I have always loved the properties and power of nylon, however that being said, this is something new
Thermoset to TPU is as Nylon is to PLA
Does that now give us the ability to print gaskets for old devices that are no longer available commerically?
That’s pretty neat. I only skimmed through the article but the jist I got was that it is a multi part liquid that mixes at the nozzle. I wonder what the clean up process is like to not have it plug up the machine after a print.
I agree, a lot of questions. isn’t a thermoset the process of heat setting it after you make it? Wonder what you will need for that. Bigger than an aneling oven I would guess
After a bit of reading, you are correct that thermosetting is “cured” with heat. I wasn’t really aware of what it was.
That just makes me curious why they need to mix materials in the tool head and can’t print with a premixed compound. Maybe the individual materials need to be a low enough viscosity to print and the chemical reaction is to thicken it so it holds it’s form prior to the heat curing process. If that’s the case I wonder how fragile the green parts are before curing.
It’s a good thing I don’t have a ton of time to kill otherwise I’m sure id be diving head first into a research rabbit hole.
LOL, I hear you
From what I understand, thermoset plastics change their composition under the final annealing process.
I saw it on how it’s made a while back, The one thing that shocked me is that thermoset plastics cannot be recycled, Literally at all. A bowling ball is an example of a thermoset plastic. When it’s at the end of its life it just has to be thrown out. It cannot be chopped up and have the plastic used elsewhere. Once it’s been thermoset the plastic changes its chemical composition and that’s it.
But for its purpose when its created it makes an extremely strong plastic that is mostly indestructable.