You might not realize it, but your 3D printer has a single point of failure that can keep you from printing—the PTFE tube.It seems like an inconsequential part, but after having mine fail, I now keep it on hand so my printers are never down again because of this simple wear part.PTFE tubes are essential to 3D printers You might not even know what it is, but your 3D printer can’t work without it You might be saying to yourself, “What even is a PTFE tube and why is it so important to my 3D printer?” Well, your filament needs to be guided from the filament roll into the print head.
This typically entails the filament being routed around some pretty tight bends and through several sections of your 3D printer before it actually gets extruded onto the build plate.PTFE, or polytetrafluoroethylene (better known as Teflon), is a nonstick polymer.So, in the 3D printing world, a PTFE tube is a nonstick tube that guides your filament without adding a lot of friction during the process.
PTFE is used in quite a few different parts of your 3D printer, actually.Related 5 ways you're ruining your own 3D prints Sometimes the problem's not the printer.Posts By Sydney Butler There are some methods to bypass PTFE tubes, like feeding filament directly into an extruder head.
However, these methods aren’t foolproof.It could be relatively easy for the filament to get tangled on the way down, or something to press into it and deform or catch it.While this isn’t super likely, a PTFE tube just helps keep the filament safe and sound as it goes from the roll to the extruder head, and it’s invaluable to how your 3D printer works.
These tubes are durable, but wear down over time PTFE is made to withstand some abuse, but it’s not indestructible PTFE is a pretty durable material.I have been using 3D printers for several years now and only had one tube fail on me—but I have still had one fail.I have a close friend who runs a print farm of around 20 Bambu Lab printers, and he keeps a roll of PTFE tube on hand so he can fix any printer that goes down because of it.
While PTFE is durable, it’s not indestructible.If the filament constantly rubs against the PTFE tube in a specific spot, or if the PTFE tube rubs a portion of the 3D printer in a specific spot, it’s going to wear down over time.My new Bambu Lab P2S 3D printer has an area of the glass at the top where the PTFE tube constantly rubs as it’s printing I’m slightly worried about the PTFE tube wearing down in that area, so I ordered some extra PTFE tubing to have on hand just in case it does start to break down.
PTFE tubing is cheap, and you should definitely have some on hand.It might not wear out often, but when it does, your 3D printer is down for the count until you get some replacement tubing in.Sovol PTFE Tube Brand Sovol With over 16-feet of Sovol PTFE Tube included, you'll have plenty of backup PTFE tube for your 3D printing projects.
Whether you're replacing PTFE tube in an AMS or just the feed tube that goes to your printer's extruder, having backup PTFE tube on hand is always a good idea. $8 at Amazon Expand Collapse If your PTFE tube breaks, your printer goes down I had to stop printing because I didn’t have one on hand I bought a used Bambu Lab P1S with an AMS a few months ago.When I got it home, I loaded up all four AMS slots and was starting to try to get the filament to feed through.I ran into one problem though—the left slot would just eat filament, and it never would properly feed through.
Related How To 3D Print in Multiple Colors The future of 3D printing looks more colorful than ever.Posts By Sydney Butler I eventually tore down the AMS and realized that the PTFE tubing was worn through completely in one spot.This allowed the filament to simply feed through the worn-out spot instead of going along the tube where it needed to.
As such, it ended up filling the cavity of the AMS instead of feeding through to the print head like it should.This kept me from using the AMS (at least, slot one), because, without that PTFE tube, I couldn’t get the filament to feed where it needed to.Thankfully, I was able to find a small extra piece of PTFE tubing that came with my P2S when I bought it, and I got back to printing without having to wait for Amazon.
This taught me a lesson, though—always have wear parts on hand so that when something does wear out, you don’t have any downtime.Now, I not only have extra PTFE tubing on hand, but also extra nozzles and heat socks for the printer.I plan to pick up some spare belts soon, so that way, no matter what happens, my printer won’t be down because of a worn-out part.
Bambu Lab P2S Build Volume 256x256x256mm Printing Speed 600mm/s The Bambu Labs P2S 3D printer is ready to go out of the box and can have you printing within 15 minutes.It features up to 20-color printing with the AMS unit, has an upgraded built-in camera for remote monitoring and time lapses, and has an enclosed body for printing even high-temperature filament.$549 at Bambu Lab Expand Collapse
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