CRP Technology Windform RL Thermoplastic Elastomer for SLS
- Название продукта: CRP Technology Windform RL Thermoplastic Elastomer for SLS
- Сайт Factroy: Округ Юду, Ганьчжоу, Цзянси, Китай
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- Производитель: Ascent Petrochem Holdings Co., Limited
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- CRP Technology Windform RL Thermoplastic Elastomer for SLS is typically used in formulations when Shore A hardness, elongation at break, and tear strength and operating temperature, chemical exposure, and cyclic loading must be controlled within specific ranges.
| Код ТН ВЭД | 623078 |
Как аккредитованный термопластический эластомер CRP Technology Windform RL для завода SLS, мы соблюдаем строгие протоколы качества - каждая партия подвергается строгим испытаниям для обеспечения последовательных стандартов эффективности и безопасности.
| Упаковка | Supplied in a sealed, moisture-resistant 10 kg foil bag, clearly labeled CRP Technology Windform RL Thermoplastic Elastomer for SLS. |
| Погрузка контейнера (20-футовый контейнер) | 20′ FCL loading of CRP Technology Windform RL thermoplastic elastomer for SLS: palletized, moisture-protected, labeled, and secured for safe shipment. |
| Доставка | CRP Technology Windform RL Thermoplastic Elastomer for SLS is generally shipped as a non-hazardous, moisture-sensitive powder in sealed, labeled containers. Transport at ambient temperature, avoiding heat, humidity, and contamination. Always consult the manufacturer’s SDS and carrier requirements before shipping. |
| Хранение | Store CRP Technology Windform RL Thermoplastic Elastomer for SLS in a cool, dry, well-ventilated area away from heat, ignition sources, and direct sunlight. Keep containers tightly closed to prevent moisture ingress and dust release. Maintain recommended temperature and humidity, use original packaging, avoid strong oxidizers, ground equipment to prevent static, and follow supplier SDS and local regulations. |
| Срок годности | Shelf life: approximately 12 months when stored unopened in original packaging at 15–25°C, away from moisture, heat, and direct sunlight. |
Low-volume replacement of punched elastomer sheet gaskets in non-ISO 3601-1 flange joints is one immediate production use for Windform RL. The material is built at a nominal hardness of 65 Shore A under ISO 868, with supplier datasheet values for elongation at break above 200% under ISO 37 and tear strength near 20 kN/m under ISO 34-1. These values support short-run sealing elements where cutting dies are not justified. The build strategy fixes the gasket profile flat in the XY plane so that compression loads act through continuous laser-scan melt lines rather than through layer interfaces that form the weaker path in the Z direction. A representative parameter envelope for the Shore A 60–70 selective laser sintering powder class is a layer thickness of 0.12 mm, scan spacing of 0.15 mm, and laser fill power from 25 W to 30 W. Machine-specific calibration is required because Windform RL lot-to-lot melt viscosity may shift the working window.
Powder blending is critical for seal performance. A mixture of 30 wt% virgin powder and 70 wt% recycled powder from the same material lot preserves elongation at break better than higher recycled fractions. When recycled content exceeds 50 wt%, observable surface porosity increases and tear strength under ISO 34-1 degrades. After breakout from the powder cake, gasket faces are bead blasted with 0.2–0.4 mm glass microspheres at 3 bar to lower sealing-face roughness from the as-built range of Ra 6–10 µm toward a more closed surface. The parts are then dried at 60 °C for 2 h in forced air to remove absorbed humidity before installation. Service is limited to water/glycol or air systems below 60 °C and internal pressures from 0.1 MPa to 0.3 MPa. Continuous contact with high-aromatic mineral oil or ester-based hydraulic fluids is not recommended because the thermoplastic elastomer swells. Seal compatibility in these fluids must be verified by immersion testing under ISO 1817. This route produces flange adapters, dosing pump head gaskets, and access-cover seals for low-pressure fluid handling modules.
What Limits Compression Set in Pneumatic Seal Geometries?
