Tips on how to Succeed when 3D Printing with TPU and Versatile Filament

Flexibles are actually enjoyable to print and play with.

With a versatile materials like MatterHackers PRO Collection Flex, you possibly can drop it a thousand occasions over and never break it. It is necessary to keep in mind that each materials has its place, and simply because flexibles do not break if you drop them doesn’t means they’re prepared to exchange different supplies like PLA. Versatile filament is a superb alternative for gaskets or bumpers, however you would not need to print a shelf bracket with it. Conversely, PLA would make for a horrible sole for a shoe. Think about the wants of the challenge earlier than committing to anyone materials.

Keys to Success by When 3D Printing Versatile Filament:

Restricted retraction

The query of “how a lot retraction is sufficient” is completely depending on the fashion of extruder your 3D printer has. The most recent extruders you should buy make it very clear that they’ve a “constrained filament path.” In older fashions of extruders, there was open house after the extruder gear for filament to maneuver into. This is not an issue for inflexible supplies as as soon as they’re directed to the bowden tube or the nozzle, they are going to maintain extruding with out difficulty, however versatile filaments will virtually instantly spit out the aspect of the extruder and coil across the extruder gear.

With a more recent extruder, after first 3D printing some calibration prints, it’s best to be capable to print flexibles with retraction settings similar to your regular inflexible filament settings. The E3D Hemera has been proven to excel at 3D printing with versatile filaments, with the ability to maintain the filament tightly constrained and 3D print at excessive speeds with none kinks within the filament.

With an older extruder, you’ll have to disable retractions to realize a superb 3D print high quality. This does imply that you could be expertise some stringing because the nozzle strikes round over the 3D print, however it would stop you from having beneath extrusion attributable to the filament bunching up within the extruder from the fixed back-and-forth movement it will expertise with retracting.

Maintain it dry

Comply with the identical procedures described in this text to dry your versatile filaments: 135°F for six hours in a standard oven, then flip it off and let the oven cool again to room temperature. You too can use a vacuum oven to dry your filament in a half hour to an hour, or use a PrintDry to simply dry your filament and maintain it dry. Most versatile filaments are hygroscopic to a point, and can pop and sizzle when you attempt extruding earlier than the fabric is dried. The scorching is attributable to pockets of water absorbed into the filament immediately turning to steam as they hit the nozzle, leaving voids in your print or inflicting extreme stringing alongside your components. Not solely is the visible high quality considerably worse, however the molecular chains inside the materials are damaged down, making a weaker half general. Utilizing the identical 3D printer, gcode, and spool of filament, the 2 3D prints beneath had been 3D printed. The important thing distinction: the one on the left had been left within the open air for some unknown period of time, and the one on the fitting was printed instantly from a PrintDry after letting it dry for a number of hours.

Moist versatile filament on the left, lately dried filament on the fitting.

Gradual it down

Prefer it was talked about with retraction settings, PLA or ABS, you possibly can print quick as they’re a tough materials, so it’s very easy to grip and push the filament via the nozzle. Printing flexibles is like making an attempt to information one finish of a rope by pushing the opposite. By slowing it down, you lower the strain inside the nozzle making the filament a lot much less more likely to bind up and even wrap round your extruder gear. Like every other filament, precise pace settings will differ from one printer to a different, so you might must experiment to find out what pace is the higher restrict that your particular 3D printer is able to. For some that may imply 10mm/s, and different extra superior 3D printers may not want any adjustments in any respect and might print at 60mm/s with ease.

Dispelling Some Myths

This delusion definitely is not as pervasive because it as soon as was, however there existed a time when it was frequent perception that bowden 3D printers had been unable to 3D print versatile supplies. Whether or not or not that was the case, it’s most undoubtedly not true now. There’s nothing that particularly precludes bowden 3D printers from with the ability to use flexibles. All of it comes again to constrained filament paths being the basis reason behind any issues. Whereas sure, most direct-drive 3D printers are extra responsive than bowden 3D printers when utilizing versatile 3D printing filaments, bowden 3D printers are absolutely able to creating stunning 3D prints with versatile filaments.

Getting the First Layer Proper

The primary layer is crucial a part of any print.  There are some things it’s essential to do to get the primary layer to stay effectively.

• You want the print floor to be degree. In case you are unfamiliar with learn how to degree your 3D printer’s mattress, you possibly can learn in regards to the process right here.
• Have your Z-Offset set to the fitting peak. This can rely on the fabric that your 3D printer’s mattress floor is made from, as some supplies will bond too effectively to versatile filaments, completely attaching to them. For many surfaces, you want an honest “squish” to your first layer.
• You want a superb base materials to your versatile filament to stick to.  Blue painter’s tape or a heated glass mattress with PVA glue stick or MatterHackers Stick Stick are ultimate surfaces to your print mattress.

3D Printing on Blue Painters Tape

Blue Tape, or Painter’s Tape, is without doubt one of the best and quickest methods to get a dependable mattress adhesion to your versatile filaments. Here’s a fast guidelines of belongings you need to be sure to are doing.

