3D Printing InfoFilament comparison
HT soluble vs TPU 85A
Compare printing settings, strength, heat resistance, dated prices and sources.
2 selected · all documented properties
| Property | High-temperature supportSUPPORT | TPU 85AFLEX |
|---|---|---|
| Market snapshot | ||
| Listing priceUSD/kg; dated snapshots | $209.00/kg median; $100.00–$290.00/kg across 4 dated product listings | $89.89/kg median; $31.99–$106.05/kg across 6 dated product listings |
| Identity & Market | ||
| Base polymer / chemistry | Break-away support compounded to survive high-temperature print chambers; 3DXTech sells separate grades for PC/ABS and for the PAEK and PEI class[1][2] | Soft thermoplastic polyurethane at 82–85 Shore A[3][4][5] |
| Densityg/cm³ | 1.37 (3DXTech THERMAX HTS1, ISO 1183)[1] | 1.11 (BASF Ultrafuse 85A) to 1.19 (NinjaFlex 85A), ISO 1183 / ASTM D792[5][3] |
| Typical priceUSD/kg | 1 kg-equivalent spools cluster near 168[6] | 1 kg-equivalent spools span 32–106; the middle of the market is about 90[6][7][3] |
| Price range across brandsUSD/kg | 100–290 across grades; 3DXTech THERMAX MTS1 100 at 2 kg, HTS2 168 at 250 g, HTS1 250 at 500 g, IEMAI 3D HT-SP 290 at 1 kg[6][8] | 32–106 across brands; Siraya Tech Flex TPU 85A 32 at 1 kg, add:north TPU Pro Matte 85A 72, Recreus Filaflex 82A 90 at 500 g, Proto-pasta Clear Flexible TPU 90, 3DXTech 3DXFLEX 85A 96, NinjaTek NinjaFlex 106[9][6][7][10][3] |
| Market availability1–5 | Niche, a handful of specialist brands[6][8] | Available from several mainstream brands[6][9] |
| Spool sizes & diameters | 1.75 mm; 250 g, 500 g, 1 kg and 2 kg spools[6] | 1.75, 2.85 and 3 mm; 0.5, 1 and 2 kg spools[6][9][3] |
| Typical applications | Support for PEEK, PEI and PC-class prints, where PVA and PLA-based supports would decompose[1][2] | Soft-touch grips, seals, wearables and anything that must compress and rebound[3][4] |
| Printing Parameters | ||
| Nozzle temperature°C | Not documented | 200–220 (BASF Ultrafuse 85A, 210 typical)[5] |
| Bed temperature°C | Not documented | 40 (BASF Ultrafuse 85A)[5] |
| Enclosure / chamber requirement1–5 | Actively heated chamber required — it is used inside high-temperature builds[1] | Open frame is fine[5] |
| 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[11][12] |
| Maximum volumetric flow (mm³/s; see test conditions)mm³/s | Not documented | 1.2–3.2 at the 15–40 mm/s BASF specifies on a 0.4 mm nozzle at 0.2 mm layer[5] |
| Warping tendency1–5 | Not documented | None[5] |
| Bed-adhesion difficulty1–5 | Not documented | Sticks to anything — Recreus states its 82A grade has excellent bed adhesion without a heated bed or additives[4] |
| Stringing / oozing tendency1–5 | Not documented | High — drying plus tuning needed[13][12] |
| Overall printing difficulty1–5 | Expert / industrial hardware only[1] | Advanced — enclosure, hardware upgrades, tuning; at this hardness the filament will not push through a Bowden tube[3][4] |
| Extruder requirement | A dual-extruder machine rated for high-temperature materials; 3DXTech states the grade is intended for dual-extruder printers designed to print high-temp materials[14] | Direct drive only. NinjaTek calls its 85A grade ideal for direct-drive extruders and Recreus specifies direct-drive printers for 82A; BASF caps print speed at 15–40 mm/s with a nozzle of 0.4 mm or larger[3][4][5] |
| Hardware Wear & Reliability | ||
| Nozzle hardness required1–4 | Brass fine indefinitely[1] | Brass fine indefinitely[15] |
| Abrasiveness1–5 | Non-abrasive[1] | Non-abrasive[15] |
