Flexfill TPU 98A

Flexfill 98A TPU (Thermoplastic Polyurethane) 3D printer filament is a flexible material with a certain elasticity. It is a filament very similar to the PLA Soft but with added properties such as resistance to greases, oils and solvents that make it more useful for industrial applications. In addition another advantage with respect to the PLA Soft is its greater adhesion between layers.

Another of the flexible filaments resembling this TPU filament is the Filaflex-TPE (Thermoplastic Elastomer) filament which due to its greater flexibility and elasticity presents a greater complexity of impression than the own Flexfil 98A TPU (1.75mm or 2.85mm). The Flexfil 98A (Hardness Shore 98A) TPU 3D filament is harder than the Filaflex-TPE (Shore Hardness 82A) and very similar to the Soft-Flexible PLA (Shore Hardness 92A). This increased stiffness of the Flexfill 98A TPU filament makes it easier to print on 3D printers without the adapted extruder which normally causes problems when printing very flexible filaments such as TPE. In spite of this, TPE filaments such as Filaflex are probably still the most used flexible filaments due to their greater similarity to rubber and their greater elasticity and softness, although it should be noted that the Flexfill 98A filament is added in order to achieve a greater smoothness.

Other major advantages of a TPU filament such as the Flexfill 98A versus another TPE filament such as the Filaflex are, for example, higher abrasion and UV resistance, better retention of elastic properties at lower temperatures and higher print resolution than the TPE so it is more suitable for technical parts that need more accuracy.

As for the printing temperature, bed and density (1.20-1.22 g/cm3), both the Flexfill 98A and the Filaflex are very similar, but the main difference is that with the Flexfill 98A TPU filament can be printed at a faster speed (20-30mm/s) than with the Filaflex (15 mm/s).

In the following table you can see the comparison between the different materials with some flexibility that exist in the market:

	TPE 70A  Filaflex	TPE 82A  Filaflex	TPE 90A  Flexfill	TPU 92A  Flexfill	TPU 93A Smartfil	TPE 96A  Flexfill	TPU 98A  Flexfill
Tensile strength (MPa)	32	45	5	49	40	5	53.7
Elongation at break	900 %	600 %	250 %	-	-	150 %	318 %
Absorción  humedad					-
Chemical resistance	Solvent Acetone Fuel	Solvent Acetone Fuel	Water Acid Alcohol Alkali	Polish Oil	Polish Oil Solvent	Water Acid Alcohol Alkali	Polish Oil
Contact food and skin	Not recommend.	Not recommend.	Certificate	Not recommend.	Not recommend.	Reliable	Not recommend.
Permeability gases					-

Table 1: Comparison of properties of the flexible filament range

If you are looking for flexible and elastic parts but you have not been able to print them with a TPE filament, this is the ideal filament. Also in printers with two heads you can use the Flexfill to add an additional layer on the rigid base material to create a surface that is soft to the touch.