I am new to 3D printing and I purchased my first printer, the H2C, a couple of months ago. I’ve had no issues so far and my prints have turned out great. Now I want to try printing with TPU so I purchased the TPU feed assist module. I would like to get some advice/help from people who have experience with TPU printing. I’ve been reading through Bambu’s wiki pages on TPU and I have a few questions. What TPU hardness is good for printing gaskets, o-rings and seals? As far as nozzles go do I have to purchase Bambu’s TPU dedicated nozzle or can I just purchase a 0.4 HF induction hot end that I will use only for TPU? From what I have been reading if you use Bambu’s TPU nozzles you have to remove the cutter assy from the tool head to use it. Any other advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks
I have printed a gasket for my lawn mower fuel cap and some gaskets for my garden hose with 95A HF. They are all working fine.
I do not have an H2C, but I do have an H2D and an X1C, and both print TPU without issue. That said, you may need to follow the H2C-specific approach rather than mine.
In any case, if you use the dedicated TPU High Flow nozzles, you will at least on the H2D need to remove the cutter, as it simply will not fit once the nozzle is installed. Fortunately, this is straightforward: remove one screw and take it out. Just make sure to store the cutter arm, cutter, and spring safely.
I have four AMS HT units that I use as external spools, from which I print everything from TPU/PEBA 65A to PPA/PPS. I do not use the TPU Assist, because I have arranged my system to keep friction to an absolute minimum. I print TPU and PEBA through PTFE tubing all the way from the AMS HT to the hotend without any issues. However, if your setup introduces friction for any reason, you should follow the H2C method for printing flexible filaments. It should be broadly similar to the H2D approach: open top, direct feed to the nozzle when printing very soft flexible materials, and so on.
Beyond that, you need to calibrate your filament, dry it properly, and keep it dry at all times. You may also need to fine-tune the print profile depending on your specific setup, although that applies to most profiles in general.
So far, I have printed more than 200 kg of TPU and PEBA. I use TPU dampers in my aircraft to reduce vibration in the system. My air filter is mounted using printed parts, and even the fuel filters have dampers made on my printer. I replace my dampers annually, so even if I happen to use a TPU grade with lower fuel resistance, that is acceptable in my case.
I tried printing TPU on the H2C, and I came to the conclusion that I’d be better off buying a multi-head printer for it. It’s too complicated, plus you can only use the Vortex nozzle for TPU because the right nozzle, since it moves up and down, is supposedly useless. So, you lose the option of using the Vortex’s multi-head nozzles, and I’m not convinced.
When it can be used with the right hand, that would be best.
Thank you for the info. Right now I only plan on using Bambu TPU 90A and 95A HF on the right nozzle. Do I have to use Bambu’s dedicated TPU HF nozzles or can I use a regular 0.4 HF induction hot end? I plan on buying a new 0.4 HF induction hot end to use only for TPU.
I have used the regular HF until now when I bought the TPU HF Kit.
For me it worked very well but you should now the difference between normal and HF nozzles so you don’t get into troubles just because of that.
In fact I print everything in HF even when the WiKi says they are not recommended, but with care it works well here.
TPU requires a HF nozzle, correct or can standard flow be used?
X1C, standard 0.4 nozzle, tpu 95a HF in the external port, printed many things, works well.
mount filament, then print part, then unload filament, then i run a small 10 x 10 cube of pla to clean the head out.
Ok, so you can use a standard flow nozzle with HF TPU. Thanks
i suggest to not do super-high-res (line of 0.12, etc), keep to 0.16, 0.20. reason (my personal experience), i’ve had couple jam-ups of the tpu, thought it was the nozzle, did cold extract, etc, etc, and what it actually was was the tpu, due to flexibility, got caught/trapped in the EXTRUDER, and luckily after trying to unload filament, i WAS able to pull the filament out. it was cut corectly, i twas not a nozzle issue. but i just want the tpu to be flowing smoothly, not doing lots of retractions, etc.
again, just my personal experience
Right now I only plan on using Bambu TPU 90A and 95A HF
Just wanted to say L0rd speaks it truly, and it applies to H2C as well. I have no issues with TPUs or PEBA, “even” foaming varieties. Especially for those hardness levels, all you need is a clean feed path from a container like the HT (or I use my own made from cereal boxes and printed parts, not a fan of the HT personally). Smooth is they key I think, no filament rubbing on anything that isn’t PTFE, all bends gradual, and smooth rolling in the feeder box. I also mounted a spare PTFE tube inside the printer running out the buffer bypass to make switching over a little simpler, but this is something easily added later. In my experience neither the assist module or any flow kit is required. I’ve only use regular nozzles, not high flow, even with “HF” TPU. Oh, and I have nothing stacked on top of the printer, so getting in there is easy (which is highly useful in all manner of situations anyway).
-Max
Great..thank you for the info.
I have a converted H2C which started life as an H2D. As an H2D, it was a pain in the backside to print TPU, but it worked fine, stock out of the box. After upgrading to the H2C, its largely the same. Still a pain to transfer back and forth between hard and soft filaments. But I’m hard pressed to see any real difference. H2C and H2D work very similarly for TPU. As mentioned above, the H2C and H2D’s original firmware restricted TPU to the stationary right nozzle. I believe that has changed in the most recent firmware, although I haven’t tested it.
I passed on the HF TPU kit because I didn’t want even MORE conversion steps just to use TPU. I don’t really care about multiple colors so the kit only offered slightly faster printing of TPU. Removing the cutter and removing the front toolhead plate is probably the most annoying single thing yet, so that is a huge turn off.
Regarding using a HF nozzle, I don’t think you are supposed to use the basic HF nozzle with TPU. IIRC, every time I use it with TPU, I get a prompt that its not a good idea. However, I’ve never had a problem, but I wouldn’t buy one specifically for TPU. That said, nearly EVERY print in TPU I done was with one. No issues.
The C doesn’t yet officially support TPU on left nozzle. Presumably next FW release, as it catches up to some D features. Of course with some creative and careful filament profile edits this limit can be bypassed, but I haven’t been that brave/foolish yet (I’ve seen others report it works, but don’t see that often). I’m not clear on what role the actual firmware plays in this… the slicer seems to be in command of most things, for example bypassing auto dynamic flow calibration for any “TPU” filament type (in machine start g-code). Would be curious to know.
Folks printing TPU with the “normal” HF nozzles – do you change any settings specifically for those, vs. regular flow?
Thanks,
-Max
I didn’t. Just ignored the prompt and started the print. Never had a clog on the H series and I printed with a HF nozzle from day 1. However, after converting to the H2C, I have swapped back over to a normal nozzle to match the normal induction nozzles.
so you Don’t have to change any setting when using the standard flow induction nozzle to print 95A HF TPU on the H2C?
Just the filament path changes. The induction nozzles don’t need special handling, or at least that I have found. The system (H2D and H2C) does request that you do a cold pull each time, but I’ve never done that and haven’t had any issues, yet.
Also there are TPU limitations like no 0.20mm nozzle printing in TPU. But the hassles are largely limited to the filament path changes that you have to deal with on the H Series.
I appreciate all the help/info. Thanks
Hi, would you mind showing your setup on a photo?
I’m printing TPU on P1S, other materials on H2D and I’m still reluctant to give it a try. But since I’m experiencing some underextrusion on big TPU prints, even though I’m fairly sure I can’t really improve the filament path - I want to give it a go on H2D. I would very much appreciate it!
You made me think of the video which I found really usefull in general
