You're WASTING YOUR TIME 3D Printing TPU!

[@NathanBuildsRobots]

Lost In Tech is the definitive source for TPU printing news

[@MarkusK_]

One could argue he has a bit of a soft spot for TPU

[@thebandkid8066]

Nice to see you in the wild Nate

[@802Garage]

@@thebandkid8066 He has been getting around lately!

[@Ro3Deee]

Nathan Builds Robots is the definitive source for the definitive source for 3d printing news

[@alaingrignon]

@NathanBuildsRobots @LostInTech, I'm an inventor and I manufacture a product I sell online out of TPU so this channel is a must-watch for me!

[@FAB1150]

The turning point for me was when I accidentally used the IS "structural" PLA profile for printing something in tpu on my mk4. It worked! Doing a some tests with pressure advance, I set it to 1. Sounds crazy (like actually, the extruder motor works hard!), but it basically comes out like pla. Huh.

[@Smokinjoewhite]

I have been printing TPU (95a) at 100mm/s and 3.5k acceleration on my sv06 since I accidently used my PLA speed profile on a TPU print with heaps of retractions. Been using that profile ever since and it prints really well, near perfect.

[@dhruvbose8294]

I've been using pretty much the same settings on my ender 3 s1 pro for over half a year now. Works absolutely fine for Esun 90A and 87A TPU filaments.

[@JonS]

I’ve been printing TPU at 400mm/s on my mildly modded V-Minion. It managed a 12:45 Benchy. This was with Polymaker’s high flow TPU 95A, so maybe that’s not representative.

[@erin.anderson]

Honestly, my guess is that they are literally not testing TPU, so they're not updating their last known "good" values. Ever.

[@LostInTech3D]

Yeah very likely from the conversations I've had

[@pavelperina7629]

Wait, why is there TPU high flow from Polymaker and Bambulab then? I'm quite new to 3d printing and I want to try TPU on A1 mini for various softer parts. And I'm getting various contradicting information like it's hard to print, it needs to put something to extruder to adjust pressure, it just prints, it needs lot of retraction, it's best with no retractions at all and now it can even print fast? I even heard someone saying he does not dry anything and TPU from Polymaker works fine (I had 37-40% humidity right now, at end of summer it was 45-60% and I had to dry PETG, now it just works after 3 weeks on AMS with no problems even at 250C). But some manufacturers have downloadable print profiles, even specific to Bambulab A1 series.

[@Mitch3D]

It's seriously impressive that we never tried going faster with TPU. The main issue would be making water-tight TPU parts since that's partly what I'd use it for hoses and seals.

[@jesta192]

It probably has to do with any time someone has problems with a filament or printer, a chorus of "Slow that thing right down" rings out. I've seen this even on PLA in the last year or two. Suggestions of 15mm/s for PLA for example 🤦

[@Julia________]

​@@jesta192 I mean it's not bad advice. Most print issues occur due to speed. Either you slow down, or you implement a bunch of changed settings, software, and potentially hardware. Slowing down is just easier.

[@jesta192]

@@Julia________ on my printer at least, slowing down often gives worse results. It's good advice for testing I suppose.

[@smorris12]

@Mitch3D I've printed various watertight things in PLA (including a pressurised hose attachment) which I was amazed by. I wouldn't even have second thoughts about using TPU (printed a water butt inlet adapter without second thoughts.)

[@winebartender6653]

We have, but over 10mm/s3 it starts to really look like crap

[@alaingrignon]

I own an FLSUN V400 and managed to get mine to print reliably at 200 mm/s with results good enough to sell. I have mine in a custom-built enclosure but when printing TPU I always keep the door open to help with cooling. I also designed and printed a special maglev spool holder to reduce friction at those high speeds.

[@LostInTech3D]

wait ...maglev spool holder???

[@alaingrignon]

@@LostInTech3D Yes, this allows the spool to "levitate" for 0 friction spining while it prints. I did this by taking the ring magnets out of some old speakers (I actually had about 10 people donate old broken speakers to me off of Marketplace). Printed a spool holder laying horizontaly and bob's your uncle!

[@EricLS]

@@alaingrignonjesus that’s amazing. That needs its own video ha ha

[@SMASHINGblargharghar]

​@@alaingrignonI need to see this in action

[@pavelperina7629]

Isn't that counter productive? Like if printer decreases flow rate, spool won't stop spinning and continues unwinding filament, which eventually falls over the edge

[@ZeeengMicro]

Oh no, he's gonna start another SpeedBoatRace

[@TechieSewing]

These might actually be watertight ;)

[@McFlyOrPie]

I actually just finally bought some Overture "High Speed" TPU last week. I'm using my Ender 3 S1 Pro, since it has a Sunlu drier, mounted above it (for long prints when it's humid in my house) But it gave me the courage to crank the speed up. I started with 8 cubic mm then went up to 15. With it's CHT nozzle and the AUX fan, it does a great job. 215 degrees and it comes out so close to PLA quality. I printed that Optimus Primal thing the Paramount Pictures put up on Printables. It worked!

[@Smokinjoewhite]

Here in Australia I can get Sunlu TPU and other decent TPU's for around $37/KG, which is around $28 USD. It used to be around $60/KG ($40 USD) so it has come down in price considerably. I think more people are now able to print it and it is no longer a "speciality" filament and is being sold at far more reasonable prices.

[@jimwsh1]

9 to 10 usd per kg in China

[@mrrooter601]

I pay around 20$/kg on amazon in the US, though I wait for sales, giantarm clear 95a is very good. 22$ for justmaker 64D clear TPU that I have been using in my AMS. I am shocked how expensive bambu TPU is still, considering they sell pla and petg refills for 12.99. they want like 35USd/kilo??? I wonder if "high flow" really means anything here.

