Methods of gluing Flexible Prints in TPU together!

[@PaulLemars01]

Thank you so much for the video. I'm designing and printing C95 masks for the outbreak we're all having and I'm printing it flat in TPU and then it will be pulled into shape with edge bonding and you've now given me the final piece of the puzzle. Once again, thank you.

[@petersolomon3505]

Paul Le Mars You are very welcome, it makes me happy that It was able to help somebody, but even happier that we can help you doing this noble venture. Keep up the great work

[@lynxxlynxx]

13:20 I waited fot that to happen the hole video long :D I'm glad it wasn't one of the glass bottles.

[@wildbleurc4380]

GREAT WORK BUD. HATS OFF TO YOU

[@petersolomon3505]

thank you much, greatly appreciated!

[@3dnaut]

Very good that you showed differend forces applied to the parts. Profound testing and presentation And I really had a good laugh when you boxed away the can! :D This was exactly what I was looking for. Thank you.

[@unionse7en]

good and useful video. I was waiting for a bottle to get knocked over, I was finally satisfied ;-)

[@WhamBamSystems]

lol!

[@ColinJWiens]

13:21 has the summary of best glues. Great vid.

[@petersolomon3505]

thank you!

[@FelipeL67]

Thank you for the video, I was looking to glue a modmic to a pair of 3M X5A earmuffs, unfortunately for me the included mic clasp does not stick well to rubberized surfaces, so down the rabbit hole I go, looks like the CA glue should work fine for TPU/ABS. Now if only there was a product with great noise isolation, clear noise canceling mic, AND audiophile level sound at a sub 300 price point I'd buy it in a heartbeat.

[@washingtonarg]

thanks, great information! thanks for taking the time to share your test!

[@petersolomon3505]

Thanks for the kind words!

[@elnano1989]

Thanks from Italy!

[@WhamBamSystems]

Prego! Spero che è stato utile

[@anystrap404]

Thank you so much for putting together this video! I have a series of projects planned that require bonding TPU permanently, and up until this I was looking at ultrasonic welding which is of course much more expensive than a bottle of THF. =]

[@SpinStar1956]

Thanks for making this video. My chemistry knowledge is pretty nil so this was a big help. I viewed this video about 3 days ago and Amazon did not have the THF but today, it is back in stock so I picked up a small bottle. I want to make a linear strip of TPU to wrap around a radio knob as a grip-enhancer. The reason I don't print it in a continuous ring is that I am using the texture of the bed to impart on the TPU strip. I use both TPU and PETG (wonder how THF works on PETG?) and TPU is amazing material. I soaked a TPU piece in acetone for 3 months and other than absorb a smell (that did vapor away completely) there was absolutely no degradation or change! Also, I make small electronic enclosures and TPU makes them pretty well bullet proof. I will eventually need to get into nylon (does THF glue/melt nylon?) but that is a big modification of my setup to accommodate both the higher temps and bed-adhesion. Anyway, thanks again for posting this informative (Project-Farm like) side-by-side test...

[@petersolomon3505]

Hello, you are welcome, unfortunately I am not a chemical engineer, only a tinkerer and designer. I have not tested the solvents on many of the materials you are listing, but you may want to do your own experiments on small swatches. If so, please do let us know. you may also want to check out this video I did on gluing PLA kzbin.info/www/bejne/oICte2OtrriWhcU

[@ShrimplyAquascaping]

The can getting hit is what it deserves for not bonding the two piece together lol. Great video!😊

[@petersolomon3505]

thank you kindly!

[@bengrant6478]

This was extremely helpful, thank you!

[@petersolomon3505]

Thanks for your kind words!

[@siebeja]

Thank you so much as this was probably one of the most useful videos ever! I have been looking for a glue of this type for years for NinjaFlex! Thanks also for running the study....well done!!

[@petersolomon3505]

you are very welcome, happy it was helpful!

[@authorizeduser6507]

This is very helpful thank you! The black TPU and lighting make it a bit hard to see for myself.

[@23lkjdfjsdlfj]

Super helpful!

[@SeanLumly]

Invaluable. Thank you.

[@mbender4253]

Thank you for such a thorough and useful video!

[@petersolomon3505]

thank you for saying so!

[@darrinbrunner6429]

Thank you, you saved me from doing this myself.