The dominant constraint is not hardness but compression set under continuous radial load in spool-valve and rod-seal applications. A laser-sintered Windform RL lip seal with an unsupported lip height greater than 2.5 mm can exhibit extrusion-gap creep at pressures above 0.5 MPa. The as-built lip surface, typically Ra 6–10 µm, contains micro-valleys that can form leakage channels if contact pressure is too low. To compensate, the minimum lip contact width is set at 1.2 mm, or the sealing face is post-treated with a thin fluoropolymer-free silicone release film to reduce micro-leakage during break-in. A 0.1 mm layer thickness is used and the seal axis is oriented perpendicular to the build platform to improve roundness and to place the parting layer outside the contact band.
Compression set testing must be performed according to ISO 815-1 at both 23 °C and 70 °C. For Shore A 60–70 TPU-class laser-sintered powders, compression set values commonly fall between 20% and 30% at 23 °C and between 40% and 60% at 70 °C. Published data specific to Windform RL at elevated temperature is limited, so prototype measurement is required before production release. The material should not be specified for dynamic pneumatic seals with continuous surface speeds above 0.5 m/s because frictional heat accumulation accelerates softening and set. The viable output is a short-run family of cylinder cushion seals, valve stem wipers, and air manifold gaskets with service pressures not exceeding 0.3 MPa and operating temperatures below 50 °C unless prototype validation proves otherwise. Chemical exposure is limited to clean dry air, nitrogen, or water-based emulsions. Exposure to ester-based lubricants and ketone cleaning solvents is incompatible.
Powder Bed Temperature Control for Thin-Wall Flexible Bellows
Thin-wall bellows with 0.8 mm wall thickness fail through two competing mechanisms. If the powder bed is too cold, the semi-molten elastomer layer curls at the contour and the recoater blade drags the part edge upward, producing a distorted convolution pitch. If the bed is too hot, unsintered powder fuses to the outer skin and forms a brittle crust that cracks at the first flexure cycle. The bed and feed temperature setpoints are therefore held within a 5 °C window near the recrystallization onset of the powder. For thermoplastic elastomer powders in the Shore A 60–70 class this window is typically 85–95 °C. Actual settings must be calibrated against the specific lot because melt viscosity and particle size distribution shift the fusion window by up to ±10 °C.
Build orientation for bellows is vertical, with the closed flange at the bottom and drain holes of minimum 2.5 mm diameter placed at the lowest apex of each convolution. After laser sintering, the part cake is held in the build chamber at 60–70 °C for 4 h and then cooled to below 40 °C before breakout. Rapid cooling induces axial shrinkage and ovality because the differential thermal contraction between the thin wall and the enclosed powder mass cannot relax. Following breakout, trapped powder is removed with compressed air at 2 bar and a flexible polyamide brush. Residual powder left in the convolutions acts as an abrasive grit and shortens flex life. The cleaned bellows is conditioned at 80 °C for 15 min in a convection oven and manually flexed 20 cycles to release frozen-in stress. The components are used as dust boots on six-axis robot joints and as protective sleeves on linear actuator spindles. They are not suitable for continuous submersion in cutting fluid or for cleanroom use above ISO 14644-1 Class 8 without sealing because as-built SLS elastomer surfaces shed residual particles until coated.
When a robotic end-effector contacts a fixed stop at uncontrolled velocity, a solid Shore A 65 TPU pad can transmit a damaging impulse because the material is not inherently high-damping. Windform RL is therefore built as an impact pad with a solid 3 mm mounting flange fused to an open-cell lattice volume of 15–25 mm thickness. Gyroid or diamond unit cells of 4–6 mm cell size and 1.0–1.5 mm strut diameter convert impact energy into sequential elastic buckling of the cell walls. The flange is installed against the metal tooling plate with mechanical fasteners. The lattice face contacts the part or stop. This geometry reduces peak deceleration during robot emergency stops compared with a solid block of equivalent wall thickness, but the supplier does not publish dynamic damping factor, rebound resilience, or stress-strain hysteresis for this configuration. Validation therefore requires dynamic mechanical analysis under ISO 6721-1 and rebound testing under ISO 4664-1 on prototype pads built at the same orientation and refresh ratio.
