1st Build New material alternative for under suits

[Thx4theFalcon]

Only 800 grams

Hey! Thanks for the info on the TPU air, so far, its almost great! I have a question about supports. When you used them, did you increase the Z offset distance (top and bottom) to make removal easier? I used stock settings and it was a nightmare to remove them! The first picture is the outside of the arm sleeve and it came out awesome. The second is where the supports meet the outer wall. It took forever to get to where it is in the picture, any advice will help!

 

[WatsonT]

Hey! Thanks for the info on the TPU air, so far, it’s almost great! I have a question about supports. When you used them, did you increase the Z offset distance (top and bottom) to make removal easier? I used stock settings and it was a nightmare to remove them! The first picture is the outside of the arm sleeve and it came out awesome. The second is where the supports meet the outer wall. It took forever to get to where it is in the picture, any advice?

I try to avoid supports entirely due to its foaming nature. TPU air has bad bringing and overhang characteristics and due to that it has trouble maintaining the gap between supports. I have not had much luck with supports but what did help a little is to turn on make overhangs printable, increase the angle needed for supports, increase the Z-offset between the supports and the part, and make sure your part cooling is maxed out.

 

[Thx4theFalcon]

I try to avoid supports entirely due to its foaming nature. TPU air has bad bringing and overhang characteristics and due to that it has trouble maintaining the gap between supports. I have not had much luck with supports but what did help a little is to turn on make overhangs printable, increase the angle needed for supports, increase the Z-offset between the supports and the part, and make sure your part cooling is maxed out.

Thanks, so far I've done everything but the 'make overhangs printable,' I hadn't even thought of that! That'll be my next test, thanks again, you've been a great help!

 

[Sean Anwalt]

Watching closely. Purchased the TPU in question and am eager to try it! I'm hopeful a neck seal will work outta this stuff for my suits.

 

[WatsonT]

I’ve already printed one it works well. The flexibility is good. It’s just a struggle with the supports.

 

[Sean Anwalt]

That looks amazing.

as regards the supports and foam like nature of the TPU, can it be sanded like EVA foam?

 

[WatsonT]

That looks amazing.

as regards the supports and foam like nature of the TPU, can it be sanded like EVA foam?

It sands about as well as normal TPU it’s possible but not ideal. I haven’t worked with EVA foam yet so I can’t draw a comparison between the two.

 

[Thx4theFalcon]

Watching closely. Purchased the TPU in question and am eager to try it! I'm hopeful a neck seal will work outta this stuff for my suits.

From my experience with it (which its limited, but you can see my prints), you need to just find the settings youd like and send the files to the printer. Every printer is different. But TPU Air does not like supports and is a pain to remove, but struggles sometimes printing overhang so you should find a happy balance between everything. Best of luck!

Btw, my next TPU air print will be a neck seal!

 

[Drim]

So I can add to this conversation a bit as I have been doing some extensive work with this material. Supports are in fact a pain due to the foaming properties. Using multi material is an option and in my opinion the only way to run supports without having to deal with tough clean up when working with TPU air. The good news is, because of the filaments properties it is easy enough to simply cut off the supports and just use a dremel to clean up the edges similarly to cleaning up EVA foam. The material also can be sanded and behaves very much like EVA in this regards. Higher grit sand paper is recommended, but it does clean up nicely. My suggestions are to really focus on print orientation and support placement. Ensure supports are in areas in which they will either be easy to remove and clean, or that the contact point will not be visible when the piece is worn.

 

[Liamthedevastator]

I know you said it's porous and breathable, but perhaps a layer of fabric on the skin-print barrier to facilitate moisture wicking and reduce friction would be a good idea. I could see it getting pretty gnarly. Super interesting material, thanks for sharing!