ABS-ESD (Electrostatic-Dissipative ABS) for FDM

Material Profile: ABS-ESD (Electrostatic-Dissipative ABS) for FDM

FDM Engineering Material Technical Report Series — Volume 4 of 16

Compiled from manufacturer technical datasheets and peer-reviewed literature

Abstract—ABS-ESD is a Stratasys FDM thermoplastic that combines standard ABS with carbon-based fillers to provide controlled electrostatic dissipation. Surface resistivity is held in the 10⁶–10⁹ Ω/sq range — sufficient to drain static charge without becoming a conductor. The material is widely deployed for tooling, fixtures, and housings in electronics manufacturing.

Index Terms—additive manufacturing, FDM, ABS, ESD, electrostatic dissipative, electronics manufacturing.

I.  MATERIAL IDENTIFICATION

This section establishes the canonical names and commercial designations under which the material is supplied.

A.  Designation

Trade name: ABS-ESD™ (Stratasys). Generic naming: static-dissipative ABS.

B.  Full Chemical Name

Acrylonitrile-Butadiene-Styrene terpolymer matrix containing dispersed carbon (carbon-black or carbon-nanotube grade additives) at sub-percolation loadings to give controlled bulk and surface conductivity.

C.  Aliases and Alternative Designations

II.  COMPOSITION AND MOLECULAR STRUCTURE

A.  Empirical Chemical Formula

Matrix: ABS terpolymer, idealised as [(C₃H₃N)ₐ-(C₄H₆)ᵦ-(C₈H₈)ᵧ]ₙ. Filler: amorphous carbon, 1–5 wt%.

Fig. 1.  Repeating unit / structural schematic of the polymer matrix.

Fig. 2.  Schematic of dispersed reinforcement / filler in the polymer matrix (not to scale).

B.  Composition Breakdown

TABLE I
 COMPOSITIONAL BREAKDOWN OF ABS-ESD (ABS-ESD) (TYPICAL / PER SUPPLIER DATASHEET)

III.  MECHANICAL PROPERTIES — XZ PRINT DIRECTION

In the XZ orientation the tensile load is applied parallel to the deposited rasters; for fibre-reinforced grades this is the strongest orientation because the fibres align preferentially along the extrusion direction.

TABLE II
 MECHANICAL PROPERTIES — XZ ORIENTATION (ABS-ESD (ABS-ESD))

IV.  MECHANICAL PROPERTIES — ZX PRINT DIRECTION

In the ZX orientation the tensile load is applied perpendicular to the print layers, so failure occurs through inter-layer (Z) bonds. Properties are markedly lower than in XZ — this anisotropy is intrinsic to FDM.

TABLE III
 MECHANICAL PROPERTIES — ZX ORIENTATION (ABS-ESD (ABS-ESD))

ABS-ESD anisotropy is moderate (XZ:ZX UTS ≈ 1.4:1) compared with fibre-reinforced grades. The carbon additive must remain below the percolation threshold to avoid making the part conductive rather than dissipative.

V.  RECOMMENDED PRINT PARAMETERS

Values summarised below give consensus operating windows from public datasheets. Specific suppliers may differ within ±10 °C; the supplier datasheet always supersedes this table.

TABLE IV
 RECOMMENDED PRINT TEMPERATURE RANGES FOR ABS-ESD (ABS-ESD)

VI.  GLASS TRANSITION TEMPERATURE (TG)

Reported / typical Tg: ≈ 105 °C (typical ABS terpolymer).

Tg is dominated by the styrene-acrylonitrile (SAN) phase. Service temperature is generally limited to ~80 °C continuous to maintain dimensional stability and ESD performance.

VII.  HEAT DEFLECTION TEMPERATURE (HDT)

Heat deflection temperature is the temperature at which a standard bar deflects 0.25 mm under a specified flexural load (ASTM D648 / ISO 75).

TABLE V
 HEAT DEFLECTION TEMPERATURE OF ABS-ESD (ABS-ESD) UNDER STANDARD TEST LOADS

VIII.  DISTINGUISHING CHARACTERISTICS AND STANDARDS

A.  Controlled ESD performance

Surface resistivity is held in the 10⁶–10⁹ Ω/sq range — sufficient to drain static charge to ground without acting as a current-carrying conductor. Static dissipation occurs in under 2 seconds, with charge generation below 200 V. This places ABS-ESD in the ANSI/ESD S20.20 'static-dissipative' category.

B.  Test methods for ESD

Surface resistivity is measured per ANSI/ESD STM 11.11 using a 100 V test voltage on flat printed plaques. Stratasys publishes geometry-dependent measurements (different infill densities, wall counts) showing variability of one order of magnitude in measured resistance — design must account for this.

C.  Mechanical compatibility with standard ABS

Mechanical, thermal, and dimensional properties are within 10% of standard ABS. Soluble support compatibility (e.g., SR-30 / SR-35) is retained, simplifying complex geometry production.

D.  Available colours

Typically only black, due to the carbon additive. Cosmetic finishes require post-processing.

IX.  REPRESENTATIVE APPLICATIONS

ABS-ESD (ABS-ESD) is typically deployed in the following applications:

1)  Electronics assembly fixtures: Holding trays, jigs, and clamps for handling printed circuit boards and sensitive sub-assemblies.

2)  Hard-disk drive component handlers: Storage / transit fixtures — Siemens Digital Industries published case study using ABS-ESD for ESD-compliant tooling.

3)  Semiconductor / cleanroom support tooling: Wafer handlers, end-effectors that must not generate or hold static charge.

(Source : 3dxtech)

4)  Automotive assembly tooling near sensitive electronics: Continental Engineering Services case study: ABS-ESD jigs for ECU handling.

5)  Hazardous-environment fixtures: Where dust or powder accumulation from electrostatic attraction is a process hazard.

Photographs of representative parts in these applications are not reproduced here for copyright reasons; the table below provides direct manufacturer / case-study URLs where original imagery and project descriptions can be viewed.

TABLE VI
 SUGGESTED IMAGE / CASE-STUDY SOURCES

X.  REFERENCES

[1]  Stratasys, “ABS-ESD Material Data Sheet,” 2023. https://www.stratasys.com/en/materials/materials-catalog/fdm-materials/abs-ESD/

[2]  ANSI/ESD STM 11.11, “Surface Resistance Measurement of Static Dissipative Planar Materials,” ESD Association, 2015.

[3]  ANSI/ESD S20.20, “Protection of Electrical and Electronic Parts, Assemblies and Equipment,” ESD Association, 2021.

[4]  Stratasys white paper, “ESD performance of ABS-ESD with different 3D-printed geometries,” 2022.

[5]  ASTM D638-14; ASTM D256-10; ASTM D648-18.

[6]  Forge Labs, “ABS-ESD product overview,” 2024. https://forgelabs.com/3d-printing/materials/abs-ESD