Flexible 3D Printing Filaments Tested - Which Flex is Best?
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 12 ก.ค. 2017
- There is LOADS of flexible 3D Printing filaments on the market today, all with different properties and features. In this video we'll put 6 different brands to the test.
Octopus model used in this video -
www.thingiverse.com/thing:8896
Filaments tested (in order of appearance):
PolyMaker PolyFlex - www.polymaker.com/shop/polyflex/
Generic TPU (3D Printer Gear) - www.3dprintergear.com.au/51-f...
Fiberlogy Fiberflex 40D - fiberlogy.com/en/fiberlogy-fil...
Essentium TPU - essentiummaterials.com/product...
MakeShaper TPU 85A - www.makeshaper.com/product-cat...
Diabase X60 Ultra-Flexible Filament - flexionextruder.com/shop/x60-...
NOTE: No links above are affiliate, no money has changed hands and all opinions in this video are my own!
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weird flex but ok
I clicked only because I knew you'd be there
I'm disappointed there was no Flex tape in the vid. :(
Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh ☝️
I see what you did there. Well played.
heh
A bit disapointed that there is no Filaflex or Ninjaflex, but great video
true, but don't see it much in Aus. Maybe it'll be in a part 2.
Maker's Muse May i suggest that you also test Semiflex ? So that you can compare what you call semi-flexible materials to what is considered by manufacturers "semi-flexible"
Cheeta from ninjaflex seems interesting.
Ola Ruud I have used cheetah filament and it's amazing. Printed at 60mm/s and it worked perfectly. very flexible and fast. No jams or anything. Just a very expensive filament lol
Carter Bridges I like Cheetah also much, easy and fast, good quality, won't buy basic TPU anymore
Thanks for including us! Glad to see you had good results!
Nice to see an old vid, helps me recognize how much your presentation has improved over the years while still maintaining quality content.
Thanks for the hint with Fiberlogy. I’m looking to start a 3D adventure with Select Mini V2 and currently I’m exploring filament pricing, availability and reviews doing first 3D models to see if I should really jump in. Anyway I really like your videos, good work!
Great review! I'm printing usable shoes from TPU and TPE, your video is a nice addition to the materials I need to try! Thanks!
You should do an update on the last filament. Like changing the settings so it prints well and printing (or even designing) some useful things would be great
what are the odds that I've been watching a ton of videos on this topic and you put out this video! Sweet!
Hey Angus, your videos are always top-tier quality and the perfect mix of entertaining and informative. I get excited about any content that comes from you. Keep up the good work
This was great. I was looking for a more rigid filament and had no idea where to find it. Now I have some options.
Such a dope video man!!! I have been looking up flexible material !!!
Thank you for actualy making a helpful video, i have been having trouble finding somthing useful untill now.
Thanks man. I got my first spool of TPU and had a hard time printing larger objects. Your hint with increased temperature, lowered speed and no retraction did it on my ender-3
but did the stringing increase after you disabled retraction?
I just love your channel every time I have a doubt. I just search for your videos and I find all the answers I need ^^'
Congratulations! I'm your fan. kkkk
and I'm glad that even though I'm Brazilian I learned English and I can understand your videos normally
Awesome! SO glad you had the X60 on here! I am getting a product prototype done using a 60A TPU 3D printed. I should have it by Feb 10th. I have it on 100% infill so I hope it doesnt under extrude at all.
this is the EXACT video i needed
first
Thats cheating!
Maker's Muse not fair
:P I did it after making it public! But no, not fair hehe
wow i wanted to be first :(
Maker's Muse i have a question can you do a review on a printer called the cube 3 from 3d systems please
I can vouch for Fiberlogy 40D and 30D (softer than 40D) flexible filaments - I tried both to print some RC car tires and they came out pretty good. Using the OpenRC F1 as an example - I would recommend the 40D for the front spoiler bumper as the filament is a bit more rigid than the 30D but still flexes well to lessen damage caused by impacts and crashes. The 30D filament is good for tires but you need to be careful with the number of perimeters and your infill type - I found 2 -3 perimeter walls and concentric infill made for tires that acted very similar to real-world pneumatics - turning your feed rate down to 75-80% of what you would print PLA also helps a lot.
Great video. I blindly bought nijaflex and it is elastic and combined with the fact that it stuck to itself on the roll a little bit I was unable to print on my Cetus(under extrusion). Now I have a guide I can use to determine which brand to go with, thanks!
Thanks for sharing :-)
Good introduction of this tricky prints :-)
Extremely useful information. Working with developing prosthetics and was wondering if as in the case of finger tips for instance which of these appear more able to grip or tackiness, not just the durometer.
the pink is so gorgeous! also I feel so lucky because I at print 40mm/s with my anycubic i3 mega-s and never had an issue :D I use retractions and a linear advance value of 0.65 (normally 0.4)
Nice to see original content & not just reviews on the CR10 & drones.
