PEEK print settings
Polyether Ether Ketone · Expert
PEEK (Polyether Ether Ketone) prints at 370-420°C with the bed at 120-160°C. It needs an enclosure. Dry the filament before printing.
The polymer family used in aerospace and in medical implants, though a spool of printing filament carries no such certification itself. It needs a 400C hot end and a heated chamber, so it is out of reach of nearly every consumer printer.
Settings at a glance
Ranges are typical manufacturer-published figures for this material class, not measurements we took. Always start with your filament maker’s own numbers where they differ. The price is an indicative street price for a 1 kg spool, not a live quote.
Good for
- Aerospace and medical parts
- Chemical-resistant components
- Continuous service above 150C
Avoid for
- Any standard desktop printer
- Hobby projects
- Anyone without a high-temperature machine
The problem people actually hit
The realistic problem is machine capability, not settings. If your hot end tops out at 300C and the bed at 110C, PEEK is not an option regardless of tuning.
Drying
Dry at 120-150C for at least 3 hours. This needs a high-temperature oven, not a filament dryer.
If your printer cannot run PEEK
Most desktop machines cannot print PEEK, and no amount of tuning changes that. It needs a hot end reaching 370-420°C and a heated chamber. If yours does not have both, the material is out of reach.
A print service already owns the machine. You upload the model, choose PEEK, and a part arrives. For a one-off this is almost always cheaper than the equipment, and it is the only route if your printer tops out below 370°C.
Industrial supplier with the widest confirmed engineering-material range, including certified work.
Low-cost industrial capacity. Usually the cheapest route for a one-off part.
Confirm the service actually offers PEEK before uploading. Material menus change, and a service that lists dozens of options may not carry this one. We have no commercial relationship with any of these companies, and these are ordinary links.
Buying PEEK
PEEK is an industrial material and general retailers are not a serious source for it. Buy from a specialist who publishes the datasheet, at a price high enough that the wrong spool is an expensive mistake. Typical street price is $150-400 per 1 kg spool.
Check before you order
- Diameter 1.75mm unless your printer takes 2.85mm. Check before ordering, not after.
- Published diameter tolerance. ±0.02mm is good, ±0.05mm is loose and shows up as inconsistent extrusion.
- Vacuum-sealed with desiccant. Hygroscopic filament that shipped open has already absorbed moisture and will need drying before its first print.
- Confirm you have an enclosure before buying. Without one this material will warp regardless of spool quality.
Specialist suppliers
Deep engineering-material catalogue and published spec sheets, including grades general retailers do not stock.
Specialist stockist with strong coverage of nylon and carbon-fibre filled materials.
Named because they stock this class of material and publish specifications. We have no commercial relationship with either, and these are ordinary links.
Amazon listings for PEEK are often mislabelled or relabelled stock. Verify the datasheet before ordering.
Not sure this is the right material? Compare all materials.
What you need to print PEEK
Gear that PEEK genuinely requires, with the specification that decides whether a given unit will actually work.
High-temperature oven
Must hold 150C steadily
PEEK needs drying well above what any consumer filament dryer reaches. This is lab oven territory, not a spool warmer, and it is one of the reasons the material is impractical on a desktop setup.
See high-temperature oven on AmazonPrinter enclosure
Fully closed, with a door
PEEK warps when a draught cools the part unevenly. An enclosure holds chamber heat steady, which fixes lifting corners and split layers more reliably than any slicer setting.
See printer enclosure on AmazonBed adhesion
PEI sheet sized to your bed, or a PVP glue stick
PEEK lifts at the corners before it fails anywhere else. A textured PEI surface plus a thin glue layer holds the first layer down while the chamber comes up to temperature.
See bed adhesion on AmazonAirtight storage with desiccant
Sealed container plus rechargeable desiccant
Drying a spool once achieves nothing if it sits open afterwards. Storage is what keeps the filament usable between prints.
See airtight storage with desiccant on AmazonAs an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases. Links above are affiliate links, and using them costs you nothing extra.
PEEK questions
- What temperature do you print PEEK at?
- PEEK prints at a nozzle temperature of 370-420C with the bed at 120-160C. Start at the lower end of the nozzle range and raise it in 5C steps until layers bond cleanly.
- Does PEEK need an enclosure?
- Yes. PEEK needs an enclosure. Without one the part cools unevenly, corners lift off the bed and layers split partway up the print.
- Do you need to dry PEEK?
- Dry at 120-150C for at least 3 hours. This needs a high-temperature oven, not a filament dryer.
- What is PEEK good for?
- PEEK suits aerospace and medical parts, chemical-resistant components, continuous service above 150C. Avoid it for any standard desktop printer, hobby projects, anyone without a high-temperature machine.
- How much does PEEK cost?
- A 1 kg spool of PEEK typically sells for $150-400. That is an indicative street price rather than a live figure, so check the retailer for today's cost.
PEEK or PC?
PC (Polycarbonate) prints at 260-310°C with a 100-120°C bed and needs an enclosure. The strongest and most heat resistant material most desktop printers can run. Genuinely tough, genuinely difficult, and it demands a hot end that can hold 300C.
Read the PC settings guide →After the print
The workshop steps that matter most for PEEK.