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Max volumetric speed by filament: the few flow limits makers publish

Published October 15, 202618 sources

Short answer

Few makers publish a flow limit at all, and the ones that do attach conditions. Bambu Lab lists PLA Basic at 24 mm³/s on its standard 0.4 mm hotend and 40 mm³/s on its 0.4 mm High Flow hotend [4]; Polymaker's wiki recommends 15 mm³/s for PolyLite PLA and 24 mm³/s for PolySonic PLA [10]. Treat any published figure as a ceiling for that hardware, and measure your own.

By material

The span of values each manufacturer group publishes, computed from the product table below. "Products" counts entries in the database; "reporting" counts those whose maker publishes this value.

MaterialReporting / productsPublished max flow mm³/s (lowest – highest)
PLA5 / 515–28
PA (nylon)1 / 110
PA-CF1 / 112
PET-CF1 / 120
PETG1 / 124
PETG-CF1 / 125
PVA1 / 18
TPU1 / 112

Every product that publishes this value

12 products from 4 brands. Sorting puts "not published" last.
Source
Bambu LabPLA BasicPLA190–23024≤ 300[3, 4]
Bambu LabPLA MattePLA190–23028≤ 300[4, 5]
Bambu LabPETG HFPETG230–26024≤ 300[4, 6]
Bambu LabTPU 95A HFTPU220–24012≤ 200[7, 8]
PolymakerPolyLite PLAPLA190–2301550–200[9, 10]
PolymakerPLA ProPLA210–23022≤ 300[10, 11]
PolymakerPolySonic PLAPLA190–2302450–300[10, 12]
PolymakerPolyDissolve S1 (PVA)PVA215–225850–150[10, 13]
PrusamentPA11PA (nylon)265–28510not published[14]
Siraya TechFibreheart PET-CFPET-CF280–3202030–120[15]
Siraya TechFibreheart PETG-CF ProPETG-CF250–2702530–300[16, 17]
Siraya TechFibreheart PPA-CFPA-CF280–3201230–120[18]

Why so few makers publish it

Maximum volumetric speed is the most useful number for fast printing and the least standardized. It is not a property of the plastic alone: OrcaSlicer’s documentation says the value varies with the material, the machine, the nozzle diameter and the extruder setup, and that brand and color can change it within one material type [1]. A maker can only state it for hardware it controls or names, which is why most data sheets in this database leave it out.

Of the products listed, the published figures come from four kinds of documents:

  • A hotend’s product page. Bambu Lab’s High Flow Hotend page lists flow limits for PLA Basic, PLA Matte and PETG HF on its standard 0.4 mm hotend and on 0.4, 0.6 and 0.8 mm High Flow hotends [4]. The table above records the standard-hotend value and keeps the High Flow values as notes.
  • A filament product page. Bambu Lab’s TPU 95A HF page gives 12 mm³/s at a 230 °C nozzle [8].
  • A maker’s wiki. Polymaker’s print-tips page gives recommended top speeds: 15 mm³/s for PolyLite PLA, which it says is not designed for high-speed printing, 22 mm³/s for PLA Pro and 24 mm³/s for PolySonic PLA, the last two paired with 220–230 °C printing [10].
  • A data sheet. Prusament lists 10 mm³/s for PA11 among its recommended print settings [14], and Siraya Tech’s Fibreheart PET-CF sheet gives 20 mm³/s at 320 °C [15].

Reading a published value

  1. Match the hardware. A value measured on a high-flow hotend does not transfer to a standard one, and the reverse is a safe underestimate. Bambu Lab’s table shows the gap: PLA Basic 24 mm³/s on the standard 0.4 mm hotend against 40 mm³/s on the 0.4 mm High Flow hotend [4].
  2. Match the temperature. Higher flow usually needs a hotter nozzle within the filament’s range; Polymaker states its fast figures at 220–230 °C [10].
  3. Leave margin. OrcaSlicer calls its own flow test a best case that ignores retraction and other factors and suggests reducing the measured value by 10–20% or more for quality and strength [1]. Apply the same thinking to a maker’s figure.

From flow to print speed

The slicer uses this number as a cap: OrcaSlicer’s Max volumetric speed setting limits print speed whenever a requested speed would exceed it [2]. To see what a limit means for your layer height and line width, use the volumetric speed calculator. At 0.2 mm layers and 0.45 mm lines, for example, 24 mm³/s allows about 295 mm/s, while 15 mm³/s allows about 184 mm/s.

Measuring your own

If your filament has no published limit, or your hotend differs from the maker’s, measure it. OrcaSlicer’s test prints a tower whose flow rises with height; with the default settings the value is 5 + measured height × 0.5 mm³/s [1]. The calibration guide walks through it, and the tower calculator does the conversion. A measured value replaces the generic one in your filament profile; save it per filament, since the limit changes between brands and colors [1].