• Make sure that each bit of tape traces up edge to edge with none overlap or gaps.
• Maintain the mattress temperature pretty low when utilizing Blue Tape, as a temperature that’s too excessive might trigger the tape to stay too effectively to your printed half. 55°C-65°C ought to be sufficient warmth to get the job carried out with most flexibles.
• Change any tape strips that get broken when eradicating components.
• Change the tape after 5-10 prints, when components cease sticking, or when there’s a noticeable loss within the texture on the tape’s floor.
• In case your first layer isn’t sticking – make sure that the print head is shut sufficient to make a pleasant squished line of filament. If that does not deal with your downside, you possibly can apply a skinny smear of PVA glue follow get slightly extra adhesion.

Printed PRO Collection Flex on blue painters tape.

3D Printing On Glass With A Heated Mattress

When you have got a temperature managed mattress, printing instantly on glass is usually a nice possibility.  The really useful mattress temperature for versatile filaments differ tremendously, from room temperature to 110°C, so comply with the really useful mattress settings as described in our Filament Comparability Information or within the Technical Specs for the filament. Basically, PVA glue stick is a superb adhesive to use to the glass when 3D printing with versatile filaments to make sure that they stick all through the whole lot of the 3D print job.

Printed PRO Collection Flex on a heated glass plate.

Getting The Temperature Proper

When working with a brand new roll of filament for the primary time, we typically like to begin printing at about 235°C after which adjusting the temperature up or down by 5°C increments till we get a top quality print.

Advisable printing temperatures for numerous versatile filaments.

If the temperature is just too excessive

If the spool of filament is already dry however your temperature is just too excessive you’ll nonetheless see strings between the separate components of your print, like cobwebs. When this occurs it’s best to attempt to incrementally decrease the temperature by 5°C till the nozzle would not leak any materials. Generally that is not treating the underlying downside, which may merely be retraction settings that are not fairly aggressive sufficient and want only a small bump to get all the things in tune.

If the temperature is just too low

A 3D print with an extruder temperature set too low for the fabric being printed could have layers that do not bond collectively very effectively or in any respect and could be simply pulled aside. Make sure that the filament is dry and take a look at once more, but when you recognize that it is dry and you’re nonetheless experiencing issues, elevate the temperature of the nozzle in 5°C increments till you obtain sturdy layer adhesion and might see that the sides and infill of the 3D prints aren’t sparse and are effectively related to one another.

First Layer Troubleshooting

When you adopted the steps to getting your first layer proper and your print isn’t sticking, listed below are some ideas to assist enhance your expertise:

• It takes extra torque for the extruder to push versatile filament out of the nozzle, so make sure that the nozzle is sufficiently primed earlier than your half begins being printed. Use a skirt, prime blob, or purge line firstly of the print to ensure there may be sufficient filament within the sizzling finish by the point it will get began in your half.

• Make sure that the extruder temperature is sizzling sufficient to correctly soften the filament. In any other case, the plastic might not circulation and depart you with sparse layers and infill disconnected from the sides. Step by step elevate the printing temperature by 5°C to a most of round 255°C if filament is not flowing as properly as you want.

• Make sure that the speeds to your printer aren’t too quick. Printing too quick could cause underextrusion and make infill appear to be a spider internet. With versatile filaments, printing sooner takes extra torque to get via the recent finish, so your choices are improve the torque of your extruder by upgrading to a stronger extruder and motor, or decelerate to decrease the torque essential to extrude the filament.

• Flip up the extrusion multiplier a bit extra. When E-steps are calibrated for a 3D printer, it’s often carried out utilizing a inflexible materials like PLA which suggests extruder actions are far more responsive. When utilizing a versatile materials, you might must recalibrate to get the identical expertise. An effective way to get this correct, is to do an E-step calibration to your versatile filament. The Extruder steps/mm that extrudes 100mm in PLA would possibly solely get you 85mm with TPE, so comply with our E-step calibration article to get that arrange. Or, as soon as you discover the right E-steps for the versatile filament, calculate the % distinction from the unique E-steps (versatile E-Steps divided by inflexible E-steps multiplied by 100), and you’ve got your extrusion multiplier share you need to use anytime you come again to this materials, quite than modifying the firmware of your 3D printer to get the identical outcome.
  • For instance, your printer makes use of 400 E-steps for PLA, and after calibrating you discover TPE makes use of 500 E-steps. 500/400=1.25. Multiply by 100 to seek out an extrusion multiplier for TPE at 125%. Now you possibly can print PLA with an extrusion multiplier of 100% and TPE at 125% and maintain these profiles all the time in sync with out modifying the opposite.

With the assistance of this information it is possible for you to to 3D print versatile supplies with ease or know what it’s essential to do to get your 3D printer up and operating. 

If in case you have any feedback or contributions, please drop us an electronic mail or give us a name. We’re all the time in search of ideas, and greatest practices – and would love to listen to from you. Be at liberty to succeed in out with any particular questions within the feedback down beneath.

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Blissful Printing!