We often get inquiries from customers regarding the hardness/softness of the various flexible 3d printing materials. We thought we would share this shore hardness scale comparison chart to hopefully give you a clearer picture of how the different materials compare to each other.
Manufacturers rate their material shore hardness by type/scale (The most common types are A and D). Each scale results in a value between 0 and 100, with higher values indicating a harder material.
We have chosen the 4 most common flexible 3d printing materials currently available, they are:
- NinjaFlex - Shore hardness: 85A
- Flex EcoPLA - Shore hardness: 45D
- Our TPU - Shore hardness: 95A
- FilaFlex - Shore hardness: 84A
Based on the table above, you can see for example, that our TPU material, although rated 95A, actually has pretty much the same shore hardness as the Flex EcoPLA which has a rating of 45D. While the NinjaFlex and FilaFlex are softer materials.
When it comes to printing with flexible 3d materials, remember that the softer the material is, the more tricky it is to print with. We hope some of you find this information is helpful. Thank you and happy printing!