Formlabs Develops Tough Elastomer Powder for Strong, Functional, Skin-Safe Parts

Formlabs’ TPU 90A Powder is a tough elastomer powder and the newest material for its Fuse Series printers. The material enables strong, functional, skin-safe parts with high tear strength and elongation.

The strength and flexibility of TPU 90A powder enables the production of fully functional parts in-house, providing complete design freedom and a seamless workflow on the Fuse Series SLS 3D printing ecosystem. By leveraging this material, engineers and manufacturers can bridge the gap between manufacturing stages, produce fully functional prototypes, manufacturing aids and end-use parts, and take full control of their supply chain. Additionally, TPU 90A Powder is well suited for creating soft-touch components for grippers, padding and cushions.

This high-performance material is also validated for skin contact, making it well suited for medical applications such as prosthetics, orthotics and other patient-specific devices requiring custom designs. TPU 90A Powder’s softness and flexibility ensures optimal comfort and performance, improving outcomes in patient care and streamlining the medical device manufacturing process.

“At Formlabs, we are committed to empowering our customers to truly make anything, from medical parts to wearables,” says Dávid Lakatos, chief product officer at Formlabs. “With the release of TPU 90A Powder, we're proud to offer a material that expands the possibilities for 3D printing across many industries, enabling users to create flexible, skin-safe parts tailored to their specific applications.”

Formlabs’ growing library of SLS materials enables its customers to create parts with a range of properties, including stiffness, softness, ductility and thermal stability. TPU 90A Powder offers flexibility and robustness along with the accuracy and design freedom enabled by the SLS printing process.

Benefits include high tear strength and elongation at break 110-310% for strong and functional TPU parts; low cost per part for low-volume production of 3D printed, flexible parts; and skin safe, making it well suited for printing medical appliances and wearable accessories. It also offers users lower waste and higher efficiency, with a refresh rate of 20%.

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