Screw material extrusion of super soft thermoplastic elastomer for additive manufacturing of inflatables
This study managed to successfully 3D print inflatables using 32 Shore 00 soft thermoplastic elastomer (TPE), granules. This TPE is softer than any previously 3D printed TPE in literature and was achieved by using an in-house developed, desktop screw extruder. The first step involved characterising...
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| Language: | English |
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Taylor & Francis Group
2025-12-01
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| Series: | Virtual and Physical Prototyping |
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| Online Access: | https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/17452759.2024.2408658 |
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| author | Albert Curmi Arif Rochman |
| author_facet | Albert Curmi Arif Rochman |
| author_sort | Albert Curmi |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | This study managed to successfully 3D print inflatables using 32 Shore 00 soft thermoplastic elastomer (TPE), granules. This TPE is softer than any previously 3D printed TPE in literature and was achieved by using an in-house developed, desktop screw extruder. The first step involved characterising the TPE using various techniques to determine optimal printing parameters and material handling conditions. The second step dealt with extruder calibration for 3D printing and then the production of tensile specimens in the XY and Z orientations. A maximum strain without failure of 3365% was achieved at XY orientation at 310°C. In contrast, the highest strain of the Z orientation was recorded at 290°C reaching 2330 ± 139% at failure. Finally, the system was used to 3D print cubic and hexagonal prisms of different sizes, and then each was inflated till failure. Video procedural analysis of the inflation process determined that the highest, biaxial strain at failure reached 590%. These results enable the development of an innovative elastic inflatable actuator (EIA) to successfully pick and place fragile objects using soft, lightly pressurised inflatables. In conclusion, a production method for prototyping and general fabrication of large expansion AM inflatables has been established. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-c300ce66c6c9468199679a1e3d91d2ef |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 1745-2759 1745-2767 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-12-01 |
| publisher | Taylor & Francis Group |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Virtual and Physical Prototyping |
| spelling | doaj-art-c300ce66c6c9468199679a1e3d91d2ef2025-01-08T21:12:42ZengTaylor & Francis GroupVirtual and Physical Prototyping1745-27591745-27672025-12-0120110.1080/17452759.2024.2408658Screw material extrusion of super soft thermoplastic elastomer for additive manufacturing of inflatablesAlbert Curmi0Arif Rochman1Department of Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering, University of Malta, Msida, MaltaDepartment of Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering, University of Malta, Msida, MaltaThis study managed to successfully 3D print inflatables using 32 Shore 00 soft thermoplastic elastomer (TPE), granules. This TPE is softer than any previously 3D printed TPE in literature and was achieved by using an in-house developed, desktop screw extruder. The first step involved characterising the TPE using various techniques to determine optimal printing parameters and material handling conditions. The second step dealt with extruder calibration for 3D printing and then the production of tensile specimens in the XY and Z orientations. A maximum strain without failure of 3365% was achieved at XY orientation at 310°C. In contrast, the highest strain of the Z orientation was recorded at 290°C reaching 2330 ± 139% at failure. Finally, the system was used to 3D print cubic and hexagonal prisms of different sizes, and then each was inflated till failure. Video procedural analysis of the inflation process determined that the highest, biaxial strain at failure reached 590%. These results enable the development of an innovative elastic inflatable actuator (EIA) to successfully pick and place fragile objects using soft, lightly pressurised inflatables. In conclusion, a production method for prototyping and general fabrication of large expansion AM inflatables has been established.https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/17452759.2024.2408658Material extrusioninflatablethermoplastic elastomersoftbiaxial strain |
| spellingShingle | Albert Curmi Arif Rochman Screw material extrusion of super soft thermoplastic elastomer for additive manufacturing of inflatables Virtual and Physical Prototyping Material extrusion inflatable thermoplastic elastomer soft biaxial strain |
| title | Screw material extrusion of super soft thermoplastic elastomer for additive manufacturing of inflatables |
| title_full | Screw material extrusion of super soft thermoplastic elastomer for additive manufacturing of inflatables |
| title_fullStr | Screw material extrusion of super soft thermoplastic elastomer for additive manufacturing of inflatables |
| title_full_unstemmed | Screw material extrusion of super soft thermoplastic elastomer for additive manufacturing of inflatables |
| title_short | Screw material extrusion of super soft thermoplastic elastomer for additive manufacturing of inflatables |
| title_sort | screw material extrusion of super soft thermoplastic elastomer for additive manufacturing of inflatables |
| topic | Material extrusion inflatable thermoplastic elastomer soft biaxial strain |
| url | https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/17452759.2024.2408658 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT albertcurmi screwmaterialextrusionofsupersoftthermoplasticelastomerforadditivemanufacturingofinflatables AT arifrochman screwmaterialextrusionofsupersoftthermoplasticelastomerforadditivemanufacturingofinflatables |