Bondtech IFS for TPU on the Mini
Hello,
I have a stock Mini+ and it prints and prints. I bought it used with 29 days printing time, now it has 80 days in it. I had some clogging at the beginning but solved it easily as the previous owner didn't pretensioned the hotend PTFE tube when he replaced it. And had an another problem where I had to tighten the screw holding the Z column. That's it. Incredible technology.
I print mainly ASA and PETG, and with acceptable success TPU 98A. But I can not print any TPU which is softer than 98A.
My questions are:
- Is it worth upgrading the stock extruder to the Bondtech one for ASA and PETG printing? My stock machine prints wonderful PLA/PETG/ASA products.
- Will it print TPU better?
- Will it be able to print softer TPU like 80A?
Thanks in advance.
Best Answer by Johegy:
Reporting: I did the upgrade. Immediately printed the same gcode with the same TPU98A material that I printed a week ago with the stock extruder. I think the quality is better, but not by a high margin. Tomorrow I will compare this print side by side to the part printed a week ago.
Also printed the same gcode (so it was sliced for TPU98A) in TPU92A. And it worked, the result is quite nice, for me it's good enough even with the wrong slicer settings. With this 92A material and the stock extruder I was not able to print anything while I tried hard. With the Bondtech it just got printed. Total success.
And the idler thumbscrew and the integrated filament sensor is also a big plus. The bulky stock filament sensor and especially its cable which made me mad sometimes has gone! 🙂
RE: Bondtech IFS for TPU on the Mini
This has been discussed a lot:
I have not personally printed below 98A but from what I read, the Bondtech extruder is an improvement in pretty much all cases, and especially for softer filaments. Every other mod seems more hit and miss. I've read good and bad about hot end and direct drive mods, for example.
Regards,
Mark
RE: Bondtech IFS for TPU on the Mini
Thanks Mark. I tried to find info here and elsewhere too on TPU printing with it, but could not find any relevant. I bought one today, so I will check it with softer TPUs and report back here sooner or later.
RE: Bondtech IFS for TPU on the Mini
I'm printing mostly PETG, but out of curiosity i replaced the extruder in one MINI+ i have to check if i can improve quality, which is similar to the output from MK4 (i'm using IS profiles on all printers) So after 2 kg of filament that i ran through the extruder i don't see any improvements in quality. What i noticed is different sound of the extruder, it generates higher frequencies, which is more noticeable compared to the original, that is, the printer gets a little louder. You don't have to change any settings besides those in HW menu, no need to slice files from the beginning. So at this moment for me it's just sunk cost of curiosity 🙂 maybe it will pay off in the long run, but i don't have any issues with the original extruder too.
RE: Bondtech IFS for TPU on the Mini
I'm printing mostly PETG, but out of curiosity i replaced the extruder in one MINI+ i have to check if i can improve quality, which is similar to the output from MK4 (i'm using IS profiles on all printers) So after 2 kg of filament that i ran through the extruder i don't see any improvements in quality. What i noticed is different sound of the extruder, it generates higher frequencies, which is more noticeable compared to the original, that is, the printer gets a little louder. You don't have to change any settings besides those in HW menu, no need to slice files from the beginning. So at this moment for me it's just sunk cost of curiosity 🙂 maybe it will pay off in the long run, but i don't have any issues with the original extruder too.
I have the original extruder and there are no problems with PETG, ASA, PC and 98A TPU. I have seen others post that with softer stuff the Bondtech makes a difference, and adjustment is less critical than the original. Although, it seem to have adjusted mine so it works well.
Regards,
Mark
RE: Bondtech IFS for TPU on the Mini
My experience is the same as yours: the stock extruder works as it should. I haven't touched the idler screw in at least a half a year, and I print PLA/ASA/PETG/TPU98A alternately. The only problem is, that I can not print softer TPU, even TPU 95A is impossible. I tried everything from ultra slow printing speed to different temperatures. I know, that this is a task for a direct drive printer, but if the Mini can do this with an upgrade, I don't need a better one (if it exists at all). We will see...
RE: Bondtech IFS for TPU on the Mini
Reporting: I did the upgrade. Immediately printed the same gcode with the same TPU98A material that I printed a week ago with the stock extruder. I think the quality is better, but not by a high margin. Tomorrow I will compare this print side by side to the part printed a week ago.
Also printed the same gcode (so it was sliced for TPU98A) in TPU92A. And it worked, the result is quite nice, for me it's good enough even with the wrong slicer settings. With this 92A material and the stock extruder I was not able to print anything while I tried hard. With the Bondtech it just got printed. Total success.
And the idler thumbscrew and the integrated filament sensor is also a big plus. The bulky stock filament sensor and especially its cable which made me mad sometimes has gone! 🙂