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FilaFlex TPE 82A

Ref.: TPE-FFLEX-82A-WHITE-175-500

27.90 €

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Approximate delivery date: Thursday 5 December

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Filaflex is a TPE (Thermoplastic Elastomer) filament. TPE is also known as thermoplastic rubber. It is the result of the mixture of polymers, a plastic as a base and rubber as an alloy, resulting in a material with thermoplastic and elastomeric properties. The degree of critical crosslinking of the TPE molecular structure is the cause of the high level of elasticity, crosslinking produced by the dipole-dipole junction (hydrogen bridges or Vander Waals forces). But by heating this material it can be processed as a thermoplastic, making it easy to weld and reuse.

This material is much more economical and easier to shape than conventional silicones and rubbers, since, unlike those mentioned above, TPE does not require long production times or specialized facilities. Its application extends to an endless number of sectors, highlighting its use in construction (expansion joints or window insulation) and in the automotive industry (sleeves, dust covers, spring washers or anti-vibration parts).

In addition to being flexible, Filaflex is the most elastic filament on the market, reaching 650% stretch to break. Filaflex filament has great elasticity, a high coefficient of friction and great softness that make it a flexible material with excellent properties for 3D printing.

Filaflex

Image 1: 3D printed sneaker with Filaflex. Source: Recreus.

FilaFlex has excellent bonding properties with PLA, ABS, HiPS, Nylon and almost any 3D printing material. This allows the creation of composite pieces that combine hard and soft materials in a single impression. In addition FilaFlex filament is resistant to gasoline, solvents and acetone. FilaFlex is non-toxic but is not approved for medical or food use. It does not emit odors, it is totally odorless and it does not produce toxic gases.

Until now, the differentiation rule was established that showed that a TPE was always flexible, and a semi-flexible or rigid TPU. Currently, this differentiation has ceased to make sense due to the great development of variants in TPE and TPU materials, and there are very flexible TPE filaments (with Shore 70A, 82A and 90A hardnesses) and semi-flexible such as 96A.

Therefore, when defining what material is needed for an application with a material with some flexibility, it will be necessary to analyze the sum of two totally differentiated vectors from which the correct choice or resulting vector will result. On the one hand, the hardness of the material itself (normally compared on a Shore A scale) and, on the other hand, the type of material (TPE or TPU), with the differences regarding its intrinsic properties.

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

Although it is true that Filaflex 82A is more complicated to print than a rigid filament, with the proper configuration it can be printed on almost any 3D printer. It is recommended to read the usage tips in detail to get the most out of Filaflex.

General information
Material	TPU/TPE
Format	50 g / 500 g
Density	(ISO 1183-1-A) 1.12 g/cm³
Filament diameter	1.75 / 2.85 mm
Filament tolerance	± 0.05 mm
Filament length	(Ø 1.75 mm - 0.5 Kg) ± 185 m / (Ø 2.85 mm - 0.5 Kg) ± 70 m

Printing properties
Printing temperature	215 - 250 ºC
Print bed temperature	40
Chamber temperature	-
Cooling fan	✓
Recommended printing speed	20 - 60 mm/s

Mechanical properties
Elongation at break	(DIN 53504-S2) 600 %
Tensile strength	(DIN 53504-S2) 45 MPa
Tensile modulus	- MPa
Flexural strength	- MPa
Flexural modulus	- MPa
Surface hardness	(ISO 7619-1) Shore 82A

Thermal properties
Melting temperature	220 ºC
Softening temperature	105 ºC

Specific properties
Transparency	-
Flammability classification	HB (UL94)
Chemical resistance	✓
Toxicity	✗

Other
HS Code	3916.9
Spool diameter (outer)	200 mm
Spool diameter (inner hole)	53 mm
Spool width	50 mm

Flexible filament printing opens up a world of possibilities in 3D printing. However, it is a material that can pose certain difficulties when printing.

The ideal way to print this material is to work with a direct extruder, so the greatest difficulties usually arise when using Bowden type extrusion systems. Due to the consistency of Filaflex 82A, when retracting in printers with Bowden systems, jams may occur at the time of retraction. These jams are less likely when using 2.85mm filament due to the filament's own consistency.

To avoid jams, in case of using a bowden type extruder, it is recommended that it be double-traction, such as the Bondtech BMG or Bondtech QR.

How to avoid jams

A possible solution to jams with Bowden type extruders would be to change the guide tube to a PTFE tube like the Capricorn XS. These tubes are developed in a way that helps reduce filament friction, thus requiring lower retractions.

When starting to print with Filaflex 82A, the following parameters are recommended for guidance:

Print speed: 20 - 25 mm / s
Printing temperature: 245 ° C
No retraction or very little retraction (1.5 mm retraction distance)
Increase the flow if the filament extrusion is intermittent, between (105-115%)
Adjust the extruder tension to avoid choking the filament and causing jams.

As experience increases, speed and temperature can be increased to achieve high-quality prints. It is necessary to use the layer fan because it is quite liquid when melting. As for the extrusion height, it does not affect its adhesion between layers (Ideal between 0.1 and 0.25 mm).

Thanks to its great adhesion to the base, Filaflex does not require a heated bed or the use of BuildTak or adhesives such as 3DLac, kapton tape or Blue Tape.

It is highly recommended to read the following article in which you can see the main difficulties that FilaFlex presents when printing as well as the solutions and advice for use. The manufacturer Recreus 3D provides the printing profiles (CURA, SLIC3R, CRAFTWARE, KISSLICER or SIMPLIFY3D) for FilaFlex at the followinglink. In addition, in the downloads tab you can find the technical data and the safety data sheet provided by the manufacturer.