Research of TPU Materials for 3D Printing Aiming at Non-Pneumatic Tires by FDM Method

TLDR

3D printing is widely used in many fields, yet its application to non‑pneumatic tires has not been systematically investigated. The study aimed to evaluate TPU materials printed by FDM for non‑pneumatic tires and to recommend moderating material performance in design simulations. The authors examined TPU printing by FDM through tensile tests, SEM analysis, and fabrication of prototype non‑pneumatic tires. Optimal printing temperature was 210 °C, FDM successfully produced non‑pneumatic tires, and their measured stiffness was about 50 % of simulated values.

Abstract

3D printing technology has been widely used in various fields, such as biomedicine, clothing design, and aerospace, due to its personalized customization, rapid prototyping of complex structures, and low cost. However, the application of 3D printing technology in the field of non-pneumatic tires has not been systematically studied. In this study, we evaluated the application of potential thermoplastic polyurethanes (TPU) materials based on FDM technology in the field of non-pneumatic tires. First, the printing process of TPU material based on fused deposition modeling (FDM) technology was studied through tensile testing and SEM observation. The results show that the optimal 3D printing temperature of the selected TPU material is 210 °C. FDM technology was successfully applied to 3D printed non-pneumatic tires based on TPU material. The study showed that the three-dimensional stiffness of 3D printed non-pneumatic tires is basically 50% of that obtained by simulation. To guarantee the prediction of the performance of 3D printed non-pneumatic tires, we suggest that the performance of these materials should be moderately reduced during the structural design for performance simulation.