The Stratasys RIGUR / TangoPlus FLX930 / TangoBlackPlus FLX980 combination is a multi-material PolyJet photopolymer system in which RIGUR is the primary rigid, polypropylene-like phase and TangoPlus FLX930 or TangoBlackPlus FLX980 is the secondary elastomeric phase. The product is not a pre-compounded resin; it is formed by voxel-level deposition of two photopolymer streams that cure under integrated UV exposure in the printer. Parts built from this combination are specified when a single build must contain a tough, flexible core and an elastomeric surface, or when Shore hardness must be graded across a part without adhesive bonding.

Because the material is not pre-blended, the final mechanical response depends on the printer’s dither pattern and the selected Shore A grade. The operator specifies a target grade in the printer software; the machine then distributes RIGUR and the selected Tango material in a voxel lattice. This method permits a single part to contain multiple Shore A regions without tooling or secondary assembly, but it also means that the measured hardness is process-dependent and cannot be verified solely from feedstock datasheets.

Qualified PolyJet platforms include the Stratasys Objet350 Connex3, Objet500 Connex3, J750, and J850 series multi-material 3D printers with active material licenses for RIGUR and the selected Tango material. The printer configuration must support at least two model-material channels and firmware-level digital material generation. Layer-thickness defaults in J-series machines vary from 14 µm to 30 µm depending on print mode and material combination; the operator-specific configuration matrix for the actual printer serial number controls the available mode. This material set requires a heated material delivery system and independent head temperature control. The material cartridges are installed in paired containers to maintain a continuous supply of both primary and secondary photopolymer during long builds.

How the Two-Phase Photopolymer Arrangement Is Dispensed and Cured

Cure of the primary and secondary phases occurs by UV-initiated radical polymerization of acrylate-functional oligomers. RIGUR develops a higher glass transition and higher crosslink density than the TangoPlus/TangoBlackPlus phase. The elastomers remain rubber-like because the crosslink density is lower and the oligomer backbone has a glass transition below ambient service temperature. In a digital material, the printer places droplets of RIGUR and TangoPlus or TangoBlackPlus according to a software-defined dither pattern; the local volumetric ratio determines the final Shore hardness and stress response.

The jetting heads in a multi-material PolyJet system are arranged so that primary and secondary droplets are placed in the same layer before UV curing. A roller or planarizer trims each layer to a controlled thickness. This step is essential for digital material accuracy because uncured droplet accumulation at the boundary would otherwise create thickness variation and hardness drift.

On production-scale equipment, the transition between RIGUR and Tango materials requires a purge volume in the jetting head. Insufficient purge produces mixed-voxel contamination at the rigid-elastomeric boundary, which can appear as localized Shore A drift across two to three voxels and can reduce peel strength at the interface. Z-direction interfaces often show lower tensile strength than X-Y plane interfaces because interlayer adhesion is controlled by UV cure between sequentially jetted layers. Validation coupons should therefore be oriented identically to the production build; tensile and peel measurements should be performed per ASTM D638, ASTM D412, and ASTM D6862 after conditioning under ASTM D618 at 23°C and 50% RH.

The material delivery system heats both feedstocks to maintain jettable viscosity. Typical PolyJet jetting temperatures are controlled within a narrow window; deviations caused by aged cartridges or partially clogged nozzles appear as missing or misdirected droplets. A daily pattern test under the printer’s maintenance routine reveals nozzle loss. If RIGUR loss occurs near the interface, the local rigid-phase fraction decreases and the Shore A target shifts downward.

Support removal is carried out by waterjet or hand removal as qualified for the selected support material. No thermal post-cure is typically required for TangoPlus FLX930 or TangoBlackPlus FLX980, but dark-colored black sections may exhibit residual tack if the UV dose is insufficient in deeply recessed pockets. Dimensional metrology should be performed only after the part has stabilized under controlled laboratory conditions; this is necessary because the elastomeric phase can absorb moisture and undergo slight stress relaxation after support removal.

Post-print handling can also alter elastomer surfaces. Contact with mineral oil, silicone-based mold release, or plasticizer-containing packaging may cause swelling or loss of Shore A hardness in TangoPlus/TangoBlackPlus. Finished parts should be stored dry and separated from plasticized PVC films.

