Spanish 3D printing supplies developer Recreus makes a speciality of versatile TPU filaments for industrial additive manufacturing purposes.
Working out of its Elda HQ, the corporate entered the FDM 3D printing market in 2013 with its Filaflex TPU filament line. Over a decade later, Recreus has grown its Filaflex portfolio to include a variety of versatile merchandise spanning Shore hardnesses from 60A to 95A.
On this article, we get hands-on with two flagship Filaflex supplies: Filaflex 82A and Filaflex Foamy. Because the title suggests, Filaflex 82A incorporates a Shore hardness of 82A and a formidable 650% elongation at break. This elasticity permits 3D printed elements to constantly return to their authentic form after being deformed. Filaflex Foamy shares the identical base hardness, which might be lowered to 60A by adjusting printing parameters. It’s designed to supply light-weight elements and supply as much as 40% extra prints per spool.
Our engineering group spent over 80 hours benchmarking and testing these filaments. We evaluated their efficiency throughout a number of real-world industrial purposes, together with automotive air intakes, gentle robotic grippers, wrist helps, and 3D printed shoe insoles.
Optimized parameters should be used when 3D printing with these high-performance TPUs to make sure good outcomes. Customers can discover drying directions and 3D printing settings for Filaflex 82A and Filaflex Foamy on the official Recreus web site. Following these pointers helps forestall widespread points with versatile filaments, resembling under-extrusion, stringing, and poor mattress adhesion. In addition they assist guarantee constant dimensional accuracy and high-quality floor end.
Each filaments can be found for buy on the Recreus on-line retailer. 500 g spools of the Filaflex 82A value €27.90, whereas 600 g of the Filaflex Foamy is priced at €37.93.
Why select Filaflex 82A?
Recreus Filaflex 82A TPU filament is designed for industrial 3D printing purposes that demand distinctive elasticity, resilience, and sturdiness. This 82A Shore hardness materials affords a singular steadiness between flexibility and mechanical power. Its potential to reliably reform after being stretched as much as 650% makes it well-suited to producing versatile parts like automotive seals and medical units.
Though TPU 3D printing might be difficult, Filaflex 82A prints simply. It offers glorious mattress adhesion and minimal warping, with no heated mattress or further adhesives required. This filament works with most extrusion-based FDM 3D printers and delivers the most effective outcomes with direct-drive extruders.
As soon as 3D printed, the fabric reveals spectacular chemical and abrasion resistance. Components are proof against fuels, solvents, and common put on and tear, making Filaflex 82A well-suited to end-use manufacturing. The fabric can be non-toxic and skin-safe, unlocking potential for 3D printed wearables and prosthetics.
Thanks to those spectacular options, the ultra-flexible 3D printing filament has seen vast adoption amongst skilled designers, engineers, and makers. Within the medical sector, Filaflex 82A is used to supply customized insoles, prosthetics, and anatomical fashions for surgical planning. The fabric has additionally gained traction within the style trade, the place it’s used to create customized footwear and wearable objects. Its mix of flexibility and mechanical sturdiness makes it equally beneficial for industrial purposes, together with buffers, gaskets, seals, tires, and hoses.
Recreus Filaflex 82A is out there in fifteen completely different colours as 500g and three kg spools of each 1.75 mm and a pair of.85 mm filament diameters.
Recreus Filaflex 82A filament in three colors: inexperienced, crimson, and nude. Images through Recreus.
How good is Recreus Filaflex 82A filament?
Our engineering group performed a number of checks to evaluate how nicely Filaflex 82A performs throughout 3D printing. For industrial customers wanting to supply batches of an identical elements, repeatability is important. That is significantly vital in useful prototyping and low-volume versatile manufacturing operations. Due to this fact, we first examined the TPU filament’s dimensional repeatability and course of stability.
For this take a look at, 12 an identical hexagonal take a look at elements have been 3D printed beneath constant printer settings and environmental circumstances. Every hexagon was then measured and in contrast in opposition to the goal dimensions to analyse the fabric’s consistency and skill to supply correct, uniform elements. Excessive-performing supplies ought to obtain a median deviation beneath 0.1 mm and an ordinary deviation beneath 0.05 mm.
Repeatability hexagons 3D printed utilizing Recreus FilaFlex 82A filament. Images by 3D Printing Business.