I like the new energy, keep it up
First time commenter on your TH-cam. Have you ever used Filkemp Filaments? I have been very impressed on drastically I no longer waste filament. They also have a great TPU!
I'm using a generic TPU (kind of the first one in the video) and I'm able to print it at 40mm/s with 6mm of rectraction without any issues (with a TEVO tarantula Pro, bowden extruder). The main difference I changed is to reduce the extruder tension to almost 0, and raise up the extrusion multiplier to 1.4, and it's working fine. I wonder if someone else already tried it.
Interesting videos. A little question, with 10 different possible infill in Cura2 for example, have you ever played with the infill kind to see the effect on "squishiness" of the object for a same infill %? I wonder if there is an impact.
i love it when he says "LETS GET STARTED"
While this is an older video, I have just bought & tried a roll of Polymaker TPU90. (purchased locally here in Oz) This is the softest filament I have tried to date & have been very impressed. Yes a few little tweaks for my Prusa & though it's too soft for some things, so far I have found it to be of very good quality.
Thank you for pointing out flex vs elastic
Great video. Have you tried placing PLA prints in a carburetor cleaner vapour bath to make them flexible?
Hadn't tried any of these type, cool! My favorite I've tried is Cheetah. It's perfect for Witch King of Angmar gauntlet parts that then get heat molded for a custom fit 😁
Thank you for your review. Do you have a new favorite for something similar to the MakeShaper TPU 85A?
Nice, I tested 3 flexi/semi filaments on the robox, your right the slower the print the more reliable, I had trouble with ninjaflex, and really flexible material, wouldn't feed or print at all.
Great video. Thanks man!
Ninja Flex is my fav for anything I need flexible on a quad. I have gotten some 63A to print on Ender3(Amazon Basics). I have upgraded the base model Ender3 as follows: Capricorn PTFE, Changed to a 26 tooth extruder gear and sharpened it with a small dremel sanding disc at very low speed I was really trying to get rid of some burring that didn't get cleaned off at the factory, and I also printed the extruder clip that puts more spring tension on the material going through the extruder gear. Here's my settings: nozzle size .36, flow to 105%, print in .16mm or smaller layer heights, only 40mm\s on print speed, and change your infill and inner wall speed to match. I also printed the material at the top of its temp range. A slow go compared to the 92A Ninja Flex at 85mm\s infill and inner wall at 100mm\s
Life with a 3D printer: Currently 6 A:M. Started 45 minute print at midnight. Just finished now. Dealing with the design, misprints then a huge clog was well worth it.
Hendryck De Los Santos what did you make
I made Arduino clips to hold and mount an Arduino board to anything by screwing the mount in, but I'm new to 3D printing which explains the long hours I put into printing something so simple. Currently, I am designing and printing connectors so I can make frames out of 6mm wooden dowels, and they're coming out perfect! I even made a dowel connector that connects to my Arduino mount instead of screws. Effectively, I am hoping to have a fully modular array of connectors and mounts to mount all sorts of Arduino modules.
keep up printing, you'll see, it gets faster and easier when you know what settings to tweak for what types of prints :)
what program do you use and is it free?
Nathan Green Tinker Cad is a free web based 3d printing design software
When I finally find some time I'll send you some really impresive Polish filaments. As Fiberlogy flexes are nice and easy, I have some real monsters in my closet.
45ShA anyone? Or 60ShA with 600% extension? or maybe you need high friction coefficient and soft touch flex?
There's one company here in Poland that makes I think 7 flexes each with different applications and chemistry.
No facy colours and spools though. Purely technical high-end stuff.
Hi Angus I have a question. Have you ever tried flexible filament with the Cetus. I have a Cetus and simply love it. I've used PLA and PETG and it works like a champ. I've never thought of using flexible material because the Cetus software doesn't have a lot of option for retraction and the like.
Can we have an update on this? I'm really interested in printing gromits and shock absorbing parts do understanding how I tell how elastic a filament is going to be would be great.
Hi there, thanks for your video👍 just wondering is the flexion extruder a must? I probably only need to print the rubber tires for once and do not need to do it again. Do I still need to buy the flexion extruder?
Hi Angus, very nice video 🙂 What's your suggestion for a recycled TPU?
@Angus: I'm wondering ; what about the grippy-ness of those materials?
I've used some TPC-flex in the past and prints where flexible, but still quite slippery.
I printed some rubber feet for f.e. a 3d printer, but the machine still slides on the table too easily.
Which filament can be used best for this application?