[@petersolomon3505]

you are welcome

[@pjbarron227]

Very nicely done, many thanks for posting!

[@petersolomon3505]

thank you for the nice comment

[@user-cx2bk6pm2f]

Excellent info! Thanks.

[@xex2kok]

Would love to see how the bond was between different materials. It seemed like you alluded to testing this in the beginning because you even said your use case is attaching TPU to something harder like PLA. If I wanted to bond TPU to TPU I would print them together in most cases. Thank you for testing part of it though.

[@petersolomon3505]

thats a good point, I guess it really depends on which other material you are using, if bonding to a material which is rigid I tend to use CA or supeglue, and if bonding to something flexible a rubber cement if not one of the solvents I have show. see earlier video on general bonding kzbin.info/www/bejne/a4mme5Srhdefgbs

[@desertshadowspringers]

your dfm link needs updating.. "sorry results not found" With a sad dog is what that affiliate link goes to currently. cheers for doing the experiment so many of us have wondered about ... and now we have more info / data

[@petersolomon3505]

sorry for the late reply, and thanks for calling that out, here you go: amzn.to/4au3bHy

[@jamesbeckett5745]

amazing overview, thanks

[@SantiagoMZ]

Great guide!

[@petersolomon3505]

Thank you kindly

[@slmars]

Very helpful! Thank you!

[@petersolomon3505]

Stephen Marshall you are welcome, good to know this is useful!

[@Machiflores]

great video. thanks for the info was very helpful

[@petersolomon3505]

thank you for the nice comment, happy it was helpful!

[@tegmentoo]

perfect test thanks

[@TheMetalButcher]

Will Loctite 406 adhere to metal? I only need shear.

[@petersolomon3505]

@@TheMetalButcher generally yes! Clean and rough up metal with sandpaper

[@mohammedjaradat8011]

Thanks for the great video! I'm using Loctite 770 with Loctite 401 and they gave me great results on TPU and Neoprene adhesion. I'm doing some research and I'm trying to glue Ninjaflex TPU to steel. Do you have any advice on that? Thank you!

[@scatteredvideos1]

Chemist here. Please do not use DMF for welding. It will make you impotent very quickly (men and women), and it will reduce your ability to process alcohol making you have serious hangovers. Use THF or DMSO, I would recommend THF. I don't know if this will work because I've never tried, but you could also give Ethyl Acetate (Common Paint thinner), Acetone, or Methyl ethyl ketone (MEK, another paint thinner). All of these have significantly fewer risks associated with them.

[@petersolomon3505]

Thank you!

[@McAuley240]

When did MEK become safe?

[@scatteredvideos1]

​@@McAuley240 Not a carcinogen, high LD50, no reproductive effects, relatively high acceptable vapor exposure (150 ppm for 8 h). Compared to DMF it's basically water. Ethyl acetate or THF would probably be the best options.

[@ErichWeiler-y3z]

I don’t know if this guy is screwing around or not, but I’m going to listen to him. I’m not going to use anything with chemicals that will prevent my fishes ability to swim

[@Noxspecter]

Thank you!

[@petersolomon3505]

you are welcome!

[@RamasolaProductions]

Thank you for the useful info

[@petersolomon3505]

You are welcome!

[@aaronduranceau7683]

What wi the last 2 also work with in printing, pla carbon fiber pla pteg?

[@petersolomon3505]

For PLA and PETG use 3dgoop!

[@glenbard657]

I tried the DMF on some TPU parts made using the FDM process and it worked great. Then I tried it on some TPU parts made by multi-jet fusion and it didn't work at all.

[@mikeleschnitman9504]

any luck since with the TPU parts made by multi-jet fusion ?

[@larryseibold4287]

Good stuff. I am curious if you ever experimented in getting good contact cement to stick to the TPU to bond other rubbers (natural or thermal rubber TR, EPDM, etc). Contact cements don't seem to stick well the the low reactive TPU, so it seems to me a primer of sorts is needed. will one of these organic solvents work as a first primer layer that will make the contact cement bond really well to the TPU material?

[@propmadepostapo]

thx for the tests

[@miketitor3787]

Do you know if THF or DMF leave any toxic residue on or in the TPU? I have been trying to find out for a few days but only find the potential health risks while using the solvents and nothing about if those effects are an issue after it has dried.

