3D printed Sherman tyres

[Adrian Harris]

Having tried a tyre in ABS, I thought I'd try in PolyMaker PolyFlex filament.

Seems to have turned out quite well, gives the impression of being quite robust and it's certainly flexible.

I tried at 100% infill first. The one above is at 50% infill and seems to be just as robust, is a few grams
lighter and took a couple of hours less time to print.

It's shinier than ABS, so the extrusion layers show up more but I'll have a go with some wet&dry and see if I can flatten is down somewhat.

Also not sure how the filament will stand up to driving in the wet as it's quite hygroscopic as supplied on the reel.

[Christoffer Ahlfors]

Very interesting! Thanks for sharing your experiences!
/Chris

[Robert E Morey]

That looks great Adrian. Unbelievable how flexible it is. Probably will absorb water tho - esp if driven in mud etc. But then just print another one when needed. Cool! That material would work well for truck tires?
Bob

[Adrian Harris]

Sorry Bob - totally missed your question:

> That material would work well for truck tires?

I guess it would but you would probably need to use a support filament if the tread was any more than minimal, as the flexible filament seems to sag more than the usual stuff, so the overhangs of the tread might start drooping.

Adrian.