varioShore TPU allows users to vary the density of the material by adjusting temperature and material throughput (speed & layer height). At temperatures between 200 and 250C the materials will start to expand to roughly 1.4-1.6 times its original volume. This means the material can be printed at low flow rates (60-70%), to compensate the active foaming, which in return gives very soft printed parts. Between 190-200C the material can be printed without foaming, resulting in different haptics and harder prints compared to foamed samples.

For the filament to expand it is necessary to put a certain amount of energy into the filament. The amount of energy a filament can absorb during printing depends on the length of the hot-zone and the time it takes for the filament to pass through the hot-zone. The longer a filament will reside inside the hot-end, the more energy it can absorb which will increase the amount of expansion. Assuming nozzle size and layer-height are fixed, our main input variables are Temperature, speed and flow to determine the amount of expansion.

We used our LW-PLA technology in this filament as well to reduce weight significantly. Although the weight reduction of varioShore TPU is not as significant as LW-PLA, the weight of the overall print is noticable and can make the difference for prints where weight matters.

This material is not limited to one shore hardness, but with the right print settings you can have multiple shore hardnesses – even in one print!

Prints that need a soft touch, like handle bars for bikes or shoe soles are no problem anymore with varioShore TPU.