The emergence of thermoplastic urethane (TPU) and other flexible materials may completely revolutionize the 3D printing world as we know it. Additive manufacturing methods permit the production of designs that are otherwise not feasible, but maybe more exciting, is that anyone can own a printer. As the understanding of the printing process with flexible filaments develops, we will be able to scale production to enable personalized and customizable products, soft robotics, and many other applications. 
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Today’s guest is David Zapata (AKA @DavidZIndustries), an engineer and digital influencer with over 264,000 cumulative followers on Instagram and TikTok. In this episode, he goes in depth about the properties of TPU and the processes involved in related additive manufacturing methods. 
In this conversation, we discuss the following topics:
The properties of TPU that make it a unique material for 3D printing
Using flexible materials in soft robotics
The evolution of consumer products with 3D printing
Copolymers: printing with multiple materials
3D printing in fashion and customizability
Comparing TPU with traditional filaments (like PLA)

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Disclaimer: Any opinions expressed by either guests or hosts in this show are their own, and do not represent the opinions of the companies or organizations for which they are affiliated.