[@Waldohasaskit210]

I don't care how fast it prints, I just want to be able to print large models in TPU reliably without it clogging.

[@juicyballerina12]

I haven't printed TPU with my T1 yet, I will try

[@LostInTech3D]

it'll be fine, zero problems :)

[@priuxls]

I've been printing 95A on my voron with 24mm3 for a while now. Works perfectly

[@Catrik]

The stock profile on my printer was 3 mm3/s, I "knew" TPU was slow, but I thought it was a bit too slow, so I did the flowrate benchmark. I was so confused when it was hitting 30 mm3/s.

[@Liberty4Ever]

TPU is highly under rated. Interlayer bonding is excellent unlike all other 3D printed materials so the parts are much more isotropic, and TPU is very tough and impact resistant. My small business prints all our products in TPU. I think cooling and retraction are critical factors with TPU. Traditionally, we've been told to print very slow and turn off cooling and retraction. That's terrible advice. Cooling is needed to print TPU faster and retraction is needed to prevent stringing but retraction speed and distance must be fine tuned for each extruder and TPU brand to avoid chewing up the filament and causing a jam. Fun Fact: The default end G code on many slicers has a filament retraction that grinds TPU in the extruder and ensures that subsequent prints will fail with an extruder jam that can destroy an extruder if not caught within a few minutes. 13:30 - The "REALLY GOOD AT PRINTING TPU FAST" annotation on the Bambu Lab P1S with AMS is a bit deceptive because the AMS can't reliably feed TPU, and presumably neither can the CFS on the new Creality K2 Plus. That's a shame because I'd love to be able to print parts with both ABS and TPU. Modern extruders finally put the extruder very close to the hot end with no path for the filament other than the hot end. That makes a good TPU printer. Why did that take so long?

[@RegularOldDan]

Years ago: "DON'T EVER COOL TPU" Now: "YOU BETTER COOL YOUR TPU AT THOSE SPEEDS!"

[@soundspark]

I've always run the fan full blast running TPU.

[@alexanderpopov3587]

It is indeed what I've found out myself after watching countless tutorial videos and applied all the recommendations, including to run the fan slowly or even not run it at all. The prints were terrible. I decided to try the fan at half speed and it improved the prints significantly. So I just cranked it up to 100% and the prints are PLA-like quality, no objections. Neptune 3 Pro and Eryone TPU 95A at defaults of 50mm/s.

[@LostInTech3D]

I have no idea where that even originated, I've always advocated running fan at 100% on TPU, proof is in my first vid :)

[@alexanderpopov3587]

@@LostInTech3D I don't know either but even the default profiles have fan to max 30% . Maybe it's a thing from the past like the speeds as running very slow does not require that much cooling. Thank you for doing your own tests and providing up-to-date information.

[@RegularOldDan]

@@LostInTech3D I will say I use it selectively. For functional parts with no overhang I use very little fan -layer adhesion is immense that way. Using a fan too much on some cases for me will result in thinner parts splitting under force. Long story short, I agree, the fan is good to use. I just don't have a "one speed fits all" pattern for my prints.

[@KRich408]

I used to use an Ender V2 with a MicroSwiss upgrade it's now hiding in my basement until a tarp out of shame. My Bambu X1C made it feel very embarrassed. The X1C handles TPU like a champ printing with it at speeds and without failure almost 100% of the time. Printers really have come a long way.

[@mrrooter601]

yep, shame the default tpu profiles are so pathetic literally 3.2 mm/s for "generic" tpu on BBLs tpu guide. not sure what they are using but, I get 10-15mm/s with no print quality degradation with "generic" tpu

[@4nto418]

@@mrrooter601 I don't get why people slow down so much with TPU. Like sure, you're not going to max your hotend before quality goes down the drain, but on a 25 mm^3/s hotend you can usually pump out 15, you just need to dry your filament well since TPU is even less forgiving than ABS or PETG.

[@mrrooter601]

@@4nto418 yeah 15 is about what I get on a stock p1s .4 nozzle before losing quality. I print clear/transparent tpu so its much more obvious when the quality starts to suffer. wet filament really has to be a huge factor in why people think TPU is hard to print. it doesnt take long to dry, but man does it ooze and string if its wet.

[@mrrooter601]

@@4nto418 wait is my previous comment there for you (the one you replied to)? its gone for me. youtube is such a POS.

[@xCopyCatz]

Was following your years old guide on printing tpu, thought that my aquila x2 with ezr extruder and a cht nozzle could only do 5mm2, but after watching this new video, i tried doubling the flow rate and it works. Thanks!

[@Polymate3D]

I am still 3D printing TPU on a ender 3 clone (Voxelab Aquila) but the Varioshore kind. I keep the print speed down though due to the single wall prints I do for the speakers. The fan cooling can actually move the single wall and create issues. Great video as always dude!

[@LostInTech3D]

Oh hey! Cheers! :)

[@mrrooter601]

13:46 "its not 2018 anymore" you know I see that sort of thing a lot in maker stuff (nor 3d printing nerds), guys who got into it years ago on the cheap for use in other hobbies and have an absolutely twisted vision of what modern printers are like. I recently saw an creator I follow, smart dude, UNIRONICALLY say that FDM 3d printers CANT DO TEXT, and that you need a resin printer for that, we are talking like size 12-20pt font here. its crazy. maybe they have never used arachne, maybe they only use .6 nozzles, or printers from 2018 IDK. But it rustled my jimmies, I literally went and did a test print with my p1s .4 nozzle to be absolutely sure a .4 nozzle can do something like 9pt font perfectly fine, and im sure a .2 nozzle would do text too small to read. I have only used modern printers but it worries me a bit that (smart) people still think they are that bad in general.

