10
Any tip for printing TPU? (sopuli.xyz)
submitted 9 months ago by DreadPotato@sopuli.xyz to c/3dprinting@lemmy.world
11 comments fedilink hide all child comments

I've been trying to print some things in TPU, using a fairly soft 85A TPU, and I keep having under extrusion.

I've already reduced speeds to max 25mm/s, and reduced retraction. My printer uses a direct drive extruder, and as far as I can tell, it's grabbing the filament just fine. I'm printing at 240°C, using my default 0.4mm volcano CHT brass nozzle.

top 11 comments
sorted by: hot top controversial new old
[-] bigredgiraffe@lemmy.world 6 points 9 months ago

Make sure your filament roller doesn’t have too much resistance as well. Since TPU stretches linearly way more than any other filament if it does have a lot of resistance then the extruder won’t be able to pull more filament until it overcomes that resistance and the stretch and it ends up physically thinning out the filament. Just a thought, hope it helps!

[-] nezbyte@lemmy.world 3 points 9 months ago

Great tip! I spent a long time chasing issues with TPU only to realize the spool to extruder section was the culprit. Bypassed the runout sensor and put the spool on bearings to fix the issue.

[-] DreadPotato@sopuli.xyz 1 points 9 months ago

Yeah i noticed that right away, it's sitting on a roller with bearings, not sure I can give it any less resistance without actively unwinding filament as it's used.

[-] InEnduringGrowStrong@sh.itjust.works 3 points 9 months ago

It's been a while since I last printed TPU.
I think I've always had to set a slightly higher flow rate for TPU, probably because it always compresses a bit when pushed by the extruder.
My TPU roll printed somewhat colder than yours at about 220C.
I usually start with a very low speed (15-30mm/s), retraction completely off, cooling fan very low (25%).
Tune the flow rate and speed then add a tiny amount of retraction (<1mm).

YMMV

[-] DreadPotato@sopuli.xyz 2 points 9 months ago

I completely forgot about flow rate, increasing that completely fixed the issue. Thanks!

[-] InEnduringGrowStrong@sh.itjust.works 1 points 9 months ago

Great! Good to hear.
Don't forget to turn it back down with less springy filaments.

[-] DreadPotato@sopuli.xyz 2 points 9 months ago

I have seperste filament profiles for everything, so these changes only affected my "TPU 85A" profile

[-] InEnduringGrowStrong@sh.itjust.works 1 points 9 months ago

I always kinda hated printing with TPU, it was am absolute nightmare on my old printrbot.
It's much less so on my prusa, but I'm still used to avoiding it whenever I can.

[-] FuglyDuck@lemmy.world 2 points 9 months ago

zero retraction, dry the filament out (If It's not a short-notice print, I'll dry it out in a food dehydrator the night before, timing it so it comes out just as I'm starting the print.). Slow it down. Slow it down some more.

If the under extrusion is constant, try checking the filament's diameter on the roll, if that's fine, try upping the flow just a bit. TPU is fairly squishy and stretchy at the same time, so it may need tweaking. Also, consider running a temperature calibration tower.

[-] sylver_dragon@lemmy.world 2 points 9 months ago

For me, completely disabling retraction helped out a ton. It went from a stringy mess to mostly clean prints. Other than that, slow speeds and finding the right temperature for my printer/filament got my prints pretty nice.

[-] tagginator@utter.online -1 points 9 months ago

New Lemmy Post: Any tip for printing TPU? (https://lemmy.world/post/11869100)
Tagging: #3dprinting

(Replying in the OP of this thread (NOT THIS BOT!) will appear as a comment in the lemmy discussion.)

I am a FOSS bot. Check my README: https://github.com/db0/lemmy-tagginator/blob/main/README.md

this post was submitted on 12 Feb 2024
10 points (85.7% liked)

3DPrinting

15595 readers
31 users here now

3DPrinting is a place where makers of all skill levels and walks of life can learn about and discuss 3D printing and development of 3D printed parts and devices.

The r/functionalprint community is now located at: !functionalprint@kbin.social or !functionalprint@fedia.io

There are CAD communities available at: !cad@lemmy.world or !freecad@lemmy.ml

Rules

If you need an easy way to host pictures, https://catbox.moe may be an option. Be ethical about what you post and donate if you are able or use this a lot. It is just an individual hosting content, not a company. The image embedding syntax for Lemmy is ![](URL)

Moderation policy: Light, mostly invisible

founded 1 year ago
MODERATORS
andypiper@lemmy.world
j4k3@lemmy.world
henry_rowengartner@lemmy.world
GrayBackgroundMusic@lemm.ee