For product development groups transferring a RIGUR/TangoPlus overmolded housing into short-run production, the article-level obligations under REACH and RoHS should be verified from the current material safety data sheet and the printer manufacturer’s regulatory certificate. The combination does not inherit a food-contact or medical clearance automatically; separate material-composite testing is required where the finished article contacts skin or physiological fluid.

Property Boundaries Across the RIGUR/TangoPlus and RIGUR/TangoBlackPlus Continuum

The single-feedstock values below are typical published ranges. These values are not automatic guarantees for a specific digital material blend. The blended properties follow a non-linear response because the spatial arrangement of hard and soft voxels changes both stress distribution and tear propagation.

In a RIGUR/TangoPlus digital material, raising the RIGUR volume fraction increases Shore A value and tensile modulus while reducing elongation at break and increasing stress relaxation resistance. The Shore A range produced by PolyJet digital materials using a rigid primary and an elastomeric secondary typically spans from approximately 30A to 95A; published data for the specific RIGUR/TangoPlus and RIGUR/TangoBlackPlus pair is limited. Mechanical test coupons should be printed in the target orientation and conditioned per ASTM D618 before comparing values with single-material datasheets.

The tabulated TangoPlus and TangoBlackPlus tensile values are for printed single-material coupons. When the same elastomer is deposited in discrete droplets next to RIGUR, the printed tensile strength of the digital material will be different from both endpoint values. The measured value may also be affected by the presence of support material residue in small channels; a waterjet removal step should be followed by compressed-air drying before testing.

Water absorption of the feedstocks is typically near 1.1–1.5% after 24 h immersion per ASTM D570. In a dual-material part, the rigid and elastomeric phases swell at different rates in high-humidity environments; design allowances for gasket seals should account for differential hygroscopic expansion. Stable metrology therefore requires conditioning under ASTM D618 and measurement after dimensional stabilisation.

Compared with VeroWhitePlus, RIGUR has lower tensile strength and lower flexural modulus but higher elongation at break. Typical VeroWhitePlus values are 50–65 MPa tensile strength, 2.0–3.0 GPa flexural modulus, and 10–25% elongation at break under ASTM D638 and ASTM D790. RIGUR therefore shifts the rigid phase from a brittle acrylic to a tougher polypropylene-like phase. RIGUR/TangoPlus digital materials retain higher elongation before fracture at the same Shore A target than a Vero/TangoPlus blend and are less prone to brittle failure at snap-fit features. This is not a universal improvement: the lower modulus of RIGUR also produces lower load-bearing stiffness at the same rigid-phase fraction.

Difference against Digital ABS is thermal and mechanical. Digital ABS has a higher heat deflection temperature and lower elongation than RIGUR, so Digital ABS is selected for high-heat interior components, while RIGUR is selected for tough living-hinge or snap-fit prototypes that operate below 50°C. Difference against single-phase TangoPlus or TangoBlackPlus is structural: the secondary elastomer alone cannot support self-threading screws, clip bosses, or load-bearing hinge pins, whereas the RIGUR primary can form those features in the same build. Difference against Agilus30 is primarily elastomer performance; Agilus30 offers greater elongation and tear strength as a single-phase material, but it cannot provide a printed rigid structural backbone in the same voxel domain.

Mechanical anisotropy is a defining constraint. Tensile specimens printed in the Z direction often exhibit lower stress at break than X-Y specimens, particularly when the part contains many material transitions. For a RIGUR/Tango digital material, the reduction is not fully described by a single percentage; it depends on the dither pattern, layer thickness, and the interval between head purges. Designers should not use isotropic material models unless the entire part is printed in a single material and tested for the specific orientation. Where finite element simulation is used, orthotropic material data are preferred.

Outdoor exposure and UV aging are not defined by the feedstocks alone. Like most PolyJet photopolymers, RIGUR/Tango parts can undergo post-cure embrittlement and color shift under prolonged UV exposure. Accelerated weathering per ASTM G154 is required before specifying the combination for external automotive or outdoor consumer components.