[@petersolomon3505]

Sorry, I am not a chemist and although you could wash the parts, I have no idea of residues left or changes in chemical composition due to using organic solvents

[@jivinhipcat]

Did you find an answer to that?

[@tombuckshum9323]

do you know if when dry, the three winners pose any threats to dogs. I am designing and dog frisbee and need to attach tpu to tpu. If they do, do you know of any other glues that work with TPU, can withstand great tensile strength, is waterproof and is non-toxic? thanks, great vid

[@petersolomon3505]

Sorry, I really wouldn’t know that. Best guess is that the clear solvents once evaporated will not be present any more, but I can’t be sure and don’t know the medical science behind it

[@tombuckshum9323]

@@petersolomon3505 yeh okay all good. Thanks for your input regardless

[@diveflyfish]

Thank you for this video. Do you have any recommendations for bonding TPU to PLA? There would be only compression no shear forces. Thank you again. Very Best Regards, Jim

[@petersolomon3505]

diveflyfish I would think your best bet is contact cement, I don’t believe there is any Solvent with intermix between the two and the best bonding agent would probably be something which has a little bit of flex such as contact cement. Apply to both sides and let dry until lightly tacky like a piece of masking tape then push together and they will permanently bonded

[@diveflyfish]

@@petersolomon3505 Thank you. I am now trying an experiment to print the PLA on top of the layer of TPU. I raised the temp of the PLA to the temp of the TPU printing temp and so far it seems to be working. I will find out in the AM when the print is complete. Thanks again for your instructional video.

[@petersolomon3505]

diveflyfish that sounds very interesting, let me know your results!

[@diveflyfish]

@@petersolomon3505 It worked perfectly. I printed the TPU layer first, then switched to PLA but kept the temp the same as the TPU temp for the first layer, so 235 TPU 235 PLA first layer then decreased the temp to 225 for the second and third layer PLA then resumed the 215 temp for PLA. The only other modification was print speed. I printed the TPU at 20mm/sec which is a little fast, and the PLA also at 20mm for the first four layers. I then resumed to a slow but sure 40mm/sec for the PLA. It is a solid interface.

[@petersolomon3505]

@@diveflyfish amazing news! I will have to try this. If the geometry permits I would suggest printing PLA first so you would have a more solid base. I do print Sainsmart at speeds up to 40mm/s and ninjaflex at 25mm/s

[@Pyromancers]

Did the DMF seem to impart any of the shine characteristics that the THF did on TPU? Do you think the THF or DMF could be used similarly to shine up the plastic like acetone shines up ABS?

[@petersolomon3505]

It may be possible, but hard to control, would need some experimenting, acetone on ABS works smoothly due to the vapor application, not sure if brushing on has same quslity

[@peacewarrior9100]

What would you say would be the best glue to stick tpu and cloth (mostly faux leather)

[@petersolomon3505]

Probably a contact cement as it’s one of the few flexible. A bit on both sides, spread thin, let dry, then push together

[@peacewarrior9100]

@@petersolomon3505 thanks

[@DanTran-if2jt]

Can anyone explain the white haze?

[@websitesthatneedanem]

Does Hot Glue work?

[@Carlos145]

useful! thanks!

[@petersolomon3505]

thank you for saying so!

[@WinstonSmith1984]

What about common bicycle tube rubber cement? That's cheap and easy to get hold of, flexible, and contains solvents.

[@petersolomon3505]

I havent tried, but innertubes are actual rubber and TPU is a thermoplastic, so its not likely to work, but worth experimentation!

[@itsdurao]

do you know if this will also work with pctpe filament as well?

[@petersolomon3505]

I’m sorry I really don’t know

[@lloydb801]

Could the dmf used with a heat press, to speed up process to avoid clamping

[@petersolomon3505]

lloyd b have no idea, but many of these chemicals are flammable so be careful experimenting.

[@lloydb801]

Thank you, sorry for all questions there not alot of info bonding these materials, how long did you leave it to cure

[@WhamBamSystems]

@@lloydb801 no issues, that video was 2 years ago, but I think I left for 30 minutes although I believe the bond is almost instantaneous.

[@garymurraya]

very intestesting! I need to bond TPU to a carbon fibre... and peeling is going to be important... anyone any ideas? Ideally I'd use a two sided tape, but Im pretty sure none will be able to do this...