Winand D I have some NinjaFlex, I printed feet for my printer. They hardly move at all. Maybe it also helps if you change your bed material (glass/tape)
Alright, i should try some Ninjaflex then! I print on a Buildtak surface (sometimes on Kapton), so it does not leave any tape residu.
Printed Overture TPU on Anycubic Kobra. It was a Tinker CAD model for a handle that had to be easy on the hands and had to slip onto my tool end. The auto feed required pushing in the filament until it stops, then getting the extrusion started. The hole in the handle where the end of the tool was about 18mm square and went in about 60 mm into the handle shopping 50mm before the end of the handle. I was concerned about what might happen at the end of the hole, but the Kobra bridged across the end of the hole and went on to the end of the handle. I wonder if PLA would have done the same.
i'm sure the infill pattern/shape matters a lot on how squishy it is tho.
what about soft pla.
I appreciate that Fiberology seems to have tried to describe their filament characteristics in the name: "40D" implies a particular Shore hardness.
@Makers Muse, can you review M3D's Tough Ink? it's supposed to be a flexible filament that you can control the stiffness in the settings as well as it's supposed to have great bonding. I'd love to see what you think of it
I want to print shoe sole for indoor use .What filament would you recommend ? thank you for all the info!
Can you do a video on finishing flexible parts? I think Plastidip could potentially work because it's flexible but not sure if it will finish the part
SUPER HELPFUL!
Can you do conductive filament. Currently im using regular PLA to print molds for silicone, and a second mold for the conductive part, which i then auper glue together. Im thinking about investing in a second extruder so i can print flexible filaments, and then use my first extruder to simply print the conductive part straight to the flexible rubber button arrays in one print.
TPU sticks like CRAZY to PEI - I had to take my base OFF to work in my lap to put enough pressure to remove my first TPU print.
SO what is this bit about "distance" - can you do the first layer at different "heights"? I notice mine at .2mm always start at .3 on my LCD. Thanks! Great Vid!
Is your hotend improved to work with softer flexible filament? Very usefull video!
What would you guys use to print hard clips that bend to fit into a hole? Like the squeeze clips, where you squeeze the end and it bends the arches inward, and then it bends back to normal in the hole to keep it in there. Then you squeeze the ends again to bend in and pull it out of the hole? So it's hard plastic but can flex a bit without having to worry about it breaking. Any recommendations?
Could you share the printing settings you had for the different filaments on the prusa as well as on the wanhao?
Maker's Muse,,
I live in the US and was wondering where i could buy the Fiberlogy FiberFlex filament, because it's not on their website
What material would be the thing to use for a bicycle phone holder? I have just bought a prusa so I am considering what to make. Last year I wanted a phone holder thingy for my bicycle. They did not have them for me then, so now I am wondering if I may not just as well try to make one ore two myself. I kinda have this idea of just slotting it into place. However, perhaps its just as well to have some straps or clamps or something. I do not want my phone falling onto the road or something in any case.
Maybe an odd question on an older video, but which flex filament gives the best GRIP?
I'm thinking printed tyres or tank tracks etc.
Anyone for a friction coefficient test??!
I'm new to 3D printing and having a blast. This video made me wonder if anyone with a duel extruder has attempt to print with both flexible and regular PLA? For example. Skull with standard PLA and outer skin being printed with one of the flexibles? Maybe for like a Terminator battle damaged bust that kind of felt like real skin.
I need to print a cover for the metal frame which needs to protect from bumps. Need flex, not elastic, able to absorb bumps
the cover is 500x370x60 mm thickness 3mm which is pretty large are and no need to bend when free staying on the table. So much confusing termination similar terminations like TPU or TPE which a lot of people tried to explain but they are confusing too.
My bet is the first black octopus material. What do you think? Thanks on advance
Any recommendations for flexible filaments for making RC off road tires? I don’t have a direct drive printer yet but looking at a small part printer for flexibles, any recommendations ?
Can you test them on the anet a8 as I have one on its way and wanna know if there are any flexible filaments that I would be able to use with it. Thanks
which is best to damped sound
are all rubbery prints shiny ? is there a matte finish filament ? or would that be a post print effect , also many the plural of 8 octopi would be octruplets :) a collective of octopi would be consortium
What is the infill amount in the tests. I tried the MatterHacher's Build Series TPU and the filament seems flexible but prints pretty hard. Basically hard with a rubbery coating more or less. Less hard with thiner parts of a print. To get any considerable real flex out of this filament I would have to print at 10% infill or less. I only printed a few items with it. A cute little baby Dragon on Thingiverse. The ears were flexible but the body was pretty hard.
Is there a TPU (Saintsmart) profile for Prusaslicer and the MK3S somewhere to be found?
thanks for the info! Could you also test brands such as Hatchbox and Sainsmart please, thanks!
