most Prusa 3D printers, which significantly reduces the final price of manufactured components and greatly increases accessibility for everyone.

Electrostatic dissipation properties (ESD)

One of the main characteristics necessary for use in space components is electrostatic dissipation. This quality is important not only for space engineers but also for anyone who works with electronic devices. In hobby use, the ESD-safe materials can be used for making custom PC cases and similar products.

The measured resistance of dissipative materials ranges between 10⁴ and 10¹¹ Ohms. Ohms. Anything with higher resistance is considered insulating and anything with lower values is considered conductive material.

We have measured both the volume and surface resistivity of 3D printed samples from Prusament PC Space Grade Black, and the results confirmed the highly dissipative nature of the material. The volume resistivity was measured at 2.2×10 ⁴ Ω⋅m, while the surface resistivity was 6×10⁷ Ω/sq. These exceptional values were obtained directly from the 3D printed samples, without any post-processing, such as annealing or sanding, which is a testament to the filament's inherent and consistent ESD performance. This demonstrates that parts can be printed and immediately put into use for a wide range of applications requiring reliable electrostatic dissipation.

Outgassing

Various residual monomers or products of polymer degradation are released from the polymers under vacuum. This can affect, or even damage, the electronics used on the satellite (or any other precise machinery). Released gases can contaminate optical devices or cause inaccurate measurements of precise sensors. And finally, the gas release itself can decrease the material’s physical and mechanical properties. Manufacturing thermoplastic polymers with low outgassing levels is a great challenge, and it is usually achieved in expensive industrial-grade materials, such as PEKK and PEEK. We were able to fulfil strict requirements defined by the European Space Agency using PC (polycarbonate), which is a relatively cheap, common, and easy-to-print material.

Measured outgassing values:

TML (Total Mass Loss): The mass loss is represented as a percentage. The ESA limit is 1%; Prusament PC Space Grade Black achieved 0.25%.

CVCM (Collected Volatile Condensable Material): The limit stated by ESA is less than 0.1 %; the Prusament PC Space Grade Black reached a perfect 0.00 %.

RML (Recovered Mass Loss): The maximum limit stated by ESA is 1.0 %; the Prusament PC Space Grade Black reached 0.12 %.

You can examine the results and the used methods in our announcement article and the test report issued by Aerospace & Advanced Composites GmbH.

Mechanical properties

At the beginning of our joint project with TRL Space, we conducted a Finite Element Method simulation for a single-unit CubeSat design and established the minimal required values for mechanical properties that 3D printed parts should exceed. These minimal values were 70 MPa for tensile strength, 2 GPa for tensile modulus, 10 MPa for interlayer adhesion and 100 °C for heat deflection temperature (HDT).

We are pleased to report that Prusament PC Space Grade Black successfully surpassed these criteria as we reached:

• Tensile strength: 75 MPa
• Tensile modulus: 3.7 GPa
• Interlayer adhesion: 18 MPa
• HDT: 137.6 °C at 0.45 MPa load

Exceeding these values (together with outgassing and ESD properties) makes the filament a strong candidate as an affordable material suitable for future CubeSat production. More details about mechanical properties can be found in the Technical Datasheet.

Printing Setup

Prusament PC Space Grade Black can be printed on common desktop 3D printers, just like regular polycarbonates. The filament shows little to no warping. Models as large as 200x200 mm can be safely printed on Prusa 3D printers without any issues.

Supported 3D printer profiles: Prusa Core One, MK4S, XL, Prusa Pro HT90 (3rd party 3D printers may be used as well)

Drying filament: We recommend drying the filament before printing (6 h at 60 °C) and keeping it in a drybox during the print for the best results. Dry Prusament PC Space Grade Black offers exceptional dimension accuracy and the best mechanical and outgassing properties.

Basic Attributes

Beginners tips & tricks

A hardened nozzle is necessary, as carbon additives are a highly abrasive material that can damage brass nozzles.

Polycarbonate doesn’t pose any significant health risk to users. However, we still recommend printing in a well-ventilated room or in an enclosed printer with active filtration to keep the UFP and VOC levels as low as possible. The carbon additives bonded inside the polymer do not pose any health risk. Using protective equipment, such as goggles, a respirator, and gloves, is recommended for intense sanding.

The entire manufacturing process of the component is traceable from start to finish. First, we provide filament manufacturing data for all Prusament spools, including diameter consistency, weight, length, ovality, and standard deviation. Second, you can track the progress of your 3D print, including telemetry, through Prusa Connect.

You can find more in-depth printing tips in our article at blog.prusa3d.com and in our Material table.

Developed in cooperation with TRL Space

Prusament PC Space Grade Black was developed in cooperation with the Czech space company TRL Space. Based in Brno, this company offers complete turnkey space missions. This includes everything from the initial draft to a launch into orbit to the analysis of satellite data. TRL Space cooperates with the European Space Agency and other global organizations in this field. It connects leading scientists, engineers, and visionaries from around the world and develops its own technologies for missions to both Earth orbit and the moon. TRL Space is a part of TRL Group - a dynamic group of technological companies supplying advanced technologies worldwide. The TRL Group includes companies like TRL Drones, Zaitra, Corac Engineering, and MecMa.

Notes

Prusament PC Space Grade Black is made in-house by Prusa Research.

1.75 mm filament is manufactured with a precision of ±0.04 mm.

We do not guarantee a perfect winding for this type of filament.