3D printers for TPU: every direct-drive model

Any 3D printer with a direct-drive extruder can print TPU, and 52 shipping printers in the database have one. The cheapest by launch price is the Creality Ender-3 V3 SE at $199. The table lists all 52, lowest price first.

TPU (thermoplastic polyurethane) is a flexible, rubber-like filament. Polymaker recommends a direct-drive extruder for it, and Bambu Lab gives a 200 to 250 °C nozzle range with no enclosure required.

Four shipping printers are left out because their makers do not state the extruder type, though all four list TPU: the Flashforge Creator 5, Flashforge Creator 5 Pro, FLSUN S1 Pro and QIDI Q2C. No shipping printer in the database has a Bowden extruder on record. Prices are US launch prices for the base configuration. The Creality SPARKX i7, FLSUN V2 Max and FLSUN V400 Max have no launch price on record and sort last.

What 3D printer can print TPU?

Any printer with a direct-drive extruder, one mounted on the print head, can print TPU. Fifty-two shipping printers in the database qualify, from the $199 Creality Ender-3 V3 SE to the $3,799 Bambu Lab H2D Pro. All 52 reach at least 260 °C at the hotend, above the TPU makers’ 200 to 250 °C range.

Every one also heats the bed to at least 80 °C, which covers each bed range in the filament makers’ table below.

• Large: the Elegoo OrangeStorm Giga has the biggest build volume, 800 × 800 × 1000 mm, at $2,499.99. The cheapest with a bed over 400 mm is the Anycubic Kobra 3 Max V2: 420 × 420 × 500 mm for $599.
• Fast: the Sovol Zero ($499) and FLSUN V2 Max claim 1,200 mm/s, the highest in the list. TPU itself runs at 20 to 40 mm/s in Prusa Research’s and Polymaker’s guidance. The fastest 3D printers list sorts every printer by claimed speed.

Do you need a special 3D printer for TPU?

No, but the extruder matters. Polymaker highly recommends a direct-drive extruder for its 95A TPU and warns that a Bowden setup, with a gap between extruder and hotend, causes printing issues. TPU needs no enclosure, heated chamber or hardened nozzle: Bambu Lab lists it for open-frame and enclosed printers alike and marks a hardened nozzle as not required.

The settings three filament makers publish for TPU:

Filament maker	Nozzle	Bed	Print speed	Extruder
Bambu Lab (filament guide)	200 to 250 °C	30 to 45 °C, with glue	Not stated	Not stated
Prusa Research (flexible materials)	230 to 245 °C	60 to 75 °C	20 mm/s typical, 30 to 40 mm/s maximum	Not stated
Polymaker PolyFlex TPU95 (product page)	210 to 230 °C	25 to 60 °C	20 to 40 mm/s	Direct drive highly recommended

Softer TPU is harder to feed. The number after TPU is its Shore hardness, and a higher number means a harder grade (Polymaker), so 85A is softer than 95A. Prusa Research says the softer the filament, the harder it is to print. Anycubic’s Kobra X supports 95A TPU but not 85A.

On an enclosed printer with the bed above 45 °C, Bambu Lab advises opening the front door or removing the top glass, so chamber heat does not soften TPU in the extruder.

Which multicolor 3D printers can print TPU?

Toolchangers, which give each filament its own extruder, list soft TPU for multicolor prints: the Snapmaker U1, the Prusa XL+ with extra toolheads, and the Prusa CORE One+ (Gen 2) and CORE One L+ with INDX. Spool feeders that push filament through long tubes do not feed 95A TPU; some take grades of 64D and harder.

What each maker says about TPU in its system:

• Snapmaker U1 ($999, four toolheads): TPU is a basic material; Snapmaker shows TPU 95A HF printed with PETG and with TPU 90A.
• Prusa XL+ ($2,299 with one toolhead, up to five optional): TPU supported, paired with polycarbonate in one run.
• Prusa CORE One+ (Gen 2) ($1,299) and CORE One L+ ($1,999) with the optional INDX toolchanger (up to eight tools): TPU supported, beside rigid filaments in one print.
• Flashforge Creator 5 and Creator 5 Pro (four toolheads, not in the table): TPU-95A and TPU-64D, plus TPU-90A from a top external mount.
• Anycubic Kobra X ($399, ACE Gen 2 feeder built in): 68D or harder in multicolor prints. 95A prints as a single color only; 85A is not supported.
• Bambu Lab AMS, AMS lite and AMS 2 Pro (A1 mini, A1, A2L, P1S, P2S, X2D, H2S, H2D, H2C, H2D Pro): TPU not compatible, with 95A, 85A, 83A and 80A named as too soft. Bambu Lab’s own 68D TPU for AMS works in every AMS. The AMS HT feeds generic TPU through a separate port, loaded by hand, without automatic feed and return.
• QIDI Box (Q2, Plus5, Max4): TPU 64D supported; TPU 95A and generic TPU not supported.
• Creality CFS (K2 SE, Hi, Ender-3 V4, K2, K2 Pro, K2 Plus, K1 Max): no TPU; Creality points to the printer’s spool holder. The CFS Lite for the SPARKX i7 takes TPU 64D and 77D, not 95A.
• Anycubic ACE Pro and ACE 2 Pro (Kobra 3, Kobra 3 V2, Kobra 4, Kobra S1, Kobra S1 Max, Kobra 3 Max, Kobra 3 Max V2): dry TPU 95A but cannot load it for printing.
• Elegoo CANVAS (Centauri 2, Centauri Carbon 2): on the Centauri 2 Combo, TPU needs a Flexible Filament Adapter and the CANVAS cable unplugged.
• Prusa MMU3 (MK4S, CORE One+ (Gen 2)): PLA and PETG are the only officially supported materials, per Prusa’s January 2024 update.

The cheapest printers whose feeder takes a hard TPU are the Bambu Lab A1 mini at $299, with the AMS lite bought separately, and the Kobra X at $399 with its feeder built in. For soft 95A TPU beside other filaments, the cheapest is the Snapmaker U1 at $999. The cheapest multicolor 3D printers list sorts every multicolor system by launch price.

What is the cheapest 3D printer for TPU?

The Creality Ender-3 V3 SE is the cheapest, at a $199 launch price. It is an open-frame bedslinger (the bed moves front to back) with a direct-drive extruder, a 260 °C hotend and a 220 × 220 × 250 mm build volume. The Elegoo Neptune 4 follows at $259 and the Creality Ender-3 V3 KE at $279.

Five more launched under $300. At $299: the Bambu Lab A1 mini, Creality K2 SE, Elegoo Centauri 2 and Elegoo Neptune 4 Pro. At $299.99: the Elegoo Centauri Carbon, the only enclosed one. The 3D printers under $300 list compares all eight on speed, build volume and enclosure.