3D Printing InfoFilament comparison
BVOH vs TPU soft
Compare printing settings, strength, heat resistance, dated prices and sources.
2 selected · all documented properties
| Property | BVOH (soluble support)SUPPORT | Soft TPU (below 85A)FLEX |
|---|---|---|
| Market snapshot | ||
| Listing priceUSD/kg; dated snapshots | $165.72/kg median; $165.72–$165.72/kg across 1 dated product listings | $114.04/kg median; $109.80–$122.27/kg across 4 dated product listings |
| Identity & Market | ||
| Base polymer / chemistry | Butenediol vinyl alcohol copolymer — a vinyl alcohol copolymer that dissolves faster and in cooler water than straight PVA[1] | Very soft thermoplastic elastomers below 85 Shore A. Fiberlogy's FiberFlex 30D measures 81 Shore A, the softest grade with a published datasheet found here[2] |
| Densityg/cm³ | Not documented | 1.07 (Fiberlogy FiberFlex 30D, ISO 1183)[2] |
| Typical priceUSD/kg | 1 kg-equivalent spools cluster near 166[1] | 1 kg-equivalent spools cluster near 115[3][4][5] |
| Price range across brandsUSD/kg | 166 at Fiberlogy's 500 g pricing on 3DJake[1] | 110–122 at 1 kg-equivalent; Recreus 70A 110 and 60A 116 at 500 g, NinjaTek Edge 83A 112, NinjaTek Chinchilla 75A 122; the Recreus 3 kg spools fall to 70–73[3][5][4] |
| Market availability1–5 | Niche, a handful of specialist brands[1] | Niche, a handful of specialist brands[2][6][3] |
| Spool sizes & diameters | 1.75 and 2.85 mm; 0.5 kg spools[1] | 1.75, 2.85 and 3 mm; 0.5, 0.85, 1, 2 and 3 kg spools[2][3][7][4] |
| Typical applications | Dissolvable support where PVA dissolves too slowly, and for materials PVA bonds to poorly[1] | Highly compliant seals, soft grips and prosthetic liners[2] |
| Printing Parameters | ||
| Bed temperature°C | Not documented | 50–70 (Fiberlogy FiberFlex 30D)[2] |
| Enclosure / chamber requirement1–5 | Open frame is fine[8] | Open frame is fine[2] |
| Bed surface & adhesion aid | Not documented | PEI sheet or painter's tape; Polymaker warns TPU can over-stick and advises a glue stick as a release agent[9][10] |
| Overall printing difficulty1–5 | Intermediate — dry filament and a tuned profile[11] | Expert / industrial hardware only — below 85 Shore A the filament buckles in almost any feed path that is not a short, constrained direct drive[7][10] |
| Extruder requirement | A second extruder or a tool changer[8] | Direct drive only, with a constrained filament path; Bowden is not viable at this hardness[7][6] |
| Hardware Wear & Reliability | ||
| Nozzle hardness required1–4 | Brass fine indefinitely[8] | Brass fine indefinitely[12] |
| Abrasiveness1–5 | Non-abrasive[8] | Non-abrasive[12] |
| Nozzle clog risk1–5 | Very high — frequent jams without careful setup[11] | High — jams from moisture, heat creep or particles; below 85 Shore A the filament buckles and compresses, and Simplify3D warns that raised feed rates most likely end in a jam[9][10][11] |
| Heat-creep / jam sensitivity1–5 | Not documented | Very high — softens in the cold zone readily[10] |
| Hotend requirement | Not documented | No special hot-end required, but a direct-drive extruder is (Simplify3D)[9] |
| Moisture Behaviour | ||
| Moisture absorption (hygroscopicity)1–5 | Very high (>2 %) — the vinyl alcohol backbone is what makes it soluble[11][8] | Moderate[11] |
| Symptoms when wet | Not documented | Bubbling and popping at the nozzle, stringing and a rough surface[11] |
| Effect of moisture on strength | Not a structural material; no dry-versus-conditioned data is published[11] | Polymaker groups TPU with the highly hygroscopic materials; no dry-versus-conditioned figures are published[11] |
| Storage requirement | Sealed with desiccant at all times[11] | Sealed with desiccant; often kept in a dryer during the print[11] |
| Mechanical Properties | ||
| Elongation at break% | Not documented | 870 at break (Fiberlogy FiberFlex 30D, ISO 527) — the highest elongation in the dataset[2] |
| Brittleness1–5 | Not documented | Very ductile — bends far before failing[2] |
| Hardness (scale-specific)Shore A / Shore D / Rockwell | Not documented | 81 Shore A and 30 Shore D (Fiberlogy FiberFlex 30D, ISO 7619)[2] |
| Creep resistance / sustained load1–5 | Not documented | Poor — no creep test at this hardness; a printed 95A TPU bar crept from 74.5 to 82.7 mm over 5 days at 1.25 kg[13] |
| Fatigue / repeated-flex resistance1–5 | Not documented | Excellent — living hinges viable[10] |
