Coolest 3D Printed Thing of the Week: Thermoplastic Polyurethane (TPU) Battery Box

The Battle-Ready Battery Box, codename: Battlery Box, is the worlds newest advancement in rugged 3D printed survival gear!

TPU Battlery Box 2

You’re 3 klicks south of enemy territory with 7 hostiles close on your tail, the rain is pouring and the trail is invisible in the black of night. Luckily you brought your trusty flashlight to guide you to safety, but what’s that? A flicker! Then darkness. You reach for your spare batteries haphazardly thrown into your rucksack. Beat up, waterlogged, and shorted, the batteries fail to produce a beam. They’re on you, right behind you, but you cannot see where to go, where to run. TAG! You’re it! The assailant retreats back into the forest daring you to follow. You are now IT, you are in the dark. If you had only brought your Battlery Box.

TPU Battlery Box 3Ok, so you may never play a game of TAG in the middle of the Amazon during a midnight tropical storm, but fresh batteries are a must for any outdoorsman or weekend camper. Using the advanced WOLFBEND TPU filament and the new Airwolf 3D HDL, we were able to create a rugged, easy to access, battery storage solution. The Battlery Box keeps batteries safe by absorbing sharp impact; with a durometer of 87a, the WOLFBEND can hold up to even the rockiest canyon trails. Water can’t get your batteries. With the help of SolidWorks 2014, were able to dial in the interlock tolerance and analyse the Battlery Box to ensure it’s seal could handle the elements. TPU Stress AnalasysTPU Battlery Box 4Using SimulationXpress in SolidWorks, we were able to apply the material properties of WOLFBEND TPU and see exactly how the Battlery Box would hold up to everyday use. As you can see the WOLFBEND TPU is more than Battle-Ready.

A great great material deserves a great printer, good thing we have both! The HDL is the newest printer to join the HD family of Airwolf 3D printers, it’s an entry level printer with prosumer level performance. Able to print WOLFBEND TPU and exceeding most competitors in speed, the HDL was the easy choice to print the Battlery Box. WOLFBEND TPU feeds smoothly through the HDL’s new updated extruder assembly, kinks and jams are minimized creating a fun and easy printing experience. The HDL is a great choice for the classroom, weekend maker, or someone that wants to start their voyage into the world of 3D printing. It is even fully upgradable all the way to an HD2x.