EDIT: solution is in the comments. TL;Dr retractions ON and INCREASE speed. Both opposite to common knowledge.

I can’t print flexible TPU properly. It’s either foamy, inconsistent extrusion or jam city, nothing else. I wasn’t able to complete a single print properly in a week and probably 50 tries.

Tried

  • 24 hours of active drying
  • speeds of 10-30mm/s
  • flow rate 1-1.2 (100-130%)
  • temps 220-250 (mfg rec is 235-250)
  • 0.4 and 0.6 nozzle
  • Cura and PrusaSlicer

Direct drive (Biqu H2 V2s) on a well-tuned Ender 3 (no issues with ABS, PETG, even nylon). Part fan off. Printing on PP tape (no adhesion issue).

I can get halfway decent looking print with 250C and a Flow rate of ~140% but it eventually jams anyway. Lower temps give super inconsistent extrusion, nozzle spitting chunks intermittently.

At my wits’ end. Any more tips? I don’t have any other TPU ATM, may be just shitty filament? It’s a cheapo polish F3D Filament TPU 93A. Thanks!

  • stooovie@lemmy.worldOPEnglish
    1·
    1 year ago

    SOLUTION: runs contrary to common knowledge, but what ultimately helped was:

    • INCREASING print speed. The usual recommendation is the slower the better, but at that point, there’s no pressure control over the filament
    • ENABLING retraction. Again, usual rec is to disable it for flexibles but turns out it alleviates too much backpressure which leads to filament buckling in the extruder

    Also printing hotter than mfg recommends: I printed at 260 (10C over recommended maximum).

    Thanks to u/Over_Pizza_2578 for pointing me to the right - opposite to everything else - direction.

  • Cris@lemm.eeEnglish
    0·
    1 year ago

    How old is the filament? If you’ve had it a long time perhaps its taken on too much water (once things get to a certain point it can irreversibly make the filament print poorly, even if you try to dry it)

    I’m not super knowledgeable myself, but I hope someone here is able to provide useful guidance

      • Cris@lemm.eeEnglish
        1·
        1 year ago

        Gotcha. Good luck finding answers, and If you figure something out on your own time I’m sure folks would love it if you reported back with your findings. Hopefully someone has some helpful insight :)

  • CmdrShepard@lemmy.oneEnglish
    0·
    1 year ago

    Are you using a bi-metallic headbreak? I’ve heard these can make it very difficult to print with TPU (at least with my Volcano style extruder on the Sidewinder X2), though I don’t have any experience with it myself.