I just did my very first TPU print after years of printing PLA and PETG, and I’ve gotta say: That stuff sticks like a mofo on the textured PEI plate…!!
The print turned out great and the default profile in BS needed very little tweaking.
I’m currently using Fiberology MattFlex 40D.
What do you guys use to ease the removal?
I’ve seen normal glue sticks, IPA and liquid glue made for 3D printing, but I figured it would be cool to ask the fine people here.
If you do use glue: Do you stick with a smooth PEI or maybe something else?
All feedback is appreciated!
Thanks in advance!
I have been printing a lot of tpu the past few weeks. I’ve been using magigoo glue stick. I have no idea if it’s the best because it was a random YouTuber recommendation. But it’s been working.
I’ve been using Anycubic TPU 95, Esun foaming TPU, and Variosure foaming TPU on textured pei plate.
I’ve been trying to get a hold of Magigoo for TPU, but it’s chronically sold out locally.
Have you tested it on smooth PEI, or just textured?
Appreciate the feedback!
Just textured. I don’t have a smooth plate.
Not sure if I’ve ever tried without it, but I cover the standard textured mat with blue painter tape for printing 95A TPU on an Ender 3 Pro. It sticks just fine for printing and haven’t had any issues removing the print after.
I’ve seen some people do this!
Any reason you opt for this over a stick? Seems like a lot more workWhen I first got the printer and was learning I used glue sticks to help with adhesion and just got sick of dealing with the residue and reapplying it - so now I intend on never using them at all if possible. I have 2 of the printers, one just for PLA and has a smooth PEI sheet, the other for PETG/TPU and just the regular textured mat that came with it. I usually don’t need to swap between filament types a bunch so when I’ve got some prints that need TPU it only takes a couple minutes to apply the tape and then I can just leave it on for as long as I want and not think about it. I also use the wide blue tape (can’t remember if it’s 2.5 or 3") so it’s only a couple rows to put on.
Smooth prusa powder coated works great.
Drying makes a gigantic difference. It only takes around an hour in the open before TPU changes significantly from any ambient moisture and become visible in the print.
If you can control the moisture to a minor degree, you can alter the mechanical properties significantly. Once you hear popping, you’ll likely start blowing holes in prints, but there is a stage before this where the bubbles of gases are present but are not coalescing into the larger audible voids of escaping steam. You will see this on long prints using dried TPU filament left out in the open. There will be a much tougher start to the print that gradually degrades into a slightly softer and more flexible texture. It will likely turn slightly foam-like spongy rubbery soft for a section and then it will start popping and dropping walls with holes in the structure.
If you write down the room temperature and humidity and note the time it takes to get to this moisture property, it becomes possible to alter the flexible properties or empirical hardness of a TPU to make it behave in off label ways. This is essentially creating your own rudimentary foaming or light weight filament. It works best for vase mode or other small single wall structures. I have used this based on intuition alone. I imagine with a bit of record keeping one could control the humidity of a box to do longer prints within this state of foaming softness. I don’t know of anyone using a humidifier like the ones for acoustic guitar cases or cigars in a filament box, but that would be an interesting thing to play with too.
Could be interesting to play with in the future, once my confidence level on the material rises a bit.
Thanks for the tip!