| Nozzle clog risk1–5 | Moderate — needs dry filament and a clean nozzle; 3DXTech lists no special nozzle concerns but a mandatory 120 °C pre-dry for HTS1 and 80 °C for MTS1[14][16] | High — jams from moisture, heat creep or particles[13][12] |
| Heat-creep / jam sensitivity1–5 | Not documented | Very high — softens in the cold zone readily; soft filament buckles between the drive gear and the melt zone[12][3] |
| Hotend requirement | Not documented | No special hot-end required, but a direct-drive extruder is (Simplify3D)[11] |
| Moisture Behaviour | ||
| Moisture absorption (hygroscopicity)1–5 | Not documented | Moderate — NinjaTek measures 0.22 % in 24 h (ASTM D570) and BASF specifies a 70 °C dry for at least 5 h[3][5] |
| Equilibrium moisture content at ~50 % RH% | Not documented | 0.22 after 24 h water immersion (NinjaFlex 85A, ASTM D570) — an immersion figure, not an equilibrium moisture content at 50 % RH[3] |
| Drying temperature & time | Not documented | 70 °C for at least 5 h in a hot-air dryer or vacuum oven (BASF)[5] |
| Symptoms when wet | Not documented | Bubbling and popping at the nozzle, stringing and a rough surface[13] |
| Effect of moisture on strength | No dry-versus-conditioned figures are published; 3DXTech mandates a 120 °C, 4 h pre-dry for HTS1 and 80 °C for MTS1 because trapped water flashes to steam at these nozzle temperatures[14][16] | Polymaker groups TPU with the highly hygroscopic materials; wet TPU prints with poor layer adhesion and weak, brittle layers[13] |
| Storage requirement | Not documented | Sealed with desiccant; often kept in a dryer during the print[13] |
| Mechanical Properties | ||
| Tensile strength (XY)MPa | Not documented | 26 ultimate (NinjaFlex 85A, ASTM D638)[3] |
| Young's modulusMPa | Not documented | 12 (NinjaFlex 85A, ASTM D638) — two orders of magnitude below any rigid filament; NinjaTek's 95A Cheetah reaches 26 by the same method[3][17] |
| Elongation at break% | Not documented | 650 at break (Filaflex 82A) and 660 (NinjaFlex 85A); BASF measures 600 in XY and 320 in ZX[4][3][5] |
| Brittleness1–5 | Not documented | Very ductile — bends far before failing[3] |
| Hardness (scale-specific)Shore A / Shore D / Rockwell | Not documented | 29 Shore D / 85 Shore A (BASF Ultrafuse 85A, ISO 7619-1); 85 Shore A (NinjaFlex, ASTM D2240); 82 A nominal for Filaflex[3][5][4] |
| Creep resistance / sustained load1–5 | Not documented | Poor — no 85A creep test; a printed 95A TPU bar crept from 74.5 to 82.7 mm over 5 days at 1.25 kg, and softer grades creep more[18] |
| Fatigue / repeated-flex resistance1–5 | Not documented | Excellent — living hinges viable[12] |
| Elasticity / flexibility1–5 | Not documented | Rubbery / highly elastic[3][4] |
| Z strength as % of XY% | Not documented | 53 — BASF measures 320 % elongation at break in ZX against 600 % in XY[5] |
| Wear resistance & friction | 3DXTech marks tensile strength, modulus and elongation as not applicable for its support grades — they are not characterised as structural materials[1] | Abrasion 0.08 g mass loss over 10 000 cycles (NinjaFlex, ASTM D4060); 82 mm³ (BASF, ISO 4649)[3][5] |
| Thermal Properties | ||
| HDT at 1.8 MPa°C | 205 (THERMAX HTS1, printed XY, ISO 75 at 1.8 MPa)[1] | Not documented |
| Glass transition (Tg)°C | 225 (3DXTech THERMAX HTS1, DSC) — high enough to stay solid inside a PEI or PEEK build[1] | Not documented |
| Melting point / Vicat°C | Not documented | 216 melting (NinjaFlex 85A, DSC)[3] |
| Environment & Chemical | ||
| UV resistance1–5 | Not documented | Good — years with some colour shift; Polymaker lists UV exposure among the conditions TPU withstands[12] |
| Chemical resistance | Not documented | Withstands industrial solvents and UV exposure (Polymaker)[12] |
| Food contact | Not documented | Not food safe without specific certification (Polymaker)[12] |
| Biodegradability / compostability | Not documented | Not biodegradable[12] |
| Recyclability | Not documented | Not accepted in household plastic collection[12] |
| Electrical & ESD properties | Surface resistance above 10^13 ohm/sq on all three THERMAX support grades (ASTM D257) — insulating[1][19][2] | Not documented |
| Health & Safety | ||
| Fume toxicity1–5 | Low hazard — minimal VOC and particle emission; none of these materials was in the chamber study[20] | Low hazard — minimal VOC and particle emission; TPU was not among the nine filaments in the chamber study[20] |
| Ventilation / filtration requirement1–5 | Open a window / occasional ventilation[20] | Open a window / occasional ventilation[20] |
| Post-Processing | ||
| Sanding & machining | Not documented | Difficult to sand or smooth; Polymaker limits post-processing to trimming or tumbling[12] |
| Gluing & solvent welding | Not documented | Cyanoacrylate bonds TPU; no common solvent welds it[12] |
| Vapour / chemical smoothing | Not documented | No practical vapour smoothing[12] |
| Support material pairing | This is the support material. MTS1 is matched to PC/ABS and PC; HTS1 and HTS2 to the higher-temperature classes[2][1] | Polymaker warns TPU supports are often very difficult to remove[12] |
| Solvents & Solubility | ||
| Soluble in | Aqueous alkali, not water: IEMAI specifies an alkaline bath in an ultrasonic cleaner until the support dissolves.[8] | DMF, DMSO, NMP and THF dissolve TPU; acetone, MEK and cyclohexanone are partial solvents. All laboratory reagents.[21] |
| Softened or crazed by | Not documented | Toluene and benzene swell it up to +50 % by weight at 23 °C; esters swell it severely; ethanol and IPA soften it.[21] |
| Solvent welding & smoothing agent | None — the alkaline bath dissolves the support rather than welding anything.[8] | None practical — the true solvents (DMF, THF, NMP) are laboratory reagents and leave the joint swollen and weak.[21] |
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
- THERMAX HTS1 Break Away Support Technical Data Sheet v1.0 3DXTech · 2026-08 · tds
- THERMAX MTS1 Break Away Support Technical Data Sheet v1.0 3DXTech · 2026-08 · tds
- NinjaFlex 85A Technical Specifications NinjaTek · 2026-08 · tds
- Filaflex 82A product page (Shore hardness and elongation) Recreus · 2026-08 · vendor
- Ultrafuse TPU 85A Technical Data Sheet (Version 3.0) BASF Forward AM · 2022-08 · tds
- 3DXTech product catalogue 3DXTech · 2026-08 · vendor
- Siraya Tech Flex TPU 85A Filament — product page Siraya Tech · 2026-08 · vendor
- IEMAI 3D HT-SP alkaline-soluble support filament — store page IEMAI 3D · 2026-08 · vendor
- Proto-pasta product catalogue Proto-pasta · 2026-08 · vendor
- add:north TPU Pro Matte 85A product page add:north · 2026-08 · vendor
- 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
- THERMAX HTS1 — product page 3DXTech · 2026-08 · vendor
- Extrudr Product Catalogue (DURAPRO PA12 data block) Extrudr · 2025-03 · tds
- THERMAX MTS1 — product page 3DXTech · 2026-08 · vendor
- NinjaTek technical specs comparison chart (Cheetah, NinjaFlex, Armadillo, Alloy 910, Nylon 645) NinjaTek · 2026-08 · tds
- BambuLab TPU 95A HF vs Qidi TPU 95A HF — results spreadsheet My Tech Fun (Igor Gaspar) · 2024-02 · test
- THERMAX HTS2 Break Away Support Technical Data Sheet v1.0 3DXTech · 2026-08 · tds
- 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
- Elastollan — Chemical properties: swelling and chemical resistance BASF · 2026-08 · tds