Powder removal is the production bottleneck. Lattice cells with internal openings below 2 mm cannot be cleaned reliably at production scale using compressed air and vibratory sieving. The unsintered powder forms compacted plugs that degrade impact response and become a particle-shedding source. Open-cell topologies with open channels are required. The powder blend uses 40 wt% virgin material to maintain tear resistance at the cell-wall junctions. Recycled powder above 60 wt% in this geometry increases micro-porosity at the thin strut surface and reduces fatigue life. Terminal parts replace cast polyurethane bumpers in bottling plant grippers and pick-and-place heads. For machinery components, RoHS Directive 2011/65/EU and REACH SVHC documentation at the 0.1 wt% threshold must be confirmed from the supplier for the specific powder lot because additive powder formulations can vary by production campaign.
When Impact Damping Requires Anisotropic Shore A Response
Protective padding in short-run sporting goods is segmented into a soft impact-contact layer and a stiffer load-spreading backplate within a single build. The contact layer is oriented in the XY plane to retain maximum elongation above 180% under ISO 37. The backplate is produced with 0.15 mm layer thickness and 100% infill to raise flexural stiffness. Hardness alone under ISO 868 does not define product performance. Static penetration resistance is recorded with a 5 mm spherical indentor at 10 mm/min, and the force at 3 mm indentation is compared across prototype batches. For instep guards, the thickness map is generated from three-dimensional body scan data of the athlete. Minimum thickness over the metatarsal ridge is 3 mm, and the edge taper is reduced by 1 mm over a 15 mm lateral distance to avoid a pressure line. Cyclic compression testing under ISO 604 or compressive-creep testing under ASTM D395 is applied to the backplate, not the softer contact layer.
The main failure mode is flex fatigue at thin taper edges, where micro-cracks initiate at powder-particle boundaries and propagate along the Z-axis. Prototypes must be subjected to a defined cyclic flex-fatigue protocol at 30% strain until visible tear or 100 000 cycles is reached. No standard single-cycle tensile value predicts this failure. Because the material is supplied without medical-grade or prolonged-skin-contact certification, the padding is not placed directly against broken skin and is not specified for long-duration wearable medical devices. The process produces custom shin guard padding, goalkeeper glove dorsal shields, and saddle padding inserts for short-run sports equipment programs. Cleaning is restricted to mild soap solution and isopropanol. Acetone and methyl ethyl ketone are excluded because they swell the elastomer and permanently reduce hardness.
High-Flex Cable Guide Modules in Automated Assembly Cells
Drag chain links produced by selective laser sintering from Windform RL eliminate two-shot mold tooling and allow integrated strain-relief tapers around connector exits. Because the as-built tensile strength is in the 5 MPa class under ISO 37, the minimum link sidewall is set at 2.0 mm. Thinner walls buckle during cable-carrier reversal at accelerations above 2 m/s². The link pivot axis is rotated in the XY plane so that the hinge flex line follows the laser scan vector. This orientation reduces interlayer shear in the hinge root and improves tear resistance in cyclic opening. The living hinge in the link is specified with a minimum root radius of 0.8 mm. A 0.6 mm hinge with a 0.3 mm root radius may survive manual flexing but fails early in automated flex testing.
After breakout, the links are cleaned with compressed air and dry-tumbled with medium-density ceramic media for 20 min to remove loose powder and round sharp edges. Liquid honing is avoided because water absorption in the porous surface increases dimensional change after drying. Chemical exposure in assembly cells must be controlled. The links are compatible with isopropanol wipe cleaning and mild detergent solutions, but immersion in acetone or methyl ethyl ketone causes rapid swelling. Continuous contact with mineral-oil-based cutting fluids above 40 °C requires validation by ISO 1817 immersion testing because some oil additives can plasticize the urethane-rich matrix. The terminal parts are energy-chain prototypes with bend radii from 10 mm to 250 mm, robot seventh-axis cable guides, and connector backshell strain-relief boots. Build batch consistency is monitored by measuring the hinge-root tear strength under ISO 34-1 on a sacrificial link from each build. If the value falls more than 10% below the process baseline, the batch is rejected for dynamic cable-guide use.