When TangoBlackPlus FLX980 Replaces TangoPlus FLX930 in Dual-Material Seals

TangoBlackPlus FLX980 is selected when the elastomeric phase must provide high visual contrast, low light transmission, or black cosmetic surfaces. The black pigment loading can reduce the depth of UV cure relative to translucent TangoPlus FLX930. In production conditions, thick black elastomer cross-sections and deeply recessed pockets should be evaluated for residual tack or undercure at the interface; reducing the layer thickness to the printer’s high-quality mode is one control. The black secondary material is otherwise in the same Shore A range as TangoPlus FLX930 and is not specified for major mechanical differences.

The combination is used for functional seals, gaskets, soft-touch housings, overmolded grips, dust boots, and ergonomic test prototypes. A dual-material seal printed with a RIGUR carrier and a TangoPlus/TangoBlackPlus lip should be validated under ASTM D412 for tensile properties, ASTM D624 for tear strength, ASTM D395 for compression set, and ASTM D2240 for Shore hardness. The rigid-to-elastomer junction can be evaluated with a pressurized leak test or with a bonding-peel procedure under ASTM D6862; because PolyJet voxel interfaces are not molecular welds, adhesion strength is lower than the cohesive strength of either bulk material.

For sealing applications, the gasket lip should be printed with an elastomeric Shore A target at the lower end of the range and with sufficient compression depth. Compression set should be checked under ASTM D395 after 22 h at 70°C. A leak test using a pressure-decay method is more indicative of installed sealing capacity than Shore hardness alone.

For short-run production parts, the process plan should lock the print mode, orientation, clean-purge frequency, and secondary material color before validation. Changes to any of these factors alter the local elastomer-to-rigid ratio and can shift the Shore A target outside the tolerance band. The batch-to-batch viscosity range of TangoPlus FLX930 and TangoBlackPlus FLX980 can also affect drop volume; a small validation coupon from each new material lot should be printed and measured under ASTM D2240 before committing to a full build.

In a production seal, the objective is not only Shore hardness but also compression recovery. TangoPlus and TangoBlackPlus have low compression set under ambient conditions, but elevated temperature testing is required because the seal may be installed in an enclosure that reaches 45–50°C during operation. The measured compression set should be compared with the application-specific leakage tolerance; no universal acceptance limit applies across all gasket cross-sections.

Operational boundaries are defined by the elastomeric phase. Continuous service above 50°C is contraindicated for TangoPlus FLX930 and TangoBlackPlus FLX980 due to accelerated compression set and creep; RIGUR itself has a heat deflection temperature near 45–50°C at 0.45 MPa, so both phases limit elevated-temperature use. The combination should not be exposed to strong ketone, ester, or aromatic solvents, which can swell or attack the acrylic network. For applications involving repeated autoclaving, aggressive chemical contact, or biocompatibility claims, alternative material sets such as Agilus30 or a chemical-resistant resin should be evaluated under ISO 10993 and the applicable FDA 21 CFR predicate if the part is a medical device component.

Compared with cast silicone or molded EPDM seals, the RIGUR/Tango combination has lower ultimate elongation and lower tear strength but offers geometric complexity and gradation of hardness. The material cannot match the thermal and chemical resistance of fluorocarbon elastomers. Use of this feedstock for final automotive sealing therefore requires careful evaluation under the vehicle manufacturer’s environmental test specification, rather than reliance on PolyJet datasheet values.

Compared with single-phase Agilus30, the RIGUR/Tango combination offers the ability to build rigid and elastomeric volumes as one part, whereas Agilus30 alone must be joined or overmolded separately. Compared with TangoPlus alone, the RIGUR primary increases tear and tensile load capacity in load-bearing sections but sacrifices the high elongation available in the pure elastomer. Selection between TangoPlus FLX930 and TangoBlackPlus FLX980 is driven by color and cure-depth considerations, not by a large difference in Shore hardness; both secondary materials occupy the same Shore A range. For black seals that will be visually inspected against a white or translucent housing, TangoBlackPlus provides a defined boundary line that aids verification of seal placement during quality checks.