The mechanical behavior of flexible filaments has historically limited how fast and reliably they can be 3D printed. Spanish materials developer Recreus approached the problem from a geometry and thermal-efficiency perspective, resulting in the Filaflex 2.20 System, a new platform built to support higher-flow, clog-free extrusion.
“This system is currently patent pending, but Ignacio, the CEO of Recreus, aims to offer soft-license conditions so that major 3D printer manufacturers can adopt this new standard. The goal is to unlock high-speed printing with soft materials for everyone—without compromising compatibility with the traditional 1.75 mm filament format,” explains Ignacio García, CEO of Recreus.
Having combined a 2.20 mm flexible filament with a dedicated high-performance 2.20 mm hotend, the materials developer is enabling 3D printing speeds that finally rival rigid materials like PLA while maintaining exceptionally stable flow with flexible polymers such as TPU and TPE. The system also retains full compatibility with other materials, including PLA, PETG, ABS, and PC, without the need for adapters or additional extruders.
As the Recreus engineering team puts it, “Finally, flexible 3D printing is as fast and easy as printing with rigid materials. This is the breakthrough the industry has been waiting for.”
Recreus reports that the new system received an overwhelmingly positive response at Formnext 2025 last week, drawing strong interest from users, industry professionals, and major 3D printer manufacturers. As noted by the CEO, the reaction highlighted just how eager the industry is for faster, more reliable flexible 3D printing.
A New Balance in Flex 3D Printing
Central to this new system is a carefully engineered filament diameter that strikes a unique balance. Traditional 1.75 mm TPU is precise but can bend under compression at high feed rates, while 2.85 mm flexible materials struggle with inefficient melting due to their larger mass. Recreus’ 2.20 mm filament provides a 58% increase in cross-sectional area and 2.3 times greater buckling resistance compared to 1.75 mm filament, all while preserving rapid heat transfer. This combination results in smoother and more dependable extrusion, even at high speeds.
What’s more? The Spanish company has validated the system through more than 1,000 hours of continuous 3D printing with TPU, PLA, and PETG, reporting zero clogs or interruptions. The company emphasizes that the platform is fully plug-and-play, requiring no hardware modifications and supporting both 1.75 mm rigid materials and 2.20 mm flexible filaments on the same hotend.
In addition, the performance data provided by Recreus supports that statement and demonstrates the advantages of the new system. According to the company, 60A TPU prints 3.7 times faster, 70A prints 3.3 times faster, 82A prints 2.3 times faster, and 95A prints 2.4 times faster than their 1.75 mm equivalents. This consistent improvement across different hardness grades reflects the strength of the system’s balanced mechanical and thermal profile.
The 2.20 mm filament format will be available across Recreus’ entire Filaflex TPU range, including 60A, 70A, 82A, and 95A, as well as its Foamy line, with Filaflex 82 Foamy and Filaflex 95 Foamy.
Validated Performance Across Leading 3D Printers
To support broader adoption, Recreus validated the Filaflex 2.2 System on several widely used 3D printers, including Bambu Lab’s P1P, P1S, and X1 Carbon, with additional models such as the H2D, H2S, and P2S currently in progress. The system has also been tested for Prusa’s MK4s, Prusa XL, and Core One, demonstrating reliable performance on these platforms without requiring any modifications. Additionally, Recreus is developing multicolor capabilities for the system, with plans to introduce it once testing meets the same reliability benchmarks as single-material extrusion.
In practical use, a flexible part that previously required eight hours to print with conventional TPU can now be produced in under three hours using the Filaflex 2.2 System, with consistent material flow and no jamming. This improvement delivers the level of speed and reliability necessary for both rapid prototyping and production environments. The resulting speed and stability broaden the feasibility of applications such as footwear and cushioning components, soft robotics, orthotics and prosthetics, wearable padding, and industrial vibration-damping parts.
“Our mission has been clear since the beginning: make flexible materials easier, faster, and more reliable to print. Thirteen years after introducing flexibles to the market, this new technology elevates that mission to a new dimension — enabling unprecedented speed, unmatched consistency, and softer formulations that expand what’s possible in additive manufacturing,” says García.With its balanced filament geometry and purpose-built hotend, the Filaflex 2.2 System shows what flexible printing can achieve when extrusion strength and thermal efficiency are engineered together.
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