Author Topic: 3D Printed Elastomers ?  (Read 4062 times)

Offline David Jupp

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3D Printed Elastomers ?
« on: September 01, 2016, 11:45:14 AM »
It looks like I'm going to be involved in designing/developing some prototype tooling to be used in a cold isostatic press for the compaction of metal powder.

Though I can follow some design guidelines, I still expect some trial and error to be involved in reaching the final 'bag' geometry.  I'm wondering if there are any 3D printable elastomers available that might be suitable for prototype bags.  Anyone here have any experience of such materials?  I'd be looking at bureau printing, not buying a printer.

My other thought was perhaps to 3D print wax patterns to 'cast' single part polyurethane bags around.  I am happy to consider other options if anyone has any bright ideas.

Offline Lew_Merrick_PE

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Re: 3D Printed Elastomers ?
« Reply #1 on: September 01, 2016, 01:52:51 PM »
Hi David,

A couple of years ago, I performed conformal analysis on (about) 250 3D Printing materials for the U.S. Air Force.  Most such materials only reached (about) 40% of their "published mechanical values."  None did better than 60% of their "published mechanical values."  I place no "faith" whatsoever in such information.  None had anything approaching reliable Poisson's Ratio data.

Offline David Jupp

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Re: 3D Printed Elastomers ?
« Reply #2 on: September 01, 2016, 02:51:23 PM »
Thanks Lew - I've worked in Polymers for most of my career (either technical or production technology).  I appreciate that the norm is to quote 'typical' properties rather than the 'minimum guaranteed' you'd expect for metals (actual properties achieved are extremely dependent upon the fine detail of the manufacturing process).  There are also many different types of 3D printing technology which may or may not handle elastomeric materials.

I'm not so much interested in published data, as in whether anyone with experience can suggest materials that might fit this application, or an alternative approach that will suit the iterative nature of refining the bag design.

Juts had a response on this from one of world's largest 3D printing organisations - they obviously don't understand the term 'elastomer'!