Safe Printing Temperatures
“Can I print X in my Y printer with your tubing?”
Your results will vary quite a bit due to the different designs of hotends and many other variables. But the bigger concern is safety, rather than whether it physically “will work.” Small amounts of off gassing are harmless to humans, but dangerous to pet birds living in the house, for example.
In order to try and answer this, we’ve come up with this handy chart. This applies to situations where the PTFE is INSIDE the hot end, experiencing the full heat of the nozzle.
| Temp (Deg C) | Will it work? | Is it Safe? |
|---|---|---|
| 170 | YES | YES. This temperature is perfectly safe for printing PLA. |
| 180 | YES | YES. All good. |
| 190 | YES | YES. This is the within the optimal range for printing with PLA and even some ABS. |
| 200 | YES | YES. This temperature is perfectly safe for printing PLA. |
| 210 | YES | Mostly. There is evidence that even at 202, PTFE can be harmful to pet birds http://buffalobirdnerd.com/clients/8963/documents/Teflon.pdf |
| 225 | YES | YES. This is the ideal temperature range for most ABS. When printing ABS, the most danger comes from off-gassing and nanoparticles of the ABS itsself. https://www.dezeen.com/2016/02/16/health-study-reveals-harmful-toxic-effects-hazards-3d-printing-illinois-institute-technology/ |
| 250 | YES | YES. You should be fine printing slightly higher temp materials lsuch as PETG in this range. (As long as there are no pet birds in the house.) |
| 260 | YES | We do not recommend printing with our TL tubing above this range. Our XS Series tubing has additives that will allow it to print at higher temperatures without deforming, but safety is still a concern due to PTFE offgassing. |
| 270 | YES | Mostly. 270 is approximately the highest temperature at which we have had sustained successful printing over many hours/days/months with no issues. |
| 275 | YES | Maybe. At this temperature, PTFE off-gassing has been known to kill pet birds because their cardiovascular system is much more efficient at absorbing toxins than ours. http://www.peteducation.com/article.cfm?c=15&aid=2874 Printing high temperature materials should be done by experienced professionals only. It is still relatively safe to humans and other pets, but it is best to err on the side of caution and always print in a well ventilated area. |
| 280 | MAYBE | Maybe. At the 280-290 range, the tubing is likely to eventually deform during long prints. |
| 300 | Tube lifespan will be shortened | Maybe. This is entering the danger zone. Printing at these temps should only be attempted in a well ventilated area. PTFE may start to soften and fail physically after some time. Also, the filament you are printing with may be creating off-gassing as well. We recommend using XS series tubing only above this point, and running the printer in a well-ventilated area. |
| 340 | Tube lifespan will be very short | NO. At this temperature range, the PTFE will deform physically and may cause clogging. We know some people have had success at these temps but we can’t promise it will work for any given set up. Printing at these temps should only be attempted in a well ventilated area. |
| 400+ | NO | NO. At this temperature range, off-gassing dangerous to humans will be created by both the filament and the PTFE tube, and the life of the tube will certainly be diminished. The authors of this paper performed their tests at 460 C https://www.fluoridealert.org/wp-content/pesticides/teflon.effects.lung.htm We do not recommend printing in this temperature range. |