Flexibles or rubber-like materials are essential parts of our daily life right from consumer goods to industrial applications. Without flexible materials, certain application and functional requirements cannot be realized like shock absorption, insulations, dampers, seals etc. There is a wide range of flexible materials available for every requirement across a diverse industrial spectrum like Thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU), EPDM, Elastomeric polyurethane (EPU), Flexible Polyurethane(FPU), plastic (PA12) etc. Flexible parts can be produced by various manufacturing technologies such as 3D printing, injection molding, compression molding, vacuum casting etc. Selection of the manufacturing technology depends upon the application requirements such as 3D printing is suitable for fast development of a prototype, proof of concept and short-run production. Whereas injection molding and compression molding is suitable for large-scale mass production. On the other hand, vacuum casting produces parts matching injection molding quality but at a smaller scale. Very few materials options are available to choose from for vacuum casting. In this article, we’re going to talk about various manufacturing technologies for making flexible items and key material properties.
Flexible in 3D printing
3D printing provides many options when it comes to producing parts in flexible materials. The key advantage is that complex shapes can be created with more ease than other conventional manufacturing technologies. FDM TPU, SLA/DLP Rubber resin, and SLS/MJF Nylon(PA12) are a few of the key materials available for 3D printing.
Thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU)
FDM TPU is an elastomer commonly available in shore A hardness. It is generally used in engineering applications and consumer goods where flexibility along with high tear strength is required along with fine feature details. The unique capabilities offered by the TPU cannot be achieved by other materials like ABS, PLA, PET etc. Merging properties of rubber and plastic, TPU can make designs high on durability and elasticity that can be easily twisted, compressed and bent. TPU’s firm rubber-like properties make it ideal for a wide array of end-use products from industrial grade to consumer grade.
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