Elastomer · Thermoplastic polyurethane
IntermediateTPU
Thermoplastic Polyurethane · Flexible (Shore 95A/85A)
Flexible filament for gaskets, phone cases, and anything that needs to bend instead of break.
Print temperatures
Nozzle 210–235 °C Bed 30–60 °C
TPU brought genuine rubber-like flexibility to FDM. Its hardness is tunable — softer Shore A grades bend like rubber bands; harder 95A grades are semi-flexible — enabling gaskets, phone cases, and wearables.
Flexibility makes it harder to print: it buckles in the extruder, so it needs slow speeds and ideally a direct-drive extruder.
Strengths & trade-offs
- Rubber-like flexibility (tunable by Shore hardness)
- Excellent abrasion and impact resistance
- Good chemical and oil resistance
- Durable and tear-resistant
- Strong layer adhesion
- Hard to print — slow speeds, direct drive preferred
- Buckles / jams in Bowden setups
- Hygroscopic — dry before printing
- Stringy
- Soft grades very difficult
Best for
Phone casesGaskets and sealsWheels and tiresWearablesVibration dampers
Did you know
- TPU's parent chemistry (polyurethane) was discovered in 1937 by Otto Bayer's team, racing DuPont's nylon.
- TPU is sold by Shore hardness — the same scale as rubber bands and skateboard wheels.
