Formlabs TPU 90A SLS powder for flexible products and components

We are pleased to introduce Formlabs TPU 90A powder for the Fuse series SLS printers. It is the first soft-touch material from Formlabs for SLS 3D printing. Formlabs TPU 90A Powder is a flexible elastomer. This soft-touch material opens up new application possibilities. TPU 90A combines the high tensile strength and elongation at break of rubber materials with the design freedom and durability of SLS 3D printing.

Formlabs TPU 90A is ideally suited for the production of

• Orthoses and prosthetics, soles, splints
• Skin-friendly wearables
• Protective sports equipment
• Grippers, dampers and upholstery
• Seals, covers, plugs, hoses and belts

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With the implementation of TPU 90A powder, you create new capacity for the in-house production of soft-touch SLS parts. You will benefit from the efficiency, affordability and ease of use of the Fuse series printers. With the Formlabs TPU 90A, the refresh rate is 20%. This significantly reduces the cost per part. As a result, the cost-effective production of rubber-like prototypes, end products and production aids is possible in-house without expensive tools.

What are the advantages of SLS 3D printing TPU 90A on the Fuse series?

There are currently various options for manufacturing elastomer parts – including traditional casting processes or 3D printing with powder bed fusion. However, these processes are limited on the one hand by the geometric restrictions of casting. On the other hand, the costs and complex workflows of large industrial 3D printing solutions make it difficult for SMEs to access this technology. In contrast, the TPU 90A powder for the Formlabs Fuse series provides a low-cost, simple solution for the rapid in-house production of geometrically challenging and flexible parts.

This is because the Formlabs Fuse Series 3D printers are the first SLS 3D printing systems to offer industrial performance in a relatively small footprint and at a reasonable price. Having proven the workflow of the manufacturing process to thousands of Fuse customers, Formlabs continues to focus on expanding the powder library. With Formlabs’ affordable SLS 3D printers, we enable small businesses to gain more control and flexibility over their production resources.Meanwhile, large companies can benefit from diversifying and decentralizing their manufacturing methods and stabilizing their supply chains. By introducing familiar materials into the Fuse series, Formlabs provides an easy way to innovate and promote new workflows and design concepts across many industries.

Formlabs Fuse 1+ SLS materials comparison

Status: March 2023

Feature	Nylon 11 CF Powder	Nylon 12 GF Powder	Nylon 12 Powder	Nylon 11 Powder	TPU 90A Powder
Stiffness	★★★★	★★★★	★★★	★★	★
Ductility	★★★	★	★★	★★★★	★★★★★
Heat resistance	★★★★	★★★★	★★★	★	★
New transfer rate	30 % (N2)	30-50 % (air)	30 % (air)	30 % (N2) 50 % (air)	20 % (air)

The Formlabs TPU 90A powder is characterized by the lowest stiffness and highest formability in the family of SLS powders.

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What applications is Formlabs TPU 90A suitable for?

Thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) is one of the most widely used elastomeric thermoplastics in the fields of engineering, product design and manufacturing. Whether sporting goods, medical devices or shoe soles – this rubber-like, durable material can be found everywhere.

There are proven processes for the conventional production of TPU parts – although these processes are still ideal for the mass production of rubber products. The advantages of additive manufacturing of TPU 90A parts on the Fuse series include

• the user-friendliness of the system
• production on demand
• small series production
• the manufacture of individualized products

Rapid prototyping

The Fuse series gives companies the chance to set up prototyping capacity under their own roof, cutting lead times and reducing costs previously charged by service providers or manufacturing companies.

The prototyping of a sports helmet, for example, requires the ability to produce both the hard shell and the soft inner padding. With TPU as a suitable material, innovative companies are working on the development of new grid structures and shock absorption technologies for these paddings.

However, when experimenting with new designs and geometries, traditional tooling processes are very costly and outsourcing to design houses can take weeks. The ability to use one workflow and one type of technology for the hard outer shell and soft inner padding means that these designers can iterate at a much faster pace. Such helmets have to undergo extensive physical testing, requiring ten cushion pads for a single round of testing. These quantities are too high for the careful manual production of a padded surface. At the same time, they are too low for conventional TPU molding to be cost-effective. The answer is in-house 3D printing. The Fuse series 3D printers can easily print multiple flexible lattice structures from TPU 90A powder, with slight variations to test different designs. By modifying the design of the part itself, for example by changing the wall thickness, you can produce parts with different degrees of hardness for different applications or as iterations for testing.

Production aids

The different types of manufacturing tools may be difficult to navigate if you’re not in the business of making products. However, the bottom line remains the same, whether it’s a jig, a fixture, a housing or one of the many other devices that hold machines together – when you need it, you need it badly. The solution to a problem faced by many manufacturers is TPU 90A Powder: how to prevent expensive manufacturing equipment from wearing out too much.