[@badhairday-m7i]

Not sure how people can act like that. I started with an Anet A8, now I have a P1S and an A1 and it's impossible to notice the INSANE improve in these devices.

[@mrrooter601]

@@badhairday-m7i I think they just dont know, like 3d printing is JUST a tool to them. a thing that makes plastic bits to go over the actual project sort of deal. but I see it often enough. you can just tell when they are using an absolutely ancient printer, by surface finish alone. and all I can think when I see that is "man imagine what they could do with some engineering materials and not just pla". I followed 3d printing from the sidelines for ages, only last year biting the bullet (and for good reason). at first it was jank with a lot of tinkering (cool if it was you hobby), then it was who can make the absolute cheapest chineseium. And only now is there actual competition for who can make the BEST printer for the best value (gotta thank bambu for really kicking this off, theres a ton of amazing printers out there now). you dont suddenly expect drill presses to get 3 times as good at drilling, but thats almost the case for 3d printing over the last 6-7 years.

[@TheLaXandro]

My big printer is a nearly stock Sidewinder X1 from 2018, it has no problems printing fine details either. Stick the .4 nozzle back on it and with modern slicing it'll do small text just fine.

[@mrrooter601]

@@TheLaXandro yeah im guessing not using arachne slicing was the main reason in him thinking text wasnt possible, slicing advances are a huge component of 3d printing getting so much better.

[@FrozenByFire3]

​@@mrrooter601 as someone who used Arachne for a long time, it has serious issues for engineering components using Engineering materials like Nylon with very high wall count/999 walls. I find no matter the settings I try I get some serious overextrusion in small areas where walls split off around curves and stuff while everything else is fine. Unless you have super thin walls below X2 of your line width where classic would do a weird ass seam, classic is by far superior. Fills in micro gaps better, overall better print quality and more consistent extrusion throughout. And this is having used Arachne for almost 2 year exclusively, using it ever since the first beta. I also exclusively print in CF nylon, PET-CF or now PPA-CF.

[@1managainsttheworld]

I was positively surprised when I tried printing TPU with my A1 mini. First I didn't change the temperature presets that happened to be quite a bit too high, which caused the filament to bubble. BUT for whatever reason I tried bumping up the printing speed mid print and the bubbling disappeared completely! So in Bambu Studio you can even set the print speed to "Ludicrous" and it will make quite ok quality prints with TPU. The temperature needs to be closer to 240°C for this to work.

[@Jynxx_13]

TPU is so underrated as a functional printing filament. 95A is so stiff at 3 walls 20% gyroid infill that I use it for functional prints instead of ABS or PETG...and the parts are basically indestructible. 80-100mm/sec at .2mm LH is standard TPU speed on my Klipper printers.

[@iPrint3D]

Stuff like this makes me second guess everything. I hate the speed of TPU...Guess it's time to speed it up!

[@Tony-pm5xo]

One problem I found with TPU is it gets dragged along by the nozzle and cause layer shift. This happens if the print is narrow and tall (like temp towers). Far as I know slicer can't detect these geometry so I end up having to slow the print down further than flow rate limit anyway.

[@gashead39]

I have got T1 and this video has made me sure about getting this

[@LostInTech3D]

How are you finding the T1?

[@GeddyRC]

I used to print TPU at 20mm/s on my Sovol SV06 and just dealt with the pain, but I finally got a modern printer (not mentioning the brand it so it doesn't come off like spam) and was blown away when I ran the default profile and it absolutely cranks the stuff out. It's pretty wild how well these things work now.

[@LostInTech3D]

You can mention brands around here 😁

[@girenloland]

The challenge is speed vs stringing. Ive got a 40 min TPU benchy on my ender 3 V2 (klipperized) with no stringing.

[@Liberty4Ever]

My small business prints all our products in TPU. TPU can print well but tends to need more fine tuning of cooling settings as well as retraction speed and distance to avoid stringing. These fine tuned settings are specific to the extruder and a particular brand of TPU as physical properties vary wildly. Some "TPU" is actually TPE of some formulation.

[@802Garage]

Great info! I still believed that a lot of printers would be restricted to 6-10mm3/s until recently. You were a big part of why I changed my mind. That, and I tested my Siraya Tech 85A and could get up to 12mm³/s without under extrusion. Could possibly go higher with bumped temperature as well. I imagine my Plus4 could easily do around 20mm³/s with most 95A filaments. I will be testing some soon!

[@Liberty4Ever]

My small company prints all our products in TPU. I'm currently developing a profile to print our products in Siraya Tech 85A TPU. For several years, we've printed a specific 98A TPU to optimize print quality.

[@802Garage]

@@Liberty4Ever I am really loving the Siraya Tech 85A so far. I got it in transparent and it is crazy how clear it is, regardless of temperature and flow rate really. I settled on 11mm³/s max flow rate based on an Orca Slicer test. A couple mm³/s above that it would start to get a little wavy, but nowhere near total print failure. I'm using 230C as the higher temp didn't bother the filament at all and I always shoot for max layer adhesion. Stringing and oozing at that temperature were not bad at all I was very surprised. 50C for the textured PEI build plate and it had plenty of stick. Flow ration 1.02 which is unusual for me and PA value 0.4 which is crazy high I know, but it's what looked best. 0.4mm retraction length, 60mm/s retraction speed, retract on layer change, wipe while retracting, 1mm wipe distance, 100% retract before wipe. Obviously YMMV and I may adjust settings over time, but I spent a good bit tuning. Best of luck!