I know it's a simple idea but how about skateboard bushings with different flexible filaments and see which works best? (Just for those who don't know the bushings are the rubber bits in the trucks that give the leaning resistance)
May I know which filament is good for making Spring
I wonder if it's possible to print a belt with flexible filaments. Like a GT2 for example, or some other not so tiny teeth but something that could be used in a custom project. Not that we "should" start doing that since I think it's more cost efficient to just order it online, but would be a nice thing to try!
next you need to do a drop test see which one bounce more
I suspect there's a lot of variables in this. For instance, would one of them bounce better with higher infill, but not as good as the same with no infill?
That would be cool
3D Printing Professor he would print them all the same
Question: If you have to print a unit that's 24" long by 2-1/2" wide by 3/4" high.... BUT your table is only 10 or 11" long -- How do you do it? And assuming you would split the model how would you connect the 2 or 3 pieces together and still be flexible?
wich ones of these would work on a standard wanhao duplicator i3 plus if not where do you get the upgrades to use them
What % of fill and pattern?
How nay shells, and thanks for a great video as always.
is there any way to 3dprint vacuum Space , a baloon or cube or sphere shape enough captured vacuum to float in midair, is that possible in side of space s can we capture vacuum strong enough to resist atmosphere , just a question , ı have no experience about printing, just a curious question,
0:51 HAHAHA the most nervous laugh I have ever seen
NICE JOB!!!
How does the HatchBox TPU compare to these flexible filaments? Thanks!
TUP is good for stubby holders. Especially if you put a bit of texture on the outside. Remember to put a hole in the bottom though or getting the can out is a nightmare.
do you think I can print a belt for an electric skateboard ? and wich one of these filaments wouold fit the best ? because I'm considering printing the pulleys and i thought i could print the belt with a flexible material but is it really possible ?
love the video thank you
The octopi' heads were hard probably due to the dense structure of it. If I were to make the inside hollow would it flex more? Is it possible?
i was expecting to see how ninjaflex stands in this lineup, darn
Tysen P Chances are the generic TPU results is what you're looking for.
Hi Professor, fancy meeting you here. Love your work too, and I like how you are happy to suggest and credit other people, like makers muse and teaching tech. Keep up the good work, it's appreciated by many people like me who live far away from you in australia. Teachers without borders...
I wanna make tires for my 6s 100kph rc truck what would you recommend Thanks
I'm very happy with NinjaFlex, very flexi an printable on a Wanhao I3 Plus! I printed test seals for industrialcase!
Super helpful video Angus. One question, how do you get the bottom of your flexible prints smooth and glossy? I am currently test running products for our company on china-brand Buildtak and the bottom ends up sort of frosted per say. Thanks in advanced.
I'm printing on smooth build surfaces such as PEI and Print Bite (garolite). Buildtak will leave a textured surface. Try glass, if you heat it up and get the first layer distance perfect you get amazingly smooth first layers.
Awesome, thanks again so much!
I've been looking for an 85A TPU similar to the green generic tpu you use in this video. It doesn't look like it's available via the link anymore. Do you know where you can purchase it now, or do you have a suggestion of another similar 85A TPU? Thanks!
I've got a roll of BQ's flexible to use for a stamp I've been asked to make. I've successfully printed Rigid.ink's TPU on stock wanhao d6.
Think that the non-elastic semiflexibles could entertain the idea of retraction?
Yeah, I reckon if it's not elastic then retraction should work.
Hi, I want to have my TPU (NinjaTek Cheetah) prints smooth with no lines. Can you tell me the best approach to achieve a completely smooth finish? Thanks
I'm test all Tpu hardness 65,75,95 and 98 on my flashforge Dreamer had no problem and come out perfect
Hello
Can these filaments work on bowden extruder 3d printers?
Can I print any of these on a jgmaker magic or will I need and upgraded nozzle?
Some of the difference in "head squishiness" could be air trapped in some but not others. 3:06, 5:03, 6:58, 9:31(trapped) vs 8:48 (not trapped).
Also, is the level of infill identical in all cases?
Abrasion resistance testing would give useful knowledge too!
I'm Designing a cell cover what woukd b best fillament for it I bought some flexible fillament but its way to stretchy???
If I were to print a frisbee, what should I use? I want something solid but soft at the same time. I don’t want it to shatter when it lands, but I don’t want it to bend like crazy either.
I wonder how my da Vinci (stock) would cope with this fun filament? I am considering other 3D printers like that Prussia or maybe a delta printer.
Angus,
How could I get my printer to print slowly for better quality?
Can you share your default fff (profile) for flexibles for your wanhao i3 with the flexion extruder?
Is there a way to 3D print watch strap with similar properties of silicone? So it would be ok to the skin and didn't have that unpleasant stickiness.