Alternatives to PFA/PTFE Bowden Tubing

[lars86 41]

Hi guys,

Has anyone experimented with different types of tubing for the bowden?

Both of these look like they could be good alternatives:

http://www.mcmaster.com/#2133t3/=x6x1z9

http://www.mcmaster.com/#52355K32

[chrisw 69]

I bought 5 ft of this one:

http://www.mcmaster.com/#51805k86/=x750zh

The material looks and feels just like the original, however the size I chose has a larger ID than the one that comes with the UM2, and this has some pros and cons.

The pro part: There's much less drag on filaments that are 3.0+ mm in diameter.

The con part: It's not quite as stiff as the original one because the ID is larger, but OD is same... so the wall is slimmer. That fact combined with the extra room inside makes the retractions not as accurate as they were with the original. Now there's a little slop that you can see when retraction occurs.

If I just wanted a replacement for the original, I'd get the same style part that I got, but with 1/8" ID instead of the 5/32":

http://www.mcmaster.com/#51805k72/=x756gd

Those other two you listed may work as well. I only have experience with the one I picked so far though

[lars86 41]

I ordered 2 ft of each to test out.

Right now I'm actually running a very short, over-head extruder drive setup. It has many benefits, but is a little tricky to execute. I'm having trouble mounting the drive in a way that allows enough movement as the print head tracks around, without allowing too much.