[@Liberty4Ever]

@@802Garage - Thank you for taking the time to share your Siraya Tech 85A TPU slicer settings. The settings all look very good based on my experiences with other TPU, and I'm sure you saved me probably hours. One trick that I like to use with TPU is setting the print speed the same for everything (other than a slower first layer to maximize bed adhesion). I've gotten best print quality by keeping the TPU flowing at a constant speed. I tend to develop a profile to determine the maximum flow rate, but then I don't use maximum volumetric flow rate to set the print speed. I set the speed as high as possible while ensuring that none of the printing exceeds the maximum volumetric flow rate, so the printer isn't speeding up and slowing down. Another trick that's worked well for me is adjusting the bed temperature depending on the surface contact area to get enough bed adhesion but not too much. I try to minimize the contact surface area and not print a large flat TPU surface directly on the bed, but many of our parts are tall thin walled tubes with very minimal surface contact area. I print those on a hot bed, typically 60C, but I've found I can turn off the bed heating after the first layer and the parts remain well adhered to the bed but I'm not wasting a lot of electricity to keep the bed heated. I print hotter TPU onto a hotter bed for the first layer and then I lower the nozzle temperature to the best printing temperature (probably 10C lower) and I turn off the bed heating entirely after laying down a hot first layer.

[@802Garage]

@@Liberty4Ever Both excellent tips. I def try to stabilize speeds with a lot of my prints, but I'll make that more of a focus with the transparent TPU especially. I'll definitely try messing with the bed temperature too. You're right even after it cools it is usually very well stuck!

[@Liberty4Ever]

@@802Garage - For our tall skinny TPU parts, the print speed isn't determined by flow rates. The parts need to be printed slower on a bed slinger to avoid the flexible parts flexing and vibrating as the Y axis drives the bed in and out. Slinging the bed results in poor print quality as the part becomes taller. For TPU we should go use a core XY system with an XY gantry above and a bed that only moves very slowly in Z.

[@jonathanballoch]

I want the internet record to show that this was the moment I stopped mucking about and actually bought a new printer. I have been telling myself for months that my SWX1 was fine. Not any more.

[@AwestrikeFearofGods]

You can't overstate that not all TPU is created equal. I assume the direct-drive printer manufacturers have tuned their default profiles for the softest TPU (NinjaFlex 60A). If not, they would surely have dissatisfied customers. Would 2 default profiles (95A and 60A-94A) be enough, or should there be more than that? The choice seems somewhat arbitrary, which probably explains why they haven't put much effort into it. It's about time for it, though.

[@LostInTech3D]

I think one would be enough, because if someone is printing 60A they better know what they're doing anyway!

[@Liberty4Ever]

Even 95A TPU from one manufacturer has very different print qualities compared to 95A from another filament manufacturer. They may both be 95A at room temperature but they can behave very differently when melted. Some "TPU" is actually a blend of TPE. This is probably the biggest reason people have trouble printing TPU and the reason that 3D printer and slicer default TPU profiles are so slow and often produce mediocre at best print quality. I recommend selecting the TPU that works best for your application and then spending a couple of hours optimizing a TPU profile for that brand of TPU in that particular extruder. You'll need some cooling to print at reasonable speeds but too much can reduce the wonderful TPU interlayer bond strength. Try to avoid designing parts with overhangs, but I bump up cooling to 100% when I need a short overhang. Retraction is needed to avoid stringing but don't retract too fast or too often or the extruder gears will strip the TPU and jam. Modern slicers allow starting the retraction early and this is a big help with TPU, even in a short path direct drive extruder.

[@nathan22211]

@@LostInTech3D considering I have a spool of 55A I would probably be one of the few still dissatisfied

[@sierraecho884]

TPU is super useful. It´s probably the biggest benefit for a 3D printer over injection molding.

[@MakerBees333]

You need to put Polymaker’s HF TPU in that FL Sun ❤. 7min benchy no problem, 🤞

[@nakleh]

I normally print with PLA and PETG, but got a roll of Bambu TPU-HF several months ago, and only used it a couple of times. After some slicer tweaks I now have it printing perfectly on my P1S, 14 mm3s flow, 100 mm/s speed. Maybe I can up the flow/speed a bit

[@muuhamj]

This is great, test with larger nozzles. The speed difference will be HUGE. Shoving a rope through a small hole is hard, make the hole a little bigger and it flows like water. (exaggerating maybe)

[@TylerTroglen]

I instantly upped the profiles for TPU when i got my Q1 Pro back in May. Default was 4, i print most my TPU prints @ 12-16 without issue on most TPU 95a.

[@MarinusMakesStuff]

I saw Bambu is releasing new TPU that can be used in the AMS. I can't wait!

[@Liberty4Ever]

I've said for years that we need a higher durometer TPU that prints better but still has the chemical resistance, impact resistance and interlayer bonding that make TPU so awesome for 3D printing, but everyone seems to think of TPU as "the flexible filament" and the efforts have all been to make the durometer lower. I hope other filament manufacturers create AMS compatible TPU because I can't wait to use it in the CFS on a K2 Plus, so I can design parts that have structural ABS elements and shock absorbing TPU elements.

[@HumanShield117]

I sort of just realized that the only failures I've had with TPU came from un-retracting too fast, and usually it's the big un-retract in my PRINT_START script that causes the issue... I'll have to try speeding things up!

[@shadir007]

0:36 “BOTTOM TEXT” 🤣 Love that you left that in.

[@LostInTech3D]

I put it in lol

[@koenvanduffel2084]

I had cranked TPU speeds up to 15 mm3/s which works perfectly fine (never tried any higher as I don't use TPU that much). The main thing is that the minimum layer time can't be set very low (~7s) even on my RatRig with its powerful 4028 25.000 rpm cooling fan. Accelerations are the same as for ABS at 15k, at high acceleration retraction has to be set very low 0.2 mm). Setting retraction higher gives a lot of stringing funny enough.

[@maj429]

I set my TPU profile to have zero retraction and zero lift and I don't get any stringing.