Questions

Why does the same filament have two different limits?

Because the limit belongs to the filament and hotend together. Bambu Lab's own table gives PLA Matte 28 mm³/s on the standard 0.4 mm hotend and 48 mm³/s on the 0.4 mm High Flow hotend [4].

Is a higher printing temperature part of the deal?

Often. Polymaker's wiki pairs its high-flow figures with printing at 220–230 °C [10], and OrcaSlicer suggests moving toward the top of the filament's temperature range before raising flow [1].

Sources

  1. Max Volumetric Speed (FlowRate) Calibration. OrcaSlicer Wiki. Slicer documentation. Limit depends on material, machine, nozzle and color; test procedure; reduce 10–20%. Accessed October 12, 2026.
  2. Material Volumetric Speed Limitation. OrcaSlicer Wiki. Slicer documentation. filament_max_volumetric_speed caps print speed. Accessed October 12, 2026.
  3. Bambu PLA Basic Technical Data Sheet (V3.0). Bambu Lab. Technical data sheet. Recommended printing settings, drying, physical, thermal and mechanical properties. Accessed October 12, 2026.
  4. Bambu High Flow Hotend (H2/P2S/X2D) product page. Bambu Lab. Product page. Max volumetric speed table for PLA Basic, PLA Matte and PETG HF with standard-flow and high-flow 0.4/0.6/0.8 mm hotends. Accessed October 12, 2026.
  5. Bambu PLA Matte Technical Data Sheet (V3.0). Bambu Lab. Technical data sheet. Recommended printing settings, drying, physical, thermal and mechanical properties. Accessed October 12, 2026.
  6. Bambu PETG HF Technical Data Sheet (V1.0). Bambu Lab. Technical data sheet. Recommended printing settings, drying, physical, thermal and mechanical properties. Accessed October 12, 2026.
  7. Bambu TPU 95A HF Technical Data Sheet (V1.0). Bambu Lab. Technical data sheet. Recommended printing settings, drying, physical, thermal and mechanical properties. Accessed October 12, 2026.
  8. TPU 95A HF product page. Bambu Lab. Product page. Max volumetric speed and print speed of TPU 95A HF vs. Bambu TPU 95A at 230 °C. Accessed October 12, 2026.
  9. PolyLite PLA Technical Data Sheet (V5.4). Polymaker. Technical data sheet. Physical, thermal and mechanical properties of printed specimens; recommended printing conditions incl. drying. Accessed October 12, 2026.
  10. Polymaker Material Print Tips. Polymaker Wiki. Manufacturer documentation. Per-product print tips, including recommended maximum volumetric speeds. Accessed October 12, 2026.
  11. Polymaker PLA Pro Technical Data Sheet (V6.0, 2026-01-26). Polymaker. Technical data sheet. Physical, thermal and mechanical properties of printed specimens; recommended printing conditions incl. drying; specimens printed on a Bambu Lab P1S. Accessed October 12, 2026.
  12. PolySonic PLA Technical Data Sheet (V6.0, 2026-06-08). Polymaker. Technical data sheet. Physical, thermal and mechanical properties of printed specimens; recommended printing conditions incl. drying; mechanical data at classic and high print speed. Accessed October 12, 2026.
  13. PolyDissolve S1 Technical Data Sheet (V5.4). Polymaker. Technical data sheet. Physical properties, material compatibility table, recommended printing conditions incl. drying. Accessed October 12, 2026.
  14. Prusament PA11 Technical Datasheet (v1.0, 22-07-2026). Prusa Polymers. Technical data sheet. Recommended print settings, typical material properties and mechanical properties of printed test specimens; chamber temperature and maximum volumetric speed. Accessed October 12, 2026.
  15. Siraya Tech Fibreheart PET-CF TDS. Siraya Tech. Technical data sheet. Print settings, drying, unannealed and annealed property data, max extrusion volumetric speed. Accessed October 12, 2026.
  16. Fibreheart PETG-CF Pro TDS. Siraya Tech. Technical data sheet. Print settings, drying, property data with test methods. Accessed October 12, 2026.
  17. Fibreheart PETG-CF Pro Filament (product page). Siraya Tech. Product page. Flow rate up to 25 mm³/s; HDT 76 °C claim; product specifications. Accessed October 12, 2026.
  18. Siraya Tech Fibreheart PPA-CF TDS. Siraya Tech. Technical data sheet. Print settings, drying, unannealed and annealed property data, max extrusion volumetric speed. Accessed October 12, 2026.