300°Csourceproducer's maximum application temperature (optical components)
Values for
Ultimaker TPU 95A, 3D-printed specimens, XY (flat); Ultimaker S5 Pro, engineering intent profile, 0.15 mm layer height, AA 0.4 print core, 100% infill, Cura 4.9, printed one-at-a-time, conditioned >=24 h at room temperature. TDS (file v5.00), April 29, 2022.
Synthetic single-crystal silicon (cubic, diamond structure), Korth Kristalle (crystal grower) material data; Korth usually supplies Floating Zone (FZ) material, Czochralski (Cz) also offered. Silicon is elastically anisotropic; the producer quotes one modulus and the solver is isotropic.
Every value links to the document that states it. "Not sourced" means no citable source states it (or only a specification minimum); figures computed from it are left out too.
Plastic TPU is 3D printed: its properties depend on build direction and print settings; these are typical values.
Questions
Is Plastic TPU stronger than Silicon?
Silicon is stronger: its tensile strength is 130 MPa against 23.7 MPa for Plastic TPU (5.49x).
Which is lighter, Plastic TPU or Silicon?
Plastic TPU is lighter: 1,220 kg/m³ against 2,329 kg/m³ for Silicon.
Which is stiffer, Plastic TPU or Silicon?
Silicon is stiffer: Young's modulus 131 GPa against 0.067 GPa for Plastic TPU, so the same part in Silicon deflects less under the same load.
Which is lighter for the same job, Plastic TPU or Silicon?
For the same stiffness or strength: Silicon is lighter for a stiff rod or tie (tension), stiff beam (bending), stiff panel or plate, strong rod or tie, strong beam, strong panel or plate.
Part that must be
Plastic TPU
Silicon
Stiff rod or tie (tension)
1,024x heavier
lighter
Stiff beam (bending)
23.2x heavier
lighter
Stiff panel or plate
6.55x heavier
lighter
Strong rod or tie
2.87x heavier
lighter
Strong beam
1.63x heavier
lighter
Strong panel or plate
23% heavier
lighter
For the same stiffness or strength, mass scales with density over stiffness (or strength) raised to a power set by how the part is loaded: 1 for a rod in tension, 1/2 for a beam in bending, 1/3 for a panel (the standard material-selection indices).