Best for
95A
- Bottling-line bumpers
- Robot gripper fingers
- Non-marring jaw pads
- Wear washers
- Straps and wheel treads
85A
- Soft gripper fingers
- Impact protectors for optics
Not the right choice for
- Loaded parts that run warm
- Seals that stay clamped hot
- Food contact, or long spells in sunlight or under water
TPU as a printed part
Hardness is a real specification here: a 95A TPU and an 85A TPU behave like different materials, and the right one depends on the part.
Key properties
| Hardness | 95A or 85A |
|---|---|
| Elongation | over 560 percent (95A) |
| Abrasion resistance | 64 mm3 (95A), 82 mm3 (85A) |
| Heat deflection | 49 to 50 C at 0.45 MPa for 95A; 44 C at 0.45 MPa for 85A |
What to use instead
- TPU 85A when you want it softer than 95A.
- TPE when you want a solid rubber feel softer than 95A TPU.
- PEBA when the part needs to spring back.
- Foaming TPU when you want it softer still, and lighter.
The FDM material selector narrows the whole range by operating temperature, load, chemical exposure, and budget.