Achieving impact protection applications such as padding, gloves, and helmets lies in the ability to choose the right materials. So far, Carbon’s DLS technology has always been highlighted as a key enabler of impact protection applications. To further enable these applications, the company has developed two damping elastomers – EPU 43 and EPU 45 – that can be processed on its DLS 3D printing technology.
EPU 43 is an energy-damping elastomer that is soft while offering promising durability under high-cycle flexing, making it suitable for applications like comfort padding for helmet liners and safety gloves. EPU 45 achieves the highest level of damping performance and printability within the Carbon portfolio, making it the choice for many high-performance applications including sports padding and seating.
“EPU 43 and EPU 45 are the future of impact protection, providing the benefits of performance, comfort, and durability that come with Carbon’s elastomers,” said Jason Rolland, SVP of Materials at Carbon. “EPU 43 and 45 further exemplify our commitment to providing a robust and complete idea-to-production platform.”
Carbon’s new, dual-cure, damping elastomers offer new opportunities and solutions for a number of impact protection needs, including:
- Damping performance: EPU 45 is a strain-rate-sensitive material that stiffens to absorb energy at higher impact rates, enabling the design of highly breathable lattice geometries tuned for comfort at low-impact speeds and energy absorption at high-impact speeds. EPU 43 offers moderate stiffness, good damping, and excellent durability through flexing cycles in a variety of temperature and humidity environments.
- Durability and comfort: EPU 45 has the toughness and recovery needed to survive repeated, high-energy impacts in a variety of environments. EPU 43 has moderate stiffness that enables softer and more conforming lattice structures.
- Production Throughput: EPU 45 has the highest green strength of Carbon’s elastomers, allowing the widest range of part shapes and lattice geometries to be printed with a high yield. EPU 43 prints with moderate green strength, allowing for a broad set of production shapes with high yield.
- Proven-in-production: Products utilizing EPU 45 will be on the market soon and EPU 43 has been proven with well-known products like Hard Head Veterans and the CCM Hockey helmet.
Both elastomers are available now in North America, Europe, and China. Starting in 19L package sizes with high-volume production workflows, EPU 45 will also be available in 5L samples to support mid-volume production workflows.
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