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URL: A Wikipedia summary of the types of 3D Printer filaments in common use.
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TPU vs PLA Filament for Mold Making
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The mold on the right is PLA filament. Printed at 0.8mm thickness, it only weighs 38g yet is very strong. But it is single-use, needing removal using a heat gun. The TPU flexible mold on the left weighs 62g (the walls are 1.6mm thick). It promises to be multi use but it lacks rigidity and needs a PLA shell to hold the walls vertical. A determined acquaintance printed this for me, it took four attempts. The surface quality is not as good, especially on the top layers.
PLA is a bioplastic, made from renewables. It can potentially be composted. PLA is the most common type of filament used in FDM 3D printing. It has a low melting point, which eases printing and improves interlayer adhesion (but heat resistance of printed products is poor).
Regarding TPU, here is some advice from a follower (who uses a Prusa printer and gets better results than us): "The secret to printing with TPU is constant speed while printing. Under Print Settings, go to Speed. Set them all to 20 mm/s. Ironing will be greyed out unless you have it on. Then, in the next section, Dynamic Overhang Speed, set everything to 20 mm/s. Under Modifiers set First Layer Speed to 20 mm/s. Then under Auto Speed (Advanced), set Max Print Speed to 20 mm/s. This will prevent almost all webbing and other print issues. Some people also suggest reducing the Z-Axis Nozzle Retraction, but I have not found a need to do that."
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