Research: High-Durometer TPU For Firearms Parts

3D printing has become a popular and effective tool for the legal self-manufacture of firearms in the US. This application constantly seeks the best high-performance, low-cost, easy-to-print polymer materials. High-durometer TPU (HD-TPU) has those characteristics but has not yet been thoroughly explored. This project used HD-TPU to manufacture several popular firearms designs. The designs were then dry-fire and live-fire tested to determine their functionality and reliability. Results were disappointing with all subjects failing early in their testing. Failures were generally related to lack of stiffness, though strength of the specific HD-TPU product used was also found to be lacking compared to proven materials like enhanced PLA. This research showed that, aside from certain niche applications, HD-TPU cannot be recommended over other FDM materials for firearms parts. And for those niche applications where material stiffness is not important, 95A TPU will likely be a better choice. Updates: 1.1 - Added print settings and revision history LBRY Tags: 3d2a; tpu