[@AtomicBleach]

The best TPU prints Ive gotten are from CHEP's Ender 3 v3 SE 0.28 layer TPU profile printing on my Microswiss Ender 3 V1. As long as you make sure the filament has barely any friction at the spool and its well dehydrated I can print at about 2/3 the speed of my pla. A 10min print in pla with my fast profile is 15mins with TPU. This is just using sunlu 95a tpu. Im printing 0.28 layer height at around 60mms with just a 0.4 nozzle.

[@LostInTech3D]

sunlu 95A is not to be underestimated, it outperformed all my other brands!

[@michealmorris-T]

When will you test the T1pro?

[@LostInTech3D]

depends if I get it or not. There's something else coming from flsun too

[@diederichgarz6317]

Would you like to test fumes as well? At least for pla the hotter you print the more particels get into the room. Maybe this curve is going way harder with TPU?

[@LostInTech3D]

Possibly but I don't really want to do that as the fumes are rather deadly and I can't make videos if dead 😂 never heat tpu over about 240, definitely not over 250

[@monetary_episode494]

On my Neptune 4, I struggle to get 18 minute benchies with high flow PLA, let alone TPU! This is crazy!

[@LostInTech3D]

I have a neptune 4 but I only used it for conductive tpu tests. It performed fine but you do have to print that stuff slow.

[@Liberty4Ever]

My Neptune 4 Pro prints TPU fairly well but the profile needs to be manually tuned for each manufacturer's TPU. Retract too fast or too often and the extruder will strip the TPU and jam. The Neptune 4 extruder is better than extruders a couple of years ago but there is still too much space for lower durometer TPU filament to bend around inside the extruder instead of being forced into the hot end.

[@freedomofmotion]

As an actual question about TPU printing. How do I stop stringing on print travel moves? It's insane on TPU. Using the Qidi plus 4 and I've gone up to 1.2mm retraction and 35mms. Do I need to go higher than that? I'm fed up of digging wispy bits out my TPU prints. Been printing TPU fast since my Kobra 2 max though after needing to print a very robust and large object and not wanting to have a 3 day print 😂

[@LostInTech3D]

Do a retraction test tower and a temperature test tower. Chances are it's printing too hot.

[@theboreditamar2108]

the only difference between my pla and tpu profile is the temp lol. and i print it at 150mms

[@Billybobble1]

I bought an Ender 3 mk1 not just for an entry to 3D printing, but I believed it was capable of being upgraded to keep up with new developments. What upgrades can be done for it to be able to be on par with a modern 3D printer? Is it possible? I've not used it in a long time, but I refuse to believe it's obsolete.

[@aws3d924]

Great Video! BUT how can you not recommend fiberlogy matteflex 40D? 3:49 I have it in black and it's soooooo much nicer than sunlu. I don't even have to dry it in 50-60% humidity. It just works and looks fabulous out of my a1 mini. I even had some limited success with the ams lite by using a PLA profile with the max flow rate to 3.2mm^3 but it's great to know I can go way higher.

[@LostInTech3D]

I'm a fan of mattflex, but it's not 95A. I could have included in the previous video but honestly I forgot I had it

[@legacyofbob]

You are doing the lord's work, sir, and I thank you for it.

[@LostInTech3D]

it's a tough but slightly squishy job, but someone's gotta do it

[@troncooo409]

Thank you, I wanted to print some TPU thing that would take 2 days. I'll crank the volumetric speed up

[@DangaRanga]

Yea i came across this not too long ago. Was printing some dampening feet for my sv08s on my klipper/dd w/cht 0.6mm ender 5+. And even on that thing i pushed up to 25ish vfr which isnt far shy of the mk8 cht flowing 25-28 with say pla or petg

[@Yash-c3v]

The scary thing is what other settings do I need to change other than print speed in the slicer? Max flow rate for the filament profile? Just those two or more ?

[@kloakovalimonada]

I have an Ender 3 with Biqu H2 V2s direct drive and the only way to print tpu is to speed it up to PLA speeds. The default TPU profiles would jam almost immediately. And retraction on.

[@lonewolfsstuck]

Doing some flow testing before hand on any filament goes a long way. Before i did a long TPU print on my Kobra max(1) i did a flow test of the TPU i have and it maxed out at 22MM/s^3 which is pretty good for a bowden printer, but it is a volcano nozzle. No extruder jams. cant say the quality at that speed is astounding but it is fine for prototyping at .3LH

[@AndroidA258]

i commented in your community post that the maximum flow was 12mm3, but I forgot to mention the tpu I was talking about was 65A (I think, ultra soft), on 95A I can go close to 40mm3 on a voron v2.4 with a modded hotend

[@404Velox]

I've been pushing TPU for a Iphone case up to 150mms at 235C on an Neptune 4. Though this was just a test on finding out how far I can push that

[@reyalPRON]

nice to see others that crank that stuff out like its petg ;) cht though. i max out at 24 25. happy dude here. thanks for letting me know i go even more

[@PCBWay]

WOOHOOO!!

[@site19s_finest]

i love you pcbway

[@KilianGosewisch]

Heyyyy another upload by Lost In TPU

[@AuxHex]

TPU is a great material, with high heat and UV resistance, as well as incredible mechanical properties. And hard TPU, like 70D+ can be printed ULTRA FAST. Another great filament is new fast PETG, like Elegoo Rapid PETG. I can easily print it at 30mm³/s while keeping fan speeds quite low (around 40% for part cooler, 0% for side fan). It makes the whole printing ordeal much quieter and faster than regular PLA. I like PLA, but it's not the best material these days. I just wish fast PETG varieties had more colour options and wood/marble variants as well.

[@LostInTech3D]

I find PETG harder to print than TPU (probably not a surprise haha) so I'm interested in fast PETG varieties you speak of?

