Study of printing parameters on part performance in foamy TPU using material extrusion technology

Recent advances in Additive Manufacturing, particularly Material Extrusion (MEX), expand foam thermoplastic polyurethane's use in medical and fashion applications. Studies and applications, still in the early stages, require further development. This work investigates how the properties of Foam TPU change with print parameters such as Extrusion Temperature (ET) and Flow Rate (FR). Cylindrical compression test specimens were printed using MEX technology by varying three levels of each process parameter. After, compressive strength, density and aesthetic aspect were analyzed. The result showed that increasing ET and FR, the specimens density increased while compression strength decreased. Using low values of ET and FR, the aesthetic aspect improved, with a reduction of superficial mistakes and flaws.