Recreus Filaflex 82A filament carried out nicely on this take a look at. It achieved a 0.012 mm common deviation throughout all checks, comfortably inside the 0.1 mm benchmark. Equally, the usual deviation got here to 0.012 mm, beneath the 0.05 mm threshold. These findings point out a excessive stage of geometric stability. That is significantly spectacular given the inherent challenges of elastomeric supplies, that are sometimes vulnerable to deformation, movement inconsistencies, and thermal variation.
Our first-rate outcomes point out that Filaflex 82A maintains exact extrusion, sturdy interlayer bonding, and managed materials deposition for high-quality, mechanically secure elements. The filament can constantly create advanced options throughout a number of print jobs, validating its worth for useful prototyping and batch manufacturing of end-use elements.
Recreus Filaflex 82A repeatability outcomes. Photos by 3D Printing Business.
To find out how beneficial Recreus Filaflex 82A is for automotive purposes, we subsequent 3D printed suspension leg covers that defend the fork seals from mud, particles, and moisture. These parts should keep a safe match whereas permitting for steady compression and rebound, that means flexibility and resilience are key.
This half was 3D printed efficiently on the primary strive with minimal stringing, which was shortly eliminated in post-processing. No different defects have been noticed, demonstrating glorious layer adhesion, dimensional accuracy, and floor end. The TPU’s elasticity and restoration traits make it a super candidate for protecting and useful parts. It affords flexibility, resilience, and vibration-damping properties superb for automotive and bicycle suspension techniques.
TPU is usually used to supply industrial seals and gaskets attributable to its elasticity, resilience, and chemical resistance. How does Filaflex 82A deal with these purposes? To seek out out, we 3D printed a set of gasket prototypes. Given that almost all gasket geometries are comparatively flat with minimal or no overhangs, we anticipated the method to be easy with minimal floor defects.
Recreus Filaflex 82A didn’t disappoint. All gaskets got here out nicely, exhibiting constantly sturdy dimensional accuracy and floor end. The one notable concern encountered was minor stringing, a standard artifact in versatile filament printing.
The water pump cowl gasket, with sharp inner and exterior edges, was 3D printed with spectacular accuracy. It maintained clear transitions and well-defined profiles, exhibiting sturdy management over extrusion and retraction. Given Filaflex 82A’s chemical resistance and sturdiness, this gasket fits useful use in chemically uncovered environments like automotive or industrial fluid techniques.
To evaluate Filaflex 82A’s worth for wearable purposes, we 3D printed gentle goggle frames. The elements exhibited glorious floor high quality, dimensional accuracy, and suppleness. Filaflex 82A’s elasticity and 650% rebound capability make it superb for conforming to the contours of the face, making certain a cushty and safe match.
Importantly, the fabric’s skin-safe properties make it well-suited to extended use, a important requirement for wearable eye safety, sports activities goggles, or medical-grade face gear. These outcomes affirm the fabric’s suitability for useful, end-use gentle parts the place consolation and sturdiness are important.
Recreus Filaflex 82A 3D printed goggle frames. Images by 3D Printing Business.
Benefits of Recreus Filaflex Foamy
Recreus Filaflex Foamy is a singular TPU 3D printing filament that includes dynamic foaming know-how. The fabric features a novel foaming agent that prompts at excessive temperatures. This inner micro-foam formation can cut back half weight density by as much as 40% whereas sustaining structural integrity. Due to this fact, by tweaking 3D printer parameters, customers can fabricate light-weight, versatile elements with a particular foamy texture whereas optimizing materials effectivity.
3D printing Filaflex Foamy between 245-250°C and a 60-70% movement fee unlocks 1.4-1.6 instances quantity enlargement. This permits customers to customise bodily properties and colour tone variations. Whereas the default Shore hardness is about to 82A, this may be adjusted to 60A by modifying the 3D print temperature and movement fee. What’s extra, the fabric effectivity of Filaflex Foamy reportedly facilitates 30-40% extra 3D prints per spool, making it well-suited for high-volume manufacturing.
Filaflex Foamy’s customizable properties make it superb for light-weight, customized merchandise. It’s broadly utilized in footwear, together with 3D printed sneakers, insoles, and soles. Different key purposes embrace bicycle grips and seats, automotive cushions and gaskets, impact-absorbing pads, and acoustic dampers.
1.75 mm and a pair of.85 mm filament diameters can be found in 5 colours, and might be bought as 600 g or 2.5 kg spools.