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- CRP Technology Windform RL Thermoplastic Elastomer for SLS Производится в соответствии с системой качества ISO 9001 и отвечает соответствующим нормативным требованиям.
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CRP Technology supplies Windform RL as a laser-sintering thermoplastic elastomer powder within the Windform product family. The material is positioned for flexible, non-filled selective laser sintering applications requiring rubber-like deformation and low Shore hardness. Published datasheet values list density at 0.97 g/cm³ under ISO 1183-1, Shore A hardness at 70–75 under ISO 868, tensile strength at break at 5.0 MPa under ISO 527-2, and elongation at break at 250% under ISO 527-2. These properties distinguish Windform RL from glass- and carbon-filled Windform grades, which are specified for rigid or semi-rigid functional prototypes. The low tensile modulus, typically reported near 8 MPa, places the material in a separate design space: it can accept repeated flexure without permanent failure, but it cannot substitute for PA12 in load-bearing brackets or structural housings. The powder is intended for use on commercial selective laser sintering systems with machine-specific parameter files supplied by CRP Technology.
Feedstock composition and published mechanical property envelope
The powder's published mechanical response places it in the low-modulus elastomer class. Tensile modulus is reported at 8 MPa under ISO 527-2, and flexural modulus at 12 MPa under ISO 178. These values are approximately two orders of magnitude below the 1,400–1,800 MPa flexural modulus range commonly cited for dry PA12 SLS feedstocks. Consequently, a wall thickness of 1.5 mm in Windform RL behaves as a flexible membrane, whereas the same geometry in PA12 is a rigid panel. Shore A hardness is measured under ISO 868; Shore D is not an appropriate scale for this feedstock because soft thermoplastic elastomer grades are not well differentiated by Shore D indentation. Tear strength near 20 kN/m under ISO 34-1 indicates that the material can tolerate rounded convolution roots, but sharp notches and parting-line defects remain crack-initiation sites. The published density under ISO 1183-1 is 0.97 g/cm³. Because the material is unfilled, sintered surfaces have a matte, elastomeric appearance rather than the fiber-marked surface of glass-filled SLS products.
The property comparison below uses representative published values. Batch release values may differ, and direct comparison is valid only when the same specimen geometry, orientation, and conditioning history are used.
| Property | Test method | Windform RL | SLS PA12 | SLS TPU reference |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Density | ISO 1183-1 | 0.97 g/cm³ | 1.01 g/cm³ | 1.08 g/cm³ |
| Hardness | ISO 868 | Shore A 70–75 | Shore D 75 | Shore A 88 |
| Tensile strength at break | ISO 527-2 | 5.0 MPa | 48 MPa | 8.0 MPa |
| Elongation at break | ISO 527-2 | 250% | 15% | 400% |
| Tear strength | ISO 34-1 | 20 kN/m | Not typically reported | 50 kN/m |
What Build Chamber Conditions Are Required for Elastomeric SLS?
Across commercial SLS platforms, Windform RL is processed at a nominal layer thickness of 0.12 mm. The build chamber is maintained within a narrow thermal band below the powder's melting onset to keep unsintered powder free-flowing while fused layers remain sufficiently hot for interlayer adhesion. If the setpoint is too low, parts curl at free edges and show interlayer delamination; if too high, unsintered powder can form partially fused cake that is difficult to recycle. Machine-specific parameter files from CRP Technology are the normal starting point on CO₂ laser systems. Operators should not adjust laser power, scan count, or scan spacing independently without thermal validation, because the energy-density window for elastomeric SLS is tighter than that of filled PA12. A low-modulus material has less stiffness to resist curl during early layers, so thermal drift of ±2 °C from the qualified bed temperature can produce visible lift in flat unsupported regions.
