Hi guys and gals.
Random thoughts: