TPU advice
Hi I have a couple questions for printing for tpu. what settings do you use? do you print with the print fan on or off? do you loosen the idler screw? is it better to print in on blue tape on top of smooth pei sheet? i will be using sainsmart tpu
RE: TPU advice
I've had nijaflex stick so strong to PEI that it ruined both the PEI and the print. I bought a generic steel sheet and coated one side with painters tape and the other with PEI, I use the side with the tape only for TPU and the other for PETG. I use the original Prusa smooth sheet for PLA and recently for PC.
I do loosen the tension on the filament, that way there is less chance of the gear grabbing to well and pulling the filament around it. I always watch the first layer closely, that seems to be the time when it has the highest chance of kinking and going bad. If you see it start to get pulled in a tug on the filament can usually correct it without having to stop anything. If your TPU is a bit stiffer than nijaflex then you probably don't have to be quite as careful.
No retraction, print slow, fan off except for bridging.
RE: TPU advice
@martys
thank you for your response! i will set all of this on the slicer. is painters tape just masking tape?
RE: TPU advice
@ditowski
Back before PEI was a normal thing to print on it was common to use painters tape on aluminum beds and I tried lots of different kinds.
The best was always the 3M blue painters tape. Other masking tapes worked but most needed to be sanded or treated to get parts to stick well to them, the blue stuff has a surface that works the best. Unfortunately it's also the most expensive tape option...
Of course I wasn't printing TPU back then, with how strongly TPU sticks maybe the cheap stuff would work well. I have several rolls of the blue stuff left over from old printers so that's what I have been using.