{
  "question": "What is the best flexible filament, and how do I print TPU?",
  "slug": "flex",
  "useCase": "flexible",
  "useCaseLabel": "Flexible",
  "updated": "2026-10-14",
  "shortAnswer": "Print TPU 95A. On a direct drive, the community pace is 20–40 mm/s with little retraction and a dry spool. Softer than 90A struggles on a Bowden extruder.",
  "recommendedMaterials": [
    "tpu"
  ],
  "printerConsiderations": [
    "20–40 mm/s and minimal retraction are community settings for direct drive. This catalog does not store a print speed on these TPU rows.",
    "Softer than 90A is the Bowden caveat. Bambu Lab TPU 85A lists shore 85A. Do not send that grade down a Bowden path and expect the 95A advice to hold.",
    "Dry the spool first. TPU is on the drying consensus. The 90A record’s drying maximum is 70 °C, which is not the same number as the community TPU band."
  ],
  "pros": [
    "95A is a specific entry point, not an unlabeled flexible spool.",
    "The brands the community names, Polymaker, Overture, SUNLU, and NinjaTek, all have TPU records here."
  ],
  "cons": [
    "Overture TPU’s drying maximum of 70 °C is a material default in this import, not a temperature copied from that spool’s sheet. It is not ranked for that reason.",
    "NinjaFlex and Cheetah do not list shore hardness, so this page will not call either of them 95A or softer than 90A."
  ],
  "community": "The consensus is that TPU 95A is the easy entry flexible filament. Print it slowly, 20–40 mm/s on direct drive, with minimal retraction, and dry the filament. The brands named are Polymaker, Overture, SUNLU, and NinjaTek. The caveat is that filament softer than 90A struggles on Bowden printers.",
  "related": [
    "flexible",
    "drying",
    "ams",
    "beginners"
  ],
  "faq": [
    {
      "q": "Does the table show 20–40 mm/s?",
      "a": "No. Print speed is empty on these records. 20–40 mm/s is the community figure for direct drive, not a catalog cell."
    },
    {
      "q": "Can I put TPU in the Bambu AMS?",
      "a": "Ordinary TPU is what the AMS consensus says to keep out. Bambu sells a separate TPU for AMS spool. That is covered on the AMS page, and its nozzle range is not listed."
    }
  ],
  "sources": [
    {
      "title": "Bambu Lab TPU 90A technical data sheet",
      "url": "https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0645/5876/0155/files/Bambu_TPU_90A_Technical_Data_Sheet_582bf8f6-1f0a-474c-aeda-9e72af3689dc.pdf",
      "kind": "datasheet"
    },
    {
      "title": "Bambu Lab TPU 85A technical data sheet",
      "url": "https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0645/5876/0155/files/Bambu_TPU_85A_Technical_Data_Sheet_a7233668-497b-487f-af8a-3adb49fafaa1.pdf?v=1741314674",
      "kind": "datasheet"
    },
    {
      "title": "Community source, r/3Dprinting 11tjhyg",
      "url": "https://www.reddit.com/r/3Dprinting/comments/11tjhyg/",
      "kind": "reddit"
    },
    {
      "title": "Community source, r/3Dprinting 105sfr7",
      "url": "https://www.reddit.com/r/3Dprinting/comments/105sfr7/",
      "kind": "reddit"
    },
    {
      "title": "Community source, r/3Dprinting 1vjous3",
      "url": "https://www.reddit.com/r/3Dprinting/comments/1vjous3/",
      "kind": "reddit"
    },
    {
      "title": "Community source, r/BambuLab 183ovch",
      "url": "https://www.reddit.com/r/BambuLab/comments/183ovch/",
      "kind": "reddit"
    },
    {
      "title": "Community source, r/FixMyPrint 1526ay2",
      "url": "https://www.reddit.com/r/FixMyPrint/comments/1526ay2/",
      "kind": "reddit"
    }
  ],
  "recommendations": [
    {
      "rank": 1,
      "note": "Named 95A. Listed nozzle 220–240 °C and bed 55–75 °C. Shore is in the product name; the record does not add a separate shore field.",
      "brand": "Prusament",
      "product": "TPU 95A",
      "material": "TPU",
      "url": "/brand/prusament/tpu-95a",
      "nozzle": "220–240 °C",
      "bed": "55–75 °C",
      "pricePerKg": null,
      "datasheetUrl": null,
      "affiliateUrl": null
    },
    {
      "rank": 2,
      "note": "Polymaker TPU with a listed nozzle of 210–240 °C and bed of 30–60 °C. The record does not state a shore hardness.",
      "brand": "Polymaker",
      "product": "Polyflex TPU",
      "material": "TPU",
      "url": "/brand/polymaker/polyflex-tpu",
      "nozzle": "210–240 °C",
      "bed": "30–60 °C",
      "pricePerKg": null,
      "datasheetUrl": null,
      "affiliateUrl": null
    },
    {
      "rank": 3,
      "note": "SUNLU 95A with a listed nozzle of 210–240 °C. The high-speed name is not a measured speed in this catalog.",
      "brand": "SUNLU",
      "product": "95A High Speed TPU",
      "material": "TPU",
      "url": "/brand/sunlu/95a-high-speed-tpu",
      "nozzle": "210–240 °C",
      "bed": "30–60 °C",
      "pricePerKg": null,
      "datasheetUrl": null,
      "affiliateUrl": null
    },
    {
      "rank": 4,
      "note": "NinjaTek is one of the brands named for this question. This record lists 210–240 °C and does not list shore hardness, so it is not labeled 95A here.",
      "brand": "NinjaTek",
      "product": "Cheetah TPU",
      "material": "TPU",
      "url": "/brand/ninjatek/cheetah-tpu",
      "nozzle": "210–240 °C",
      "bed": "30–60 °C",
      "pricePerKg": null,
      "datasheetUrl": null,
      "affiliateUrl": null
    }
  ]
}