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New Material Brings More Flexibility To 3D Printing

Most 3D printed objects are made out of hard plastic. While its great for some projects, others require a material with more elasticity. There’s already a few flexible materials on the market, but one 3D printing company thinks it has the best flexible material yet.

Materialise announced last week the launch of a new material called TPU 92A-1. The material is extremely flexible and can be used to create a variety of innovate objects:

Besides offering excellent elasticity, TPU 92A-1 also offers high tear resistance, high resistance to dynamic loading, high abrasive resistance, snappy response and a temperature range of -20°C to 80°C.

So, what kind of things is this material most well-suited for. Materialise says that engineers, medical professionals and consumers can use TPU 92A-1 to make:

  • Small series of seals and gaskets
  • Complex tubes, hoses and manifolds
  • Elastic lightweight structures
  • Components for the shoe, fashion and leisure industry
  • Cushioning and shock absorption
  • Rapid Prototypes of elastic components
  • The material’s application in fashion has already been explored as Materialise made a dress out of TPU 92A-1 earlier this year:

    It will be interesting to see what designers do with all the new materials, including TPU 92A-1, being made available to them.

    [h/t: Fabbaloo]