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标题: 2.85 mm Foaming TPU, FLEX4 and My3DShoe Form an Integrated Printed Footwear Solution [打印本页]

作者: admin 时间: 2026-10-15 20:11
标题: 2.85 mm Foaming TPU, FLEX4 and My3DShoe Form an Integrated Printed Footwear Solution
Introduction
Nanjixiong has worn more than ten types of printed shoes since 2019 but remains cautious about FDM footwear. Fashion demonstrations are possible; everyday use still needs technical improvement.

On October 15, 2026, Nanjixiong learned that Lanxiaodu, a brand of Feiladuoke (Shanxi) Technology focused on TPU elastomer FDM materials and internally developed production lines, had completed a successful combined test. Its 2.85 mm foaming TPU underwent the full printing workflow on partner brand LUGOWARE's FLEX4, also called FL4. The offering connects printer, slicer, material and ecosystem.

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Testing a complete foaming-TPU footwear workflow

Foaming TPU shoes remain challenging: very soft material can jam, clog or string, while printed soles can be heavy and firm rather than feel like expanded foam. In the combined test, the material printed successfully and expanded to approximately twice its volume after heating, producing noticeably lighter footwear.

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Lanxiaodu TPU footwear at TCT Shanghai 2026.

At the April 2026 Shanghai exhibition, Nanjixiong covered its TPU 85A, foaming TPU, rainbow gradients and glow-in-the-dark materials. Foaming lowers density, with individual shoes around 200–300 g while retaining flexibility and rebound. At that time, three lines provided 15 tonnes monthly, with expansion toward eight lines and 45 tonnes planned. The LUGOWARE test moves from material supply toward joint equipment and material validation.

The original article also references Nanjixiong's Shanghai interview with Lanxiaodu.

Printer, software, material and ecosystem together

1. Material

During printing, the filament behaves as a conventional flexible material. Subsequent heating causes secondary foaming, increasing volume and reducing density for light, resilient footwear. Feiladuoke's proprietary TPU lines control formulation, blowing-agent dispersion and diameter tolerances.

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2. Printer

Korean LUGOWARE/LUGOLABS positions FLEX4 as a four-toolhead FFF printer for flexible and multimaterial applications. It supports TPU as soft as 60A, four independent heads and simultaneous use of 1.75 and 2.85 mm diameters. A tower-free design avoids tower collapse and material waste.

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Features include:
• Wireless toolheads (WLT), reducing cable dragging and entanglement during changes.
• Four independent heads, allowing rigid structural material and foaming flexible material without repeated purging.
• Runout, tangle and clog sensors to support long jobs without continuous supervision.
• No wipe tower, reducing waste, collapse risks and printing time.
• Klipper firmware and Orca Slicer, alongside a shoe-focused lattice slicing ecosystem with adjustable material profiles.
• Stated motion accuracy of 10 μm, maximum speed of 1100 mm/s, a magnetic build plate and automatic leveling, placing its advertised specifications among leading machines at its price.

Pairing foaming filament with a soft-material-focused printer is a practical step from laboratory work toward applications.

3. Slicing and ecosystem

The package extends beyond a machine and spool. FLEX4 includes footwear-specific slicing tools and a lattice ecosystem, while a footwear website is jointly developed with My3DShoe. Together these form the four-part offering.

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Foaming TPU: lighter, resilient and material-efficient

Soles need low weight, rebound and durability. TPU already offers resilience, abrasion resistance and low-temperature performance. Foaming forms micropores and roughly doubles volume, reducing density. Comparable sole structures become lighter and use less material, shifting from solid stiffness toward cushioning.

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Printing also adds structural control: higher-density forefoot support and lower-density heel cushioning can be formed in one sole, which is difficult with conventional injection foaming. Lanxiaodu has also applied PEBA, achieving rebound above 75%. Foamed footwear hardness can be adjusted within Shore 40D–60D, retaining flexibility at −10°C.

Why 2.85 mm rather than 1.75 mm?

The source explains that very soft foaming TPU is difficult to push in a thin filament format.

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Bending and slip in the feed path lead to clogs, jams and variable extrusion. For the same material, 2.85 mm filament has approximately seven times the second moment of area of 1.75 mm filament, improving bending resistance and feed stability for softer formulations.

LUGOWARE specifies 1.75 mm for harder materials above 90A and 2.85 mm for softer materials below 90A. FLEX4 can install both simultaneously to produce rigid and flexible regions together.

The softer the formulation and greater its expansion potential, the more important stable larger-diameter feeding becomes. The article presents 2.85 mm as a prerequisite for this combination's reliable printing.

From printability toward better results

Successful full-workflow testing with Lanxiaodu's 2.85 mm material moves the question from whether foaming TPU footwear can print toward how to improve it.

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Helping ordinary users print their own shoes

Even with matched equipment and material, beginners need a starting point. My3DShoe.com organizes designs, size customization, printer-specific 3MF files and tutorials so users can find a fabrication plan with their preferred shoe.

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For supported machines and materials, prepared files and guidance reduce repeated parameter experimentation and let users focus on the footwear they want.

Nanjixiong learned that the platform was founded by a print farm operator known online as “Dashu,” who shares printing content on Bilibili and Douyin. Since January 2025, he has focused on FDM footwear, using more than 300 kg of TPU and printing over 300 pairs for validation. The site launched June 15, 2026. After 49 days it had 1,151 registered members, 3,275 completed downloads and a 52.3% repeat-purchase rate among paying users.

Its central view is that successful printing experience, rather than models alone, is scarce. Nanjixiong agrees: adult footwear typically consumes 600–800 g of TPU and two to three continuous days. Drying, feeding, hardware condition and dozens of interacting settings can each determine success or failure.

Customization is another attraction. Identical shoe sizes can conceal different widths, instep heights and left-right differences. An upcoming parametric last system will use foot measurements to generate and adjust lasts, creating a more detailed basis for individualized designs.

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From mold-based to printed footwear

Traditional samples involve long tooling cycles, high costs and slow revisions. Printing can reduce weeks to days. Foaming TPU helps outputs move beyond samples toward finished products with a feel approaching production footwear.

Brands can explore small-batch customization, faster revisions, personalized insoles and midsoles. Material, equipment, software and ecosystem must work together: Feiladuoke supplies formulations and proprietary lines, LUGOWARE supplies dedicated hardware and shoe slicers, and the jointly developed My3DShoe ecosystem supports users.

Nanjixiong considers the combination relevant because it addresses FDM footwear's principal weakness. A July 2026 report discussed printed shoes deteriorating after only three months, emphasizing how printing, materials and finishing all affect quality. A failure at any stage undermines the result. This combination seeks to make good footwear a repeatable process through formulation, equipment matching and validated settings, reducing dependence on individual experience.

AI-translated from an article by Xiaoruanxiong on Nanjixiong, originally published on 2026-10-15. Text and images retain the original source attribution.
Read the original Chinese article

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