TPU 85A

Characteristics

• Exceptional wear, tear and heat resistance
• High impact strength
• Easy formability, elastic and flexible
• Good corrosion resistance to many common industrial oils and chemicals (see Chemical Resistance Table in Print Guide)
• Shock absorption and vibration-dampening

Applications

• Industrial Manufacturing
• Functional Prototypes
• Aerospace, engineering, healthcare
• Seals, tubes, gaskets, grippers, end effectors
• Shoes and insoles
• Bushings, gaskets
• End-use parts
• Custom phone cases, rubber mats, and stress toys.
• Sports - applications that need strength, flexibility and plenty of impact strength.
• Healthcare - 3D-printed organs for pre-surgery prep and custom-designed prosthetics and orthotics to enhance patient care.
• Can be used for tires or shock absorbers and is even occasionally utilized to make O-rings and seals. In the world of DIY, TPU is fantastic for flexible parts or casings as well as parts that need to have resistance to sudden impacts and movement.
• In short, if you need to make a custom rubber piece quickly and relatively easily, TPU is your go-to material.

 Considerations

• One downside to TPU is the printing speeds, which are rarely higher than 30 mm/s. This is because it’s difficult to push the proper amount of filament through the hot end, resulting in prints taking a lot longer to complete.
• TPU doesn’t produce any notable levels of fumes while printing, but it’s not considered to be food safe. And though it’s a non-soluble material, it is hygroscopic, meaning that it will slowly absorb moisture from its surroundings, affecting print quality.

Printing Skill & Experience - Expert

• TPU has great elongation and stretchiness, but those properties can also cause some minor clogging and stringing.
• Can be a challenge to print for beginners due to its unique, high-performance properties
• Difficult to post-process because of its abrasion and chemical resistance.
• Requires installation of an SPFU on the 3ntr 3D Printers.