On a typical 30 W CO₂ SLS system, the scan strategy for Windform RL uses lower effective energy density than glass-filled PA12 because the feedstock has no fiber reinforcement and is more susceptible to over-sintering. Process validation usually includes a raster scan pattern with broad overlap rather than high laser power; the target is a melt depth that penetrates one layer while avoiding vaporization at the surface. Because the material has a low modulus, local overheating can create a soft, under-cured area that later becomes a tear-initiation site. Published open parameter sets for Windform RL are limited; most machine builders rely on encrypted parameter files, so independent users should use trial builds with infrared surface temperature monitoring.
Powder aging is more consequential for Windform RL than for rigid polyamides. Repeated exposure of unsintered powder to bed temperature raises the fraction of thermally damaged particles, which reduces melt elongation and may increase the minimum wall thickness needed for watertight structures. Service bureaus typically monitor melt-flow response or powder-bed temperature behavior instead of relying on a fixed numerical refresh ratio. When the refreshed powder fraction is too high, the visual surface may appear smoother but tear resistance and low-temperature flexibility can fall; when too low, elongated parts may build with porosity. On EOS P-series and similar platforms, grounding and sieving procedures are the same as for PA12, but elastomer powders can retain more static charge during dry conditions, causing clumping in feed hoppers and uneven powder spreading.
Depowdering of convoluted thin-walled parts requires more time than rigid SLS parts because flexible walls can shield powder pockets. Compressed air from low-pressure nozzles should be used rather than hard mechanical picks to avoid surface scoring. After depowdering, glass-bead blasting is often applied to reduce open-pore surface roughness, but the resulting surface remains rougher than injection-molded TPE. The blasting operation should be controlled for time and air pressure because excessive impact can generate local heating and surface deformation in low-modulus elastomer walls.
Assessing Batch-to-Batch Variability and Incoming Powder Acceptance
For production runs, incoming powder should be subjected to a defined acceptance procedure because batch shifts in melt-flow behavior can alter sintered part elongation. The supplier's datasheet provides a baseline, but build-service operators typically verify powder flow, bulk density, and particle-size distribution before a new lot is introduced. A laser diffraction method such as ISO 13320 is used for particle-size distribution; anomalous fines content can increase powder-bed density and reduce part elongation. Apparent bulk density can be checked under ISO 3923-1. Melt-flow rate, where reported by the supplier, is not a substitute for sintered-coupon testing but can identify gross batch deviations. Quality control should also include a build of standardized tensile bars in XY and Z orientations at the start of each campaign. If z-axis elongation drops below the production requirement, the bed temperature, powder refresh ratio, or scan parameters should be reviewed before committing to full builds. This specificity matters because the combination of flexible powder and low-modulus parts can mask porosity in thick sections until flexible-wall fatigue testing reveals early cracking.
Flexible parts produced from Windform RL are used for convoluted bellows, dust covers, cable glands, gaskets, protective covers, and soft-touch enclosures. Typical flexible wall thickness ranges from 1.0 mm to 2.5 mm, while mounting flanges are thickened to 3.0 mm or more to provide clamping compression. A common failure observed in production-like prototypes is delamination at the flange-to-wall transition when a sharp corner is used; a radius of at least 0.5 mm is recommended at the convolution root. Bellows are typically built with a corrugated profile rather than a nominally straight cylinder; the corrugations allow compression and extension without stretching the wall beyond its elastic limit. For a bellows designed with wall thickness 1.5 mm, the pitch, convolution angle, and root radius should be defined in CAD rather than transferred directly from a cast rubber drawing. SLS can produce a taper in wall thickness, but dimensions below 0.8 mm may be difficult to clean and can tear during depowdering.
