How to Print Flexible TPU Filament (Shore 95A): Settings, Tips and Real Applications

Created on 09.30

TPU — thermoplastic polyurethane — is the filament you reach for when a part needs to bend, compress, or absorb shock. It is used for phone cases, gaskets, wearable straps, drone landing gear, vibration dampers, prosthetic sockets, and industrial seals.

It is also the filament that makes most people give up. TPU is soft, and soft filament does not behave like rigid filament in a Bowden tube.

This guide explains how TPU actually flows through a printer, gives you settings that work, and shows how to pick the right Shore hardness for your application.

What Is TPU and What Does "Shore 95A" Mean?

TPU sits in the TPE (thermoplastic elastomer) family. Shore hardness describes how stiff the material is, on a scale where higher numbers are harder.

Shore Grade	Feel	Typical Use
85A	Very soft, highly elastic	Stretchable bands, soft grips, wearables
95A	Firm but flexible — the industry standard	Phone cases, gaskets, dampers, general flex parts
98A / 60D	Semi-rigid	Snap-fit clips, load-bearing elastic parts

95A is the default because it prints reliably on most machines while still flexing enough for real-world flexible parts. Start there unless your application demands 85A.

Why TPU Is Hard to Print

Rigid filament acts like a pushrod: the extruder pushes, and the filament transmits that force down the tube to the nozzle. TPU buckles instead. In a long Bowden tube, the filament compresses laterally, coils, and jams — which is why TPU print quality is dominated by hardware geometry, not by slicer settings.

Two things fix it:

Use a direct-drive extruder.
Use tight diameter tolerance.

TPU Print Settings

Parameter	Recommended Range
Nozzle temperature	210–235 °C
Bed temperature	40–60 °C (or room temperature with adhesion aid)
Print speed	15–30 mm/s
First layer speed	10–15 mm/s
Retraction distance (direct drive)	0.5–1.5 mm, or disabled
Retraction distance (Bowden)	Avoid — reduce to 1–2 mm with slow retraction speed
Retraction speed	20–25 mm/s (slow!)
Flow rate	100–110%
Part cooling fan	20–50% (off for the first layer)
Nozzle diameter	0.4 mm minimum, 0.6 mm preferred
Layer height	0.2–0.3 mm

The golden rule: slow retraction speed, small retraction distance. Fast retraction pulls soft filament into the extruder and creates a plug.

Step-by-Step: Getting Your First TPU Print to Succeed

Dry the filament first.
Set flow to 105%.
Print a temperature tower
Slow down.
Tune travel and combing.
Use a moderate nozzle.
Check your first layer.

Bowden Setup? Here Is How to Cope

If a direct-drive conversion is not possible:

Reduce retraction to the minimum that controls stringing — often 0 mm works better than 3 mm.
Cut print speed to 15 mm/s.
Increase nozzle temperature by 10 °C to lower viscosity.
Loosen the extruder idler tension slightly so the filament is not crushed and ovalised.
Print shorter, simpler models, and accept some stringing to be cleaned up with a blade.

A useful sanity check: if your TPU print fails consistently at the same point in the spool, suspect a kink or tangle, not your settings.

Drying and Storage

TPU absorbs moisture quickly and degrades print quality visibly. Store every open spool in a vacuum bag with desiccant, target below 20% relative humidity, and re-dry before any critical print. Because TPU is usually printed slowly, water vapour has more time to affect the melt — which is why dried TPU shows such an obvious quality jump. (See our full moisture-control guide for material-specific drying schedules.)

What People Actually Print in TPU

Smartphone and tablet cases with impact-absorbing corners
Seals, gaskets, and O-rings for mechanical assemblies
Drone and RC landing gear, bumpers, and camera mounts
Prosthetic liners and flexible orthotic components
Robot grippers and soft end-effectors
Vibration-isolating feet for machinery and audio equipment
Wearable straps, watch bands, and buckle-free closures

Colour, Hardness and MOQ: Buying TPU at Volume

TPU is stocked in far fewer colours than PLA, which is why custom colour production matters for brand owners. If you need a specific Pantone or RAL shade, expect a per-colour minimum order of roughly 50–100 kg — below that, running a clean colour change is not economic for any factory.

When evaluating TPU suppliers, ask for:

Shore hardness test data per batch (not just the nominal 95A claim)
Diameter records from an inline laser gauge
Vacuum packing with desiccant in every spool
Spool winding quality — TPU tangles more easily than rigid filament

We produce TPU in 1.75 mm at 85A, 95A and 98A, with custom colour matching and private-label options. Request a sample and a hardness datasheet →

FAQ

Can I print TPU on a Bowden printer?Yes, but slowly (15–20 mm/s) and with minimal or no retraction. A direct-drive extruder is strongly recommended.

What is the best bed temperature for TPU?40–60 °C. TPU bonds aggressively to PEI; a higher bed temperature makes large parts harder to remove.

Is TPU or TPE better for 3D printing?TPU is generally better. It has higher tensile strength, better abrasion resistance, and more consistent printing behaviour than most TPE blends.

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