Comment on I want to branch out from PLA. Should I try ABS or TPU?
earphone843@sh.itjust.works 1 month ago
TPU really needs direct drive extruder to work well. ABS needs an enclosure, but you could just make one from an 8x4 sheet of foam insulation and tape for cheap.
akilou@sh.itjust.works 1 month ago
I don’t know what a direct drive extruder is but I have a Bambu A1
earphone843@sh.itjust.works 1 month ago
A direct drive extruder is one where the motor that runs the filament sits right above the hotend. Since TPU is squishy, the long tube from a Boden setup gives it too much room to squish.
ikidd@lemmy.world 1 month ago
That’s a bowden extruder, you’ll have problems with TPU.
Try PETG, just dial up the retractions a bunch and slow it down.
SapientLasagna@lemmy.ca 1 month ago
A1 has a direct drive extruder. It does function as kind of a hybrid thing with the AMS though. Use of the AMS with TPU isn’t recommended, but there are a couple of harder TPU filaments that supposedly work.
ikidd@lemmy.world 1 month ago
Oh, ok. Every picture I saw made it look like a bowden extruder sitting on the end of the X gantry, with the tube going over to the hotend.