[@marthiir7790]

@@LostInTech3D i find pla hard to print :D for me PETG much easier to print ,all sunlu petg can go 30mm3/s as far as ive ran it

[@moccaloto]

​@@LostInTech3Ddo you have multiple tool heads? Can you try making composite parts, combining TPU with other materials. For instance alternating TPU and other filaments by layer, or making a rigid core with TPU shell (hardcore 😂)

[@AuxHex]

@@LostInTech3D I'm using Copymaster3D PETG (the old discontinued version), which I usually print at 18mm­³/s and Elegoo Rapid PETG, which I tested up to 30mm³/s without any issues, but usually print at 20mm³/s to keep fans quiet. I can send you some photos of my prints in Discord if you wish.

[@TechieSewing]

@@moccaloto He does and he has. A video about interlocking in Cura had it for sure, probably some others too. And it was before Prusa XL time even.

[@Bradford1040]

Yeah I as well print TPU at 85~120mm/s, one thing though, if it didn't get dried stringing is pretty bad, and TPU stringing is not easy to remove like PETG. It stretches lol, not breaks

[@Liberty4Ever]

A good profile should avoid TPU stringing. Print test towers and optimize the retraction distance and speed. TPU has more variation so you need a hand tuned TPU profile for each manufacturer's TPU on each model of 3D printer. For TPU stringing, I remove as much manually (pull or snip) then use a heat gun to reflow the remaining short bits.

[@Diio_3dprints]

Great video! Love the small text here and there. My biggest issue to print TPU on my printers is AMS or CHT nozzles.. could for my life print tpu on my vorons with CHT nozzle. have you got that working?

[@LostInTech3D]

Mk4S has a CHT and seems okay-ish. There might be some flow rate impact but it should still work

[@freedomofmotion]

Retraction has to be off or very very small with CHT nozzles. If I was to hazard a guess it pulls air into the CHT and creates an air lock which isn't a problem in a normal nozzle but a CHT has enough surface area for the lock to cause clogging.

[@awilliams1701]

I just did my prusa mk4s upgrade recently. But the printer is purple. I wanted it to stay purple. I decided to wait until after the upgrade to print the LCD cover and use the MMU3 to print it in color. Holy crap! That was insanely fast. That's PETG! so obviously prusa didn't just tweek PLA speeds. I haven't attempted TPU yet. I only did a few TPU prints. It's not a common material for me.

[@PositronicDiscombobulator]

I hated bowden on my CR-20 but all it had to do was print my Voron Trident. The extruder design had some problems though. It turned out most dual drive direct drives had the same problem. Off centric gears not meshing properly. To hide the layer imperfections i went back to bowden. I only push 15mm/s^ though with ABS but i'm hapy with that. I only print engineering prototypes or tooling so dimensional consistency is what I'm after. I just discovered the Galileo 2 stealthburner extruder and will be printing it out once the parts arrive. According to the reviews it solves the problem.

[@whovian64]

Could you look at Tpc? I have some and it doesn't really behave the same as tpu. It's similar

[@ELEKTRIFI3D]

Why isn’t there no TPU speed-benchy for the MK4S? Or did I miss something in the video?

[@LostInTech3D]

I just didn't make it. I could, but it probably wouldnt be under 20 mins

[@JonS]

I printed a Benchy in 12:45 on my slightly modded V-Minion using Polymaker TPU 95A-HF. Maybe the high flow made all the difference? I haven’t gone back to try standard TPU.

[@LostInTech3D]

Normal tpu will do that speed 👍

[@MrHeHim]

I had a Replicator Dual from 2012, I didn't get why people couldn't print TPU. Didn't look Great! But it would print 'just fine'. That's when I knew Bowden tube extruders were a design flaw themselves. Like a cube as a wheel. Little to no benefits, not in manufacturing, not in quality, and only really maybe helps ringing IF your belts are loose. And what was popular around that time were belt tension spring/clamp things that literally turn the belt into a spring to make printing worse. Which is one of the first "Mods" I did to my printer, including taking out the PTFE tube out of the inside of the nozzle. Absolutely no reason, other than someone somewhere in the position where they Don't belong making engineering decisions.

[@h3ath3n99]

I found out a long time ago thru personal trial and error that it's better to print TPU fast rather than slow like everyone says. Faster tpu prints come out better all around stronger, smoother, and just plain cleaner. I've been saying this for almost a decade now and people scoff until I show proof of my results. Just goes to show that not even the manufacturers speed test their own product and just sheepishly follow the other clueless sheep for recommended settings. I print TPU with the same cura standard PLA 0.2 layer height profile, ummmm basically...., but with 35mm/s first layer, 70mm/s for everything else, 300mm/s travel speeds, and x/y/travel accelerations set at 5k. TPU just gets a little more retraction distance than pla but also as least often as possible, about +10% flow rates, and print temps around 235-255°C. This worked on bowden before I switched to direct drive, the only thing that changed was that the retraction distance was significantly reduced. I originally used these settings on an anet a2 but still used the same settings on my four stock ender3 and Neptune 3max. I make flawless benchies in PLA or TPU in about 40-45mins on a stock anet a2 or ender3. Since I've upgraded them all with direct drive, bimetal heat breaks, E3D high flow volcano hotends and 0.6mm high flow nozzles, I now print a flawless benchy in 20-25mins in PLA or TPU. At this point the only thing that's holding me back from going faster while keeping prints flawless is the parts cooling fan would need an upgrade and I could probably shave off another 10mins from the current 20-25min benchies. Speed benchies, not very pretty, but easily finish 15mins or less on stock ender3 if you've optimized your firmware settings and slicer.

[@radug9594]

It's funny because when I got my qidi plus4, i just eyeballed it and set the volumetric speed to 10mm3 and it prints just fine, didnt realise i could go higher lol

[@bmet001]

How do you animate that graph at 11:55? Looks snazzy!

