Is TPU a suitable material to print RC tyres?

Archive OpenRC
,
1

Is TPU a suitable material to print RC tyres? I wanted to print tyres for my son’s Truggy in red TPU to match the other parts.

2

@Thomas_Palm

3

Thermoplastic polyurethane is great, it´s Abrasion resistance is excellent but why not go really black… http://rubber3dprinting.com/quotes/

4

In my opinion it is great to print tires but has a disadvantage. Due to the wished nature of printer filament it produces like no friction at all. The truggy tires with spikes work well on most surfaces but for example the mostly flat open f1 tires won’t give any suitable grip.

5

How I improve friction: http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:1274262

6

I really like TPU. It’s strong and flexible and very durable. I think the coefficient of friction is low… My TPU isn’t very “sticky” so you might want to print something with tread?

7

Thanks for all the tips guys.

I have been printing the high stress parts of the Truggy in Taulman Tech-G over the last couple of days. About to switch to Red N-Vent for the chassis and steering components.

I’m still undecided what material I’ll use for the wheels/tyres. I was thinking White Polymax for the wheels and red TPU for tyres.

What is Ninjaflex like for tyres. Is it similar to a TPU?

8

I haven’t printed with ninja flex yet, but I believe the “gummy” factor is better with ninja flex than TPU. But there are variants of TPU that have a higher coefficient of friction. I forget the technical term the marketing people use.