Study of the Behavior of 3D Printed Thermoplastic Elastomers Structures Aimed at Emulating Traditional Polyurethane Foams

The present paper introduces a preliminary analysis and the recent development of three-dimensional (3D) printed thermoplastic polyurethane (TPE-U) as a replacement of polyurethane (PU) foams that has led to a recyclable product. Among the various 3D printing techniques available, the team focuses on Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM) because of its simplicity, affordability, and versatility in printing geometries and recyclability of materials. Four thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) elastomers with different stiffness (in the range of Shore A) are used. Therefore, through the combination of different printing geometries, modulation of the main printing parameters, and different materials, an attempt is made to simulate the mechanical behavior of PU foams, which are commonly used for the production of paddings. The mechanical evaluation, by means of dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA), of the of 3D printed specimens has highlighted a qualitatively different and potentially superior behavior with respect to that of PU foam.