[@LostInTech3D]

That is manim

[@bmet001]

@ thanks! Looks awesome ♥️

[@Rippthrough]

And you said we'd be angry. I've been running 20mm^3/s on production (structural) runs of TPU since I got my P1S - and that's slower than my dedicated TPU machines (Which are old 8 bit rep clones running printed extruders!). Amazes me how scared of it some people are and they're down printing it at 2-4mm^3/s

[@deaultusername]

500mms! I want one its makes my 50mms Anet A6 feeel so very slow and old. That is 50mms TPU, I just printed a PLA filament guide for the extruder wheels and use PLA settings. been doing it for years. Pity I too broke or a new printer.

[@MakerBees333]

🤨 here I am looking for TPU deals for TPU week as it is my all time favorite filament 😅. Turns out it was only in 2019 Tomsk Polytechnic University…🤦‍♂️ My hopes have been raised and dashed 😢

[@TS_Mind_Swept]

Hopefully with videos like this, more testing will be done and default profiles will be made faster; I don't tend to be one that likes testing stuff like this too too much (tho a bit obv is required) so I wouldn't really want to do a whole bunch of fiddling with it, but fortunately I haven't yet come upon a project that needed TPU (tho I've had a few ideas) so I don't much mind waiting at the moment either

[@mrrooter601]

TPU is such an amazing material, more people should try it

[@LostInTech3D]

yes, it's by definition resistant to creep, so it has a LOT of applications.

[@mrrooter601]

@@LostInTech3D you should test out some 64-72d TPU, more people should know how useful it is for functional prints. 95A is already really rigid with 100% infill. Ive found the harder stuff even more useful in a lot of cases, near perfect layer adhesion is not to be underestimated.

[@JBMetalShop]

How fast can we print a nylon benchy???? Who’s asking that question? Or PC i want to print engineering materials for my shop and save time too. Love your videos, from the time i found this channel i feel like i can always get honest observations and feedback here, love your channel and cinematography, keep it up!

[@LostInTech3D]

Haha all in good time 👍

[@pixieloco]

I used to print TPU successfully on my OG i3 Mega many times. (slowly) now I have a Neptune 4 and I wonder how fast can push it using the "leaf blower" thing. probably not too fast anyway.

[@labemolon5739]

After watching this I decided to try it out. With some slightly modified settings for PLA on an Ankermake m5 I was able to get a decent TPU benchy in 12 min.

[@LostInTech3D]

nice!

[@TioDave]

Maybe manufacturers can start making softer TPUs again.

[@CrackedGh0st]

Modied ender 3 running klipper with sprite extruder direct drive kit sitting over mellows mirco swiss hotend. Standard .4 nozzle I've set my flow to 12mm³ with great detail and happy with the speed. Anything faster and I do get a jam in the sprite

[@LostInTech3D]

We tested the sprite and didn't get that high, so that's pretty good going

[@jaysonrees738]

Odds are, I could print faster, but most of the TPU parts I make are smaller than a fist and with low infill. They end up not taking very long anyway. Good to know for the future though.

[@nicoleibundgut534]

The fl sun t1 only costs 500 dollers. Thats a good price honestly. Very impressive.

[@LostInTech3D]

oh yes. I actually think it's potentially the best printer flsun have made so far

[@nicoleibundgut534]

@@LostInTech3D ​Interesting i saw the review of clough42. I wanted an reliable printer that is somewhat fast and orderd an X1C last week. What do you think how to handle the artifacts on the FLsun?

[@pirobot668beta]

Interesting...the 'conventional wisdom' being bested by people actually testing the limits. I'm in a similar spot working up a profile for Tullomer. The specs (mostly) say the same thing: 500mm/sec, 0.05 layers, 300 C hot-end, 120 C bed, +50 C chamber. I was trying to match these numbers, was getting mixed results and lots of bed adhesion issues. Turns out that 500 is the maximum speed and 0.05 layers the minimum thickness! Slowing down to 300 mm/sec and using 0.1 layers is looking promising.

[@lindseyjohnson1130]

I've been printing TPU for years when NinjTek's 85A NinjaFlex was all that was available. This was printed on a Original Prusa i3 that had a glass build surface. I pushed that to around 30mm/sec with a V6 hot end. So what's with all of the stringing. Kinda out of control.

[@LostInTech3D]

defaults, complain to whoever wrote them :)

[@lindseyjohnson1130]

@@LostInTech3D I'm not complaining. I was asking a question. By the way, it's not the fault of the profile. I do create my own profiles, but when I built my MK4, I wanted to see what the stock profiles would produce, and they performed well. The stringing is simply a moisture issue from not drying them completely. I use many different brands of TPU and various Shore hardnesses with no stringing when properly dried.

[@LostInTech3D]

Wet filament is exactly one reason for stringing. I made a whole video about it once.

[@joshstephens3224]

I discovered this by accident like many others here. I was wondering the same thing about the stock profiles.

[@EricLS]

8:18 lmao the rolling shutter makes the printer look like it’s *made* of TPU.

[@4mation405]

I would love to see this done for Silk PLA. I can't find anyone who recommends print it over 50mm/s.

[@yogician]

This is a very interesting video. I get really good results from my TPU prints much better than what I’m seeing from your results. I found that it’s all about temperature. You get a lot of stringing I don’t get that

[@LostInTech3D]

you're spot on with temperature. I ran at defaults through the tests which is higher than I normally print. And that, is behind the stringing, somewhat.

