Thermoplastic polyurethanes for mining application processing by 3D printing

Purpose: Thermoplastic polyurethanes (TPU) found application in mining. Due to the excellent processing properties, thermoplastic polyurethanes can be also use to make elements that would facilitate miner's work. These elements, however, differ in dimensions depending on the person who is going to use them, that is why they should be personalized. In case of all the above studies, the elements or stuffs were made by means of the injection method. This method limits the possibility of producing mining’s stuff only to models that have a mould. The 3D printing technology developing rapidly throughout the recent years allows for high-precision, personalized elements’ printing, made of thermoplastic materials. Design/methodology/approach: The samples from thermoplastic polyurethanes were made using 3D printing and then subjected to the aging process at intervals of 2, 7 and 30 days. The samples were then subjected to a static tensile tests, hardness tests and FT-IR spectroscopy. Findings: The obtained results of mechanical tests and IR analyses show that the aging process in mine water does not affect the mechanical properties of the samples regardless of the aging time. IR spectral analysis showed no changes in the structure of the main and side polyurethane chains. Both mechanical and spectral tests prove that polyurethanes processed using 3D printing technology can be widely used in mining. Research limitations/implications: Only one type of TPU was processed in this work. Further work should show that synthetic mine water does not degrade the mechanical properties of other commercially available TPUs. Practical implications: The additive technology allows getting elements of mining clothing, ortheses, insoles or exoskeleton elements adapted to one miner. Originality/value: The conducted tests allowed to determine no deterioration of the mechanical properties of samples aged in synthetic mine water. TPU processing using 3D printing technology can be used in mining.