When building our first full suit of armor, a common problem arose when affixing inflexible armor pieces to a flexible body (a person). What needs to move, what doesn't, and how to make such compromises.
We found there were two areas on the Mk49 that were going to need to stay flexible: the neck, and the boots. For the neck, we originally printed it in PLA and in testing found head turning was painful and very limited. For the boots, we figured a person's foot flexes in at least two major areas when walking and the sleek design of the Rescue boot did not lend itself to being sectioned.
We chose to experiment with flexible filament. After purchasing a roll of Ninjatek's Ninjaflex thermoplastic urethane (TPU) we made a small modification to our printer to print with this material. *These pieces were printed on our Anet A8 which is a direct-drive printer, versus our CR-10 which has a Bowden-tube extruder. Although this is possible on a CR-10, generally a direct-drive printer works better with flexible filament which is why we used our Anet A8.
Printing
Due to the flexible nature of TPU filament, it can easily bind in the extruder and cause a print failure. In order to combat this, we printed a filament guide from Thingiverse: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:2366523 Search for your model of printer and you'll probably find something similar.
For settings, we did change a few things in order to print TPU:
Increased printing temperature to 230* C
Reduced speed to 30 mm/s
.1mm layer height - you can't sand and fill TPU like you are used to with PLA, so we'd recommend using the highest available resolution you can print with.
20% infill - this is mostly personal preference but the shape of some of these parts in our case required internal structure.
We split the neck into two pieces, a front and back.
The shoe/boot piece we printed in one section, trimmed based on how much would be covered by the shin.
Painting
Due to the flexible nature of the completed parts, we could not utilize the same painting process as the rest of the suit. We have great luck in painting cosplay parts that require flexibility with Angelus leather paints. This acrylic paint stays flexible and wears much better than most acrylic paint.
We custom mixed these colors to match the rest of the armor. The result is "close enough".
Results
Using flexible armor pieces for joints and areas that require movement made a huge difference in our build success. Not only wearability and comfort were improved, but mobility and posing became much better. Being able to turn your head, stand on tip-toes for an "in-flight" photo, etc became possible without having to resort to building something that doesn't match out of foam.
A similar effect could be achieved by printing and finishing a part, then creating a mould and casting it in urethane rubber. This is a much more costly method which we were not interested in experimenting with at this time. Moulding and casting pays dividends when making multiples of one part, but for this build every piece would be unique so there would be nothing gained by mould reuse.
All in all, we had success using this method and are planning to continue using TPU filament for more of our cosplay 3d print projects.
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That’s an impressive breakdown of your experience with TPU filament for flexible armor pieces! It’s true that using a direct-drive printer like the Anet A8 makes printing flexible materials much easier compared to Bowden setups. Your mention of adjusting print speed and layer height is also key—many users underestimate how much these settings impact TPU prints.
One challenge I’ve seen with flexible armor is maintaining durability while keeping the piece lightweight. Have you considered experimenting with different infill patterns, like gyroid, to add more resilience without making the part too rigid? Also, for those looking for alternatives, casting in urethane rubber (as you mentioned) is a great approach, especially for high-wear areas like boots. While it’s more time-consuming, it gives a professional finish that can sometimes be hard to achieve with TPU alone.
When it comes to finishing flexible prints, your use of Angelus leather paint is a great tip. I’ve also seen success with fabric paints and flexible automotive coatings for durability. If you’re looking for inspiration on how flexible materials can be used creatively beyond armor, checking out argan bedaya photos might be interesting. While it’s not directly related to 3D printing, it showcases how flexibility and design can come together in practical applications. Would love to hear if anyone else has tried different post-processing methods to improve the look and longevity of TPU prints!
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Initial attempts with PLA for the neck revealed limitations buckshot roulette in head movement. Transition to flexible filament, specifically Ninjaflex TPU, provided a solution. Experiment with different infill percentages and layer thickness to optimize flexibility.
Choose the right flexible filament for melon playground your armor. There are various flexible filaments available, such as TPU (Thermoplastic Polyurethane) and TPE (Thermoplastic Elastomer). These materials offer good flexibility and durability.
For flexible parts that need pizza tower to move with the wearer (e.g., joints, undersuit), use flexible filament materials like TPU (Thermoplastic Polyurethane) or TPE (Thermoplastic Elastomer).
To overcome this hurdle, geometry dash it's crucial to understand what parts of the armor need to move, what should remain rigid, and how to strike the right balance between flexibility and protection.
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