[@Brandonscode]

Fighting tpu print speeds vs quality has been the time of my life. I print drone parts. Iv used lots of other suggested setting. Ended up with random setting that change per tpu brand and color and still no knowledge of why or how it some times works perfect and others it just won’t. 😂

[@LostInTech3D]

I remember when PLA was a bit like this 🤔

[@Leynad778]

Actually I have at least one TPU-filament (Extrudr TPU hard) I have problems to print with the Bambu Lab, similar to using the AMS with TPU (stops extruding, clocks up) . I've tried slower speed, that didn't help, but haven't tried increasing the flow-rate instead. This might fix the problem and might even make TPU AMS-compatible...

[@TherapyWithWind]

Verify you have removed as much of filament from your hot end as possible, purge purge purge. Especially if you use any type of filaments with glass or fiber, even some glow filament will often leave residue. Also, ensure your tensioner on the extruder feed gear is not over tightened. More is not always better. I'm running a bowden feed (stock on flsunSR super racer) and can easily print with great results, upwards of 30mm³/s.

[@MrMalaman]

Surprising,hanks

[@JoJoFPV1993]

Well Friends I'm printing with a Longer 4K... seems pretty out dated to me seeing what's on the shelf today but any and all tips help for a budget beginner! I use it for fpv parts and works fine except TPU... seems to F#$% Up A LOT lol

[@smorris12]

I went to print some TPU the other day. I'm still not entirely through the reel I bought in about 2019 to give you an idea of how often I do but which I'd previously got it going quite nicely through my modded Boden'd dual-geared lash-up. I wound up the speed a bit as it seemed horribly slow, put a bit of retraction in and found it wrapped up in the extruder. I undid my changes and it lunched itself when it seemed to jerk the reel forward. I laid out some TPU loose and this time it lunched it in the middle of a line. There is no point to this story. Please move along and leave the poor wretch in the gutter.

[@robertparis5680]

I actually just started using tpu95a in functional parts roles. And so far so good! Im just wishing i knew of something stiffer

[@LostInTech3D]

Next video might be of interest then 👍

[@imacmill]

For the life of me, I can't get TPU perimeter walls to fuse together when printing. Layer-to-layer adhesion is fine, but when two 'beads' of filament are squirted out right next to each other, like in perimeter walls, the 'beads' don't stick together. Anybody have suggestions?

[@LostInTech3D]

Is it in an overhang?

[@TechieSewing]

I have this too sometimes, even on vertical walls. My guess would be we both are underextruding more than we think we do.

[@imacmill]

@@LostInTech3D No. just regular vertical walls.

[@croustibat682]

I think manufacturers dont update TPU profiles because not a lot of people use TPU. I bought an ender 3 when it came out, never printed it as I have no use case for it. I did buy a roll as I am curious not so long ago, but I kind of broke the hotend mount (it got a lot of play going 200mm/s for walls and infill printing ABS) so that will be later

[@chrissavage5966]

Oy, leave my crappy old Ender 3 V2 alone you big bully!!!! Funny enough, it failed yesterday, the extruder stopped working. The TMC2130 Stepstick blew up. Ordered a set of new ones in the V3 spec....then I see this showing just how good something as cheap as a Sovol SV06 can be. Doh! That said, I am kind of attached to the Ender given all the effort I put into 'improving' it, and I don;t often print anything much now anyway...so I'll soldier on for a while longer I guess. Certainly interesting to see these machines pushing TPU out so fast and with such generally good results. I do print it on occasion with my Bowden-tastic Ender and it does work OK...but of course, very very slowly....... I did fit a dual-gear extruder way back.

[@Adaks]

Damn I remember once I used a PLA profile instead of TPU profile for TPU and it turned out better and faster. I thought it was some black magic lol.

[@LostInTech3D]

that happens surprisingly often

[@3DPrintedMolds]

I actually just did a video and found something similar with PETG. I had great success with PETG with my printer set to 32 mm^3/s and the default is 12. I was printing calibration cubes and I cut the time to print a cube down from 16 minutes to 10 minutes and did statistical analysis that showed PETG is very stable printing at 270 Celsius, 500 mm/s print speed, and 32 mm^3/s.

[@LostInTech3D]

I need to look into PETG because I find the infill just shreds at high speeds. If you know why, I'm all ears :)

[@3DPrintedMolds]

@@LostInTech3D I have not run into that problem, I typically print PETG using the hexagonal lattice at around 10%. If I had to hazard a guess I'd bet on certain infill types crossing over each other being an issue in PETG because it's "sticky"

[@freedomofmotion]

​@@LostInTech3DCrosshatch infill seems to work very nicely with PETG

[@LostInTech3D]

could be

[@gg48gg]

Doesn't acceleration in a small model like yours top out and limit the actual flow rate being delivered by the extruder? In other words, does your small model allow enough distance for the printhead to accelerate to the maximum set speed/flow rate? Also maximum set speed can limit flow rate, and vice versa, the maximum flow rate can limit the maximum speed, correct? My experience in a larger print (100x100mm), where the print head can accelerate to a higher speed, is that I top out somewhere between 11-12 mm3/s before seeing bad print results. I also need to slow down for small curve diameters (the rounded corners and holes in my model). I think your testing may be flawed but not 100% sure. I don't think you're actually achieving over 20 cubic millimeters per second.

[@LostInTech3D]

You can see real flow rate in prusaslicer since the latest version, it takes all that into account.

[@gg48gg]

@LostInTech3D I'm still skeptical.

[@ChrumkavySuchar]

Meh, weird, my qidi x max 3 stock profile is set at 4 mm/s, and I needed to slow down due to massive under extrusion {tpu a95} . Need to try it again, maybe it was just having a bad day.

[@LostInTech3D]

I don't have that printer but that does sound low

[@ChrumkavySuchar]

@@LostInTech3D when after watching this video, it indeed sounds very low :D . Will try it today on my a1 mini vs xmax 3 with same filament, the limits for both of them.