Sealing applications require additional validation because tensile and tear values do not predict leakage or compression set under thermomechanical load. Compression set testing under ISO 815-1 should be performed on printed specimens at application temperature, not on injection-molded plaques. Published data for Windform RL in specific compression-set configurations is limited, so prototype validation is mandatory. Cyclic flex testing of bellows should use the actual stroke length and frequency; a standard tensile coupon test under ISO 527-2 is not a substitute for flex fatigue. For low-leakage dynamic seals, surface roughness and open porosity may require secondary sealing or coating because the as-sintered surface is not a homogeneous molded skin. For static gaskets, flange thickness should be at least 3.0 mm and the sealing land should be continuous to compensate for the as-sintered surface roughness.
When compression set, tear strength, and density differentiate elastomer powders
In comparative powder evaluations, Windform RL differs from SLS TPU powders primarily in density and hardness. The density of 0.97 g/cm³ under ISO 1183-1 is lower than the 1.06–1.10 g/cm³ density range of many commercial SLS TPU powders, giving Windform RL a mass reduction at equal volume. Shore A hardness of 70–75 under ISO 868 is below the Shore A 85–90 of many SLS TPU products; this increases compliance for low-pressure gaskets but reduces resistance to extrusion under high fluid pressure. Against PA12 SLS, the difference is not incremental: PA12 tensile strength near 48 MPa under ISO 527-2 and flexural modulus near 1,500 MPa under ISO 178 support structural components, while Windform RL tensile strength near 5.0 MPa limits its use to flexible or damping functions. The material also differs from glass- and carbon-filled Windform grades, which use fiber reinforcements to increase modulus and thermal distortion resistance. Because fiber-filled rigid grades and Windform RL are processed from separate powder beds, a single SLS build cannot produce a monolithic part with a rigid mounting bracket and flexible bellows; multi-material assemblies are produced as separate parts and joined mechanically or with adhesive.
Compared with cast polyurethane elastomers, Windform RL may show lower tear strength and higher compression set, but it eliminates the need for mold tooling and allows internal channels to be formed without cores. Compared with liquid silicone rubber, SLS Windform RL cannot match high-temperature stability or optical clarity, but it can produce hollow convoluted shapes without mold-parting lines. Published data for Windform RL as a direct replacement for silicone in high-temperature seals is limited, and substitution should be made only after prototype testing. The low hardness of Windform RL also means that thread-forming screws and press-fit inserts designed for PA12 may not achieve reliable clamp retention without a molded or insert-supported feature.
Because elastomeric SLS parts are often exposed to automotive, rail, or industrial sealing environments, chemical resistance and continuous service temperature should be confirmed before production. The standard datasheet does not list a full continuous-service temperature curve under ISO 2578 for every wall thickness; thermal aging at the upper application temperature should be validated on printed specimens. For contact with oils, greases, or cleaning agents, immersion testing should use the specific chemical, temperature, and strain condition. The powder should be stored in a dry area; if exposed to relative humidity above 60%, pre-drying at the supplier's specified time and temperature is recommended to prevent steam porosity in thick sections. The product is not a flame-retardant SLS feedstock; applications requiring UL 94 V-0, railway flammability, or other fire-safety classification require a dedicated FR-grade material rather than post-treatment of Windform RL. Users should verify REACH, RoHS, and any food-contact status from the current product SDS and technical datasheet because regulatory compliance can change with batch blending and region.
Post-process bonding of Windform RL to rigid SLS parts is usually performed with cyanoacrylate or structural polyurethane adhesives after surface activation. Because the material is a low-surface-energy elastomer, surface treatment is required to improve wetting. Atmospheric plasma or corona treatment can raise bond strength, but published data for this specific configuration is limited. Mechanical interlocking is preferred over adhesive bonding for structural joints because flexible deformation can peel a stiff adhesive layer. If a gasket is assembled into a rigid PA12 housing, closed-loop compression and limiting stops should be included to prevent excessive deformation that leads to extrusion and seal failure.