Filaflex Foamy 3D printing purposes
Given Filaflex Foamy’s adoption in 3D printed footwear manufacturing, we produced a gentle, light-weight, and versatile shoe insole. The fabric delivered high-quality outcomes, that includes well-defined contours and a constant floor texture. We carried out minor post-processing, like gentle sanding, to take away small oozing marks, widespread in versatile filament printing, particularly with foaming supplies.
As soon as cleaned, the half exhibited a cushty, cushioned really feel with a uniform matte end. This confirms the filament’s worth for fabricating customized or orthopaedic insoles the place consolation, impression absorption, and pores and skin compatibility are important. Filaflex Foamy is well-suited for useful, end-use wearable parts with minimal post-processing necessities.
Recreus Filaflex Foamy 3D printed insoles. Images by 3D Printing Business.
Inside industrial manufacturing, 3D printing is used to supply customized tooling purposes. Our group used Filaflex Foamy filament to 3D print a gentle robotic gripper. Though printed efficiently, the half featured defects attributable to materials oozing throughout nozzle journey and retraction. This created raised blobs and filament strings that diminished floor high quality.
We additionally confronted points with 3D printing helps, as they fused to the mannequin and have been tough to take away with out inflicting harm. Our gripper design additionally included unsupported bridges to check their efficiency. Regardless of being quick, these bridges have been printed poorly. This implies that Filaflex Foamy isn’t inflexible sufficient to kind clear horizontal constructions. Due to this fact, customers ought to design elements particularly for additive manufacturing, ideally with out helps or bridging options.
Regardless of these limitations, the 3D printed robotic gripper functioned as supposed, permitting air to move by way of its inner channels. Nevertheless, it was much less versatile than silicone, which made it tougher to compress.
Recreus Filaflex Foamy 3D printed gentle robotic grippers. Images by 3D Printing Business.
Subsequent, we 3D printed a versatile, useful wrist brace prototype. Orthopedic assist units require managed compression, consolation, and the flexibility to adapt to physique contours. This design examined the fabric’s soft-touch really feel, adjustable elasticity, and low density, key traits for long-term pores and skin contact and wearable orthopedic purposes.
As soon as printed, the brace exhibited glorious outcomes, with Filaflex Foamy producing a completely useful and ergonomically conforming part. It met the important thing design necessities for a useful orthopedic system, providing flexibility, match, and sturdiness. The built-in hooks printed efficiently, demonstrating sturdy layer adhesion and mechanical integrity, even beneath flexural stress.
We noticed minor floor defects attributable to oozing throughout nozzle retraction, which led to stringing. Fantastic-tuning retraction settings or including coasting and wipe choices may assist cut back these imperfections. Gentle post-processing simply eliminated the defects, permitting the half to satisfy useful and aesthetic requirements.
Recreus Filaflex Foamy 3D printed wrist brace. Photograph by 3D Printing Business.
Finally, Recreus Filaflex 82A and Filaflex Foamy TPU stand out as two nice TPU choices within the FDM 3D printer filament market. These supplies exhibit glorious flexibility and elasticity traits, making them superb for purposes requiring stretch, compression, or impression absorption.
Our testing confirmed that, when used with Recreus’s advised print parameters, they reliably produce high-quality elements superb for industrial customers. Filaflex 82A’s repeatability was spectacular, attaining a rating of 0.012 mm for each common and commonplace deviation (comfortably contained in the 0.1 mm and 0.05 mm benchmarks). This showcased the filament’s spectacular geometric stability and consistency, making it well-suited to prototyping and batch manufacturing of end-use elements.
Filaflex Foamy additionally delivered sturdy outcomes, producing elements with excellent flexibility, elasticity, consolation, and efficiency. Its dynamic density and adjustable Shore hardness make it straightforward to fine-tune softness and weight to swimsuit particular utility wants.
Recreus Filaflex 82A and Filaflex Foamy ship industrial-grade efficiency at a aggressive worth, making them superb for customers looking for flexibility, reliability, and flexibility. Their excessive elongation at break, glorious layer adhesion, chemical resistance, skin-safe composition, and customizability make them well-suited for superior manufacturing and engineering purposes.
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Featured picture reveals Recreus’ Filaflex Foamy and Filaflex 82A filaments and 3D printed elements. Photograph by 3D Printing Business.
