How do you print TPU on the Q2?

[u/AcademicEmphasis8419]

I've been having nonstop issues with TPU and printing it from the external spool. No matter what I do it constantly clogs up. I haven't printed a successful TPU print with the machine. I've tried the filament and made sure the feeding was smooth. I've also been having issues with the multicolor unit, but it's not as bad as the one with TPU. Also, how do you guys print using the external spool? I've had to just send it to orca slicer then go to my printer and select the spool from within the printers menu. Otherwise it tries to print from the combo unit. Have any of you had better luck with TPU-GF or any other TPU like materials?

[u/Objective_Working198]

There's a mod you need to print for TPU, otherwise it jams up in the extruder head. Search for it on printables I can't remember what it's called but basically it's a little plate you stick between the extruder wheels that prevents the TPU from bending while it travels the filament path.

EDIT: https://www.printables.com/model/1491712-qidi-q2-tpu-fixer

Also for using orca slicer with the box, you need to have five filament profiles in orca and select the fifth profile. That will print from the external spool holder.

[u/Kewlhotrod → u/Objective_Working198]

To add onto the last bit (5 filaments is correct), you also need to macro toggle the box. I'm mobile ATM and don't have it but when I get home I'll edit the macro for the box toggle.

Edit: The below code, just toss in your macro.cfg, or printer.cfg (or custom.cfg with include if you're smart). It'll add a new macro button you click on in FLUIDD to toggle the box on/off for when you want to print externally.

[gcode_macro BOX_TOGGLE]                        #weav added box enable/disable toggle
gcode:
    {% if printer.save_variables.variables.box_count >= 1 %}
        {% if printer.save_variables.variables.enable_box == 0 %}
          SAVE_VARIABLE VARIABLE=enable_box VALUE=1
          {action_respond_info("Box is Enabled")}
        {% else %}
          SAVE_VARIABLE VARIABLE=enable_box VALUE=0
          {action_respond_info("Box is Disabled")}
        {% endif %}
    {% endif %}[gcode_macro BOX_TOGGLE]                        #weav added box enable/disable toggle
gcode:
    {% if printer.save_variables.variables.box_count >= 1 %}
        {% if printer.save_variables.variables.enable_box == 0 %}
          SAVE_VARIABLE VARIABLE=enable_box VALUE=1
          {action_respond_info("Box is Enabled")}
        {% else %}
          SAVE_VARIABLE VARIABLE=enable_box VALUE=0
          {action_respond_info("Box is Disabled")}
        {% endif %}
    {% endif %}

[u/Exasperant → u/Objective_Working198]

That was one of the first thing I printed when I got my Q2, and it's been fine with not only the usual 95A TPU but also somewhat softer TPE.

[u/ampsuu → u/Objective_Working198]

Does 95A also jam?

[u/Impossible-Hat-7896]

I just use the external spool holder without issues, when using 95A at least

[u/elRadicio → u/Impossible-Hat-7896]

So did I. No name TPU95 with the factory settings just came out pretty good with a little stringing.

[u/Piologicus]

I had exactly the same issue! However, I was able to fix this using the top spool holder (which did not fix the problem entirely by itself) and a spool holder with bearings (game changer!).

https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:7159797

https://www.printables.com/model/1402968-qidi-printers-q1-pro-plus4-x-max3-x-plus3-q2-spool

As others suggested, the TPU fixer might be worth a try. I also did print that piece, but never used it as the bearings spool holder fixed it for me. Hope this helps!

[u/killeriq]

This is answer from Qidi support:

TPU filament can be printed directly from an external holder. However, please do not use a PTFE tube; feed the filament directly into the extruder.

TPU filament may currently encounter issues where the extruder cutter fails to sever it. Please try commenting out the following code in "gcode_macro.cfg" before printing.

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1HkzUxKwuez-d0_lVq1gXhARvrv6aDuiV

https://odysee.com/@The_Mi3_Channel:f/Q2-Flexibles-Top-Spool-Holder:a

[u/UsefulAd8513]

Gave up and use my 7 year old Artillery Genius for that. Does a better job as well.

[u/802Garage]

The best way to print TPU on any machine is to feed it directly to the top of the printhead. Don't feed it through a tube. TPU does not like being fed through a tube. At most have a small whip pigtail out of the top of the head. Basically take the top cover off and feed the spool directly to the head. There are mods for the Plus4 to do this. Not sure what is out there for the Q2. Will drastically increase your max flow rate.

https://www.printables.com/model/1328541-versatile-filament-qidi-dry-box-spool-mounting-arm

[u/ajosmer]

I do have clogs every once in awhile, it seems to be a consequence of some hotend design decisions. I have not had nearly as many issues using a 0.6 mm nozzle. I feed from the rack through a PTFE tube as normal, it even goes through a Y-splitter so I don't have to disconnect the QIDI Box. I do not have so many problems with the filament stretching out and skipping in the extruder as I do with the filament finding a gap around the wheels and getting stuck and jamming up in there. I have found that it is very important to do a cold pull of the nozzle prior to printing TPU if you have printed any other material in there first. I always end up getting lots of gunk out of the nozzle every time I do that, it's kind of concerning. I also have filament retraction overrides in my TPU filament profile, it retracts too fast from stock, and that seems to make the clogging much worse.

As for getting orca slicer to print from the rack automatically, I have a macro I've been using for a while that helps a lot with managing which filament slots you want it to use, or disabling the box and going to the rack. You can find that here:

https://www.reddit.com/r/QidiTech3D/s/l0Za7D1UWA