| Elasticity / flexibility1–5 | Not documented | Rubbery / highly elastic[2] |
| Wear resistance & friction | Not documented | Tear strength 95 kN/m (Fiberlogy FiberFlex 30D, ISO 34-1)[2] |
| Thermal Properties | ||
| Melting point / Vicat°C | Not documented | 170 melting (Fiberlogy FiberFlex 30D, DSC)[2] |
| Environment & Chemical | ||
| UV resistance1–5 | Not documented | Good — years with some colour shift; Polymaker lists UV exposure among the conditions TPU withstands[10] |
| Chemical resistance | Not documented | Withstands industrial solvents and UV exposure (Polymaker)[10] |
| Water / humidity resistance in service1–5 | Dissolves or disintegrates — by design[1] | Not documented |
| Food contact | Not documented | Not food safe without specific certification (Polymaker)[10] |
| Biodegradability / compostability | Not documented | Not biodegradable[10] |
| Recyclability | Not documented | Not accepted in household plastic collection[10] |
| Health & Safety | ||
| Fume toxicity1–5 | Low hazard — minimal VOC and particle emission; none of these materials was in the chamber study[14] | Low hazard — minimal VOC and particle emission; TPU was not among the nine filaments in the chamber study[14] |
| Ventilation / filtration requirement1–5 | Open a window / occasional ventilation[14] | Open a window / occasional ventilation[14] |
| Post-Processing | ||
| Sanding & machining | Not documented | Difficult to sand or smooth; Polymaker limits post-processing to trimming or tumbling[10] |
| Gluing & solvent welding | Not documented | Cyanoacrylate bonds TPU; no common solvent welds it[10] |
| Vapour / chemical smoothing | Not documented | No practical vapour smoothing[10] |
| Support material pairing | This is the support material[1] | Polymaker warns TPU supports are often very difficult to remove[10] |
| Solvents & Solubility | ||
| Soluble in | Water: about 1 g of BVOH per 20 g of water, several hours; warmer water is faster but must not be too hot.[15][1] | DMF, DMSO, NMP and THF dissolve TPU; acetone, MEK and cyclohexanone are partial solvents. All laboratory reagents.[16] |
| Softened or crazed by | Nothing else — a vinyl alcohol copolymer resists organic solvents, so IPA or acetone will not touch it.[17] | Toluene and benzene swell it up to +50 % by weight at 23 °C; esters swell it severely; ethanol and IPA soften it.[16] |
| Solvent welding & smoothing agent | None — water is a removal solvent, not a welding one.[15] | None practical — the true solvents (DMF, THF, NMP) are laboratory reagents and leave the joint swollen and weak.[16] |
Material entries describe families or representative grades, not an interchangeable specification for every spool. Test methods, orientations and conditions may differ. Unknown values are marked “Not documented”. Prices and source dates remain historical snapshots; check the linked guide for product details. Differences highlight text, not a universal winner.
Sources for this comparison
- Fiberlogy BVOH Natural — product page 3DJake International · 2026-08 · vendor
- FiberFlex 30D Technical Data Sheet Fiberlogy · 2026-08 · tds
- Recreus product catalogue Recreus · 2026-08 · vendor
- Chinchilla product page — print guidelines, spool sizes and price NinjaTek · 2026-08 · vendor
- NinjaFlex Edge product page — durometer, print guidelines and price NinjaTek · 2026-08 · vendor
- Filaflex 82A product page (Shore hardness and elongation) Recreus · 2026-08 · vendor
- NinjaFlex 85A Technical Specifications NinjaTek · 2026-08 · tds
- PolyDissolve S1 Technical Data Sheet V5.4 Polymaker · 2024-11 · tds
- Flexible (TPE/TPU) — Ultimate 3D Printing Materials Guide Simplify3D · 2026-08 · doc
- TPU — material basics Polymaker Wiki · 2026-08 · doc
- Wet Filament — signs, causes and drying Polymaker Wiki · 2026-08 · doc
- Extrudr Product Catalogue (DURAPRO PA12 data block) Extrudr · 2025-03 · tds
- BambuLab TPU 95A HF vs Qidi TPU 95A HF — results spreadsheet My Tech Fun (Igor Gaspar) · 2024-02 · test
- Emissions of Ultrafine Particles and Volatile Organic Compounds from Commercially Available Desktop Three-Dimensional Printers with Multiple Filaments (Azimi et al.) Environmental Science & Technology 50(3) 1260-1268 · 2016-01 · paper
- Water soluble (BVOH/PVA) — Knowledge Base Prusa Research · 2026-08 · doc
- Elastollan — Chemical properties: swelling and chemical resistance BASF · 2026-08 · tds
- Polyvinyl alcohol — KURARAY POVAL application guide Kuraray · 2026-08 · tds