Soft-touch manufacturing aids can help extend the life of heavy machinery by cushioning certain impacts or providing the perfectly shaped gripper. If seals break after years of repeated use, the operator can print a replacement part immediately and get the production line back up and running within hours, rather than waiting days or weeks for a replacement part.

In this sense, the expansion of internal production possibilities in different materials can also be seen as insurance for companies; it protects against unforeseen defects and failures, as well as high repair costs or delays in the supply chain. With 3D printed rubber parts, an entire group of parts and components can be developed, repaired or replaced if necessary. And by avoiding a shutdown of the production line or production process, very high costs can be averted.

In the automotive and aerospace industries, TPU 90A can be used for vibration dampers, but also for fixtures for industrial processes such as the thermoforming of uniquely shaped parts. In addition, large robot systems are operated on gantries in automotive factories. These must be able to bend and swivel. Precisely fitting buffers and soft housings reduce the friction of these machines and extend their service life.

Medical products made from Formlabs TPU 90A

We strive to give medical facilities access to the latest technologies to improve care and provide the best patient experience. The Formlabs TPU 90A powder complements our range of SLS powders and adds value to the Fuse series 3D printers.

Formlabs TPU 90A powder offers exceptional durability and resilience, making it ideal for prosthetics, orthotics, patient-specific devices and medical equipment. By combining the high tensile strength and elongation at break of rubber materials with the design freedom and durability of SLS 3D printing, this material creates new opportunities for healthcare professionals.

As a flexible elastomer, TPU 90A Powder is ideal for 3D printing medical parts such as:

• Prototypes for medical devices
• Medical devices and components for end use
• Orthosis pads and prosthesis inserts
• Splints, cranial orthoses
• Sports insoles and corrective insoles
• Wearables, seals, dampers and hoses

For medical professionals, TPU 90A powder, like other SLS materials, is the most cost-effective solution for in-house production. Whether shoe soles that are precisely adapted to a person’s footprint and weight distribution, specially developed sports helmets or a watch strap that is adapted to your wrist – the possibilities are endless.

The TPU 90A powder has been certified for short-term skin contact. This means that it is safe to wear on the skin. However, no further tests have been carried out for other biocompatible applications. The suitability of the printed parts for the intended use is the responsibility of the manufacturer.

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TPU 90A Powder can also be used to manufacture high-performance medical products such as prostheses, thumb splints or orthotic ankle supports.

Small series and individual ready-to-wear products

In the world of sports, fashion and wearable technology, offering personalization options is essential for brands looking to capture more market share. Previously, tooling costs made the production of small batches or one-off items almost impossible until 3D printing opened the door. However, most 3D printed materials were too rigid for the sporting goods or wearable market. With the SLS process and the TPU 90 material from Formlabs, this is now fundamentally changing.

Thanks to the skin compatibility of Formlabs TPU 90A powder and the simple fuse workflow, the individual design of directly printed wearables is finally feasible. Some luxury brands offer personalized elements such as monograms or graphics for watches, accessories and shoes. However, individualizing the actual shape and design of an item was previously prohibitively expensive for manufacturers. Thanks to the cost-effective working process with the Fuse series and the skin compatibility of TPU 90A Powder, individualization is now easier to implement for this industry.

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Requirements for the integration of TPU 90A in production

The Formlabs TPU 90A powder is processed with SLS 3D printers of the Fuse series and the powder is recovered with the Fuse Sift. The printing environment of the material is air and does not require an inert atmosphere (nitrogen supply). In addition, no surface armor (the semi-sintered shell around the components) is created when printing TPU parts. The depowdering process is therefore very simple. Although TPU 90A has no surface armor, we recommend sandblasting the parts. This removes powder residues from the parts and results in cleaner and easier to process end products.

It is perfectly possible to convert your current fuse printer to TPU 90A. However, we recommend a dedicated fuse, sift and build chamber.

Completely new opportunities with TPU 90A powder

Are you a small company looking to launch your first product on the market? Or do you work for a large company that wants to detach itself from the turbulence in the supply chain of recent years?

Implementing a high-performance 3D printer in-house reduces costs and improves the stability of operations. The benefits of a material such as TPU 90A Powder are further enhanced by opening up new applications. Soft-touch parts, which were also mass produced for reliability reasons, can now be consistently 3D printed on an accessible machine.

Materials and processes are the key to breaking new ground in design and manufacturing and creating something new. Combining the proven performance of Formlabs Fuse SLS 3D printers with the ubiquitous TPU material will unleash innovation in every industry.