[@petersolomon3505]

Thank you, the best solution is mechanical solution like a positive negative interlocking feature, if not, I feel the best solution is epoxy however, he still would need some mechanical grip

[@olivecool]

do you think the dmso could be used to vapor smooth the tpu?

[@petersolomon3505]

I would not recommend it. it’s so dangerous to breath I wouldn’t put it in the air for a long vapor smooth. not sure it would work

[@runethorsen6230]

Great video. Saved me from wasting time on performing these experiments thanks. Is there any way of rendering the TPU surface more rough to increase the coefficient of friction. Specifically I'm working on a gripper for cutlery to be used by persons with disabilities of the hands. So far we resolve to wrap a rubberband around the cutlery to avoid that it slits against the TPU, but if the TPU surface could be made like silicone after 3D printing it would increase usability. Anyone?

[@petersolomon3505]

thank you. I might suggest building texture into 3D model or using a slicer which adds texture. Or if its not a problem to drill the cutlery in 2 places add small protruding half spheres on inside of TPU part to catch the holes

[@runethorsen6230]

@@petersolomon3505 Thanks. Texture is not sufficient, Modifying the cutlery is not viable. I hoped for some surface treatment to make the TPU like silicone rubber surface.

[@BuddhaSilencr]

@@runethorsen6230 You need to print with a soft tpu. It can be very similar to silicone in flexibility and give.

[@timwilliams632]

Have any of you you tried a cheap, accessible product like Liquid Nails (original construction adhesive) for bonding PLA to TPU or even ABS? I use A urethane construction adhesive to bond PETG to fiberglass for a radio housing mount in a motorcycle fairing and I swear you can swing an elephant from it. I don't remember feeling old Liquid Nails, 20 plus years ago, from anything. It had to be ground off or scraped. I have no idea what is in it.

[@felipenavas]

Winners: Loctite 406 THF and DMF

[@TedCent]

Is their anyone here that Would know if one of these would work for bonding etfe greenhouse film? Or something else what's the safest cheapest option to bond etfe flexible film to itself?

[@lageopedal5126]

Thanks a lot for Your Research on TPU! Very helpful. Loctite 406 Works Wonder on TPU95a from Ultimaker

[@petersolomon3505]

you are welcome, and thank you for your kind comment!

[@drive-incinemapictures1554]

what about E600?

[@scottcorbett5100]

Flexible loctite 402. Try that maybe the 403

[@sumacmt]

Prove it, he did

[@lloydb801]

Where can I get the dmf or thf from ?

[@petersolomon3505]

DFM: amzn.to/3fw9HkH THF: amzn.to/30sN1NG

[@lloydb801]

@@petersolomon3505thank you, not avaivable anymore, will the thf work with polyurethane rubber

[@petersolomon3505]

@@lloydb801 wow, is neither available? check amazon and ebay. TPU is thermoplastic Polyurethane, which means its formable by heat, the other type of Polyurethane is thermoset which catalizes with a chemical reaction. I have not tested on the second type yet.

[@lloydb801]

@@petersolomon3505 hi again, I'm from the uk, they sell it but you have to be a company or a school, I'm going to try ebay

[@herllraiser6662]

@@lloydb801 yep the uk its a pain to get hold of dmf, i tried today though im a company but still wont sell to a sole trader, only reg companies only. The only thing you can get is the 406 so it looks like we are stuck with that haha stuck..

[@ojkolsrud1]

what about acetone?

[@euczero]

does not work for tpu

[@thebronxgeek2121]

Were family! Lol

[@jasonms8951]

Thanks for the great info, but yikes, please use eye protection! Also, DMSO passes so easily through skin that spilling some on your hand will quickly give you a garlic taste in your mouth as the DMSO enters your bloodstream and is circulated to your tongue. Anything dissolved in the DMSO will be transported through your skin and into your blood at the same time. Some info on what types of gloves to use with each of those solvents would have been useful. Great video though!

[@lonnieor]

When I was a kid the vet used this to apply meds to our horses topically. It not only passes through skin and blood membrane easily, it magically helps other compounds to come along for the ride.

[@quintinlarson9499]

It's the DMF I would be worried about. DMSO itself isn't dangerous. Although this might be because it wasn't designed for human consumption..