The mechanical conduct of versatile filaments has traditionally restricted how briskly and reliably they are often 3D printed. Spanish supplies developer Recreus approached the issue from a geometry and thermal-efficiency perspective, ensuing within the Filaflex 2.20 System, a brand new platform constructed to help higher-flow, clog-free extrusion.
“This method is at the moment patent pending, however Ignacio, the CEO of Recreus, goals to supply soft-license situations in order that main 3D printer producers can undertake this new commonplace. The objective is to unlock high-speed printing with comfortable supplies for everybody—with out compromising compatibility with the standard 1.75 mm filament format,” explains Ignacio García, CEO of Recreus.
Having mixed a 2.20 mm versatile filament with a devoted high-performance 2.20 mm hotend, the supplies developer is enabling 3D printing speeds that lastly rival inflexible supplies like PLA whereas sustaining exceptionally secure circulate with versatile polymers similar to TPU and TPE. The system additionally retains full compatibility with different supplies, together with PLA, PETG, ABS, and PC, with out the necessity for adapters or extra extruders.
Because the Recreus engineering staff places it, “Lastly, versatile 3D printing is as quick and simple as printing with inflexible supplies. That is the breakthrough the business has been ready for.”
Recreus stories that the brand new system obtained an overwhelmingly optimistic response at Formnext 2025 final week, drawing robust curiosity from customers, business professionals, and main 3D printer producers. As famous by the CEO, the response highlighted simply how keen the business is for sooner, extra dependable versatile 3D printing.
A New Stability in Flex 3D Printing
Central to this new system is a fastidiously engineered filament diameter that strikes a novel stability. Conventional 1.75 mm TPU is exact however can bend beneath compression at excessive feed charges, whereas 2.85 mm versatile supplies wrestle with inefficient melting as a consequence of their bigger mass. Recreus’ 2.20 mm filament gives a 58% enhance in cross-sectional space and a pair of.3 instances higher buckling resistance in comparison with 1.75 mm filament, all whereas preserving speedy warmth switch. This mixture leads to smoother and extra reliable extrusion, even at excessive speeds.
What’s extra? The Spanish firm has validated the system by way of greater than 1,000 hours of steady 3D printing with TPU, PLA, and PETG, reporting zero clogs or interruptions. The corporate emphasizes that the platform is totally plug-and-play, requiring no {hardware} modifications and supporting each 1.75 mm inflexible supplies and a pair of.20 mm versatile filaments on the identical hotend.
As well as, the efficiency knowledge offered by Recreus helps that assertion and demonstrates some great benefits of the brand new system. Based on the corporate, 60A TPU prints 3.7 instances sooner, 70A prints 3.3 instances sooner, 82A prints 2.3 instances sooner, and 95A prints 2.4 instances sooner than their 1.75 mm equivalents. This constant enchancment throughout totally different hardness grades displays the energy of the system’s balanced mechanical and thermal profile.
The two.20 mm filament format will likely be accessible throughout Recreus’ complete Filaflex TPU vary, together with 60A, 70A, 82A, and 95A, in addition to its Foamy line, with Filaflex 82 Foamy and Filaflex 95 Foamy.
Validated Efficiency Throughout Main 3D Printers
To help broader adoption, Recreus validated the Filaflex 2.2 System on a number of extensively used 3D printers, together with Bambu Lab’s P1P, P1S, and X1 Carbon, with extra fashions such because the H2D, H2S, and P2S at the moment in progress. The system has additionally been examined for Prusa’s MK4s, Prusa XL, and Core One, demonstrating dependable efficiency on these platforms with out requiring any modifications. Moreover, Recreus is creating multicolor capabilities for the system, with plans to introduce it as soon as testing meets the identical reliability benchmarks as single-material extrusion.
In sensible use, a versatile half that beforehand required eight hours to print with standard TPU can now be produced in beneath three hours utilizing the Filaflex 2.2 System, with constant materials circulate and no jamming. This enchancment delivers the extent of pace and reliability mandatory for each speedy prototyping and manufacturing environments. The ensuing pace and stability broaden the feasibility of functions similar to footwear and cushioning elements, comfortable robotics, orthotics and prosthetics, wearable padding, and industrial vibration-damping elements.
“Our mission has been clear for the reason that starting: make versatile supplies simpler, sooner, and extra dependable to print. 13 years after introducing flexibles to the market, this new expertise elevates that mission to a brand new dimension — enabling unprecedented pace, unmatched consistency, and softer formulations that broaden what’s doable in additive manufacturing,” says García.With its balanced filament geometry and purpose-built hotend, the Filaflex 2.2 System reveals what versatile printing can obtain when extrusion energy and thermal effectivity are engineered collectively.
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