"Design and Mechanical Behaviour of Material Extruded Elastomers" - June 11, 2026, Thursday, 3:00 pm, Pavilhão de Informática I, amphitheatre FA1

Date: June 11, 2026, Thursday
Time: 3:00 pm
Place: Pavilhão de Informática I, amphitheatre FA1

• Speaker: Manuel Sardinha (Scientific Area of Mechanical Design and Engineering Materials of DEM/IST; IDMEC - Institute of Mechanical Engineering, LAETA)

• Title: "Design and Mechanical Behaviour of Material Extruded Elastomers"

• Abstract:

Additive Manufacturing (AM) encompasses a suite of technologies that sequentially deposit or consolidate material, and has had a profound impact on modern manufacturing, specifically in fields such as product design and development. Due to the relatively short history of its industrial adoption, additively manufactured products pose significant challenges, with designers and engineers facing particularly complex tasks. A central concern in the field is the necessity of a cultural shift in design thinking, i.e., moving beyond conventional manufacturing constraints to fully leverage the unique capabilities of AM.
The rapid advancement of AM for elastomers has enabled the fabrication of complex, hyperelastic components with tailored mechanical properties for diverse applications. Within this domain, Material Extrusion (MEX) of Thermoplastic Elastomers (TPEs) stands out as a versatile method for producing functional parts with localized performance. While MEX-TPE applications are rapidly expanding, their manufacturability and long-term performance remain insufficiently understood, as they are heavily dictated by intricate process-structure-property relationships. Naturally, interlayer adhesion and anisotropic behaviour are still critical variables, and in demanding environments, such as marine or chemically aggressive conditions, their long-term structural integrity is challenged by environmental degradation.
This Seminar provides a research overview of additively manufactured elastomers, their manufacturability, and mechanical behaviour, placing emphasis on research aspects such as large-format MEX and cellular structures. A primary case study is used to integrate these concepts: non-pneumatic tires.

• Short Biographic Note:

Manuel Sardinha is an Assistant Professor in the Scientific Area of Mechanical Design and Engineering Materials of the Department of Mechanical Engineering (DEM) at Instituto Superior Técnico (IST), Universidade de Lisboa, since December 2025. He holds a PhD in Mechanical Engineering from IST, specializing in additively manufactured elastomers. Since 2018, he has been a researcher at the Laboratory for Product Development (Lab2ProD), with lecturing responsibilities in the areas of Mechanical Design, Product Development, and Additive Manufacturing. Manuel Sardinha is also Co-founder of FabInventors, a startup focused on the additive manufacturing of large-format polymer components.

This is another Seminar of the “Seminars@DEM” cycle.
Next Seminar, July 10, 2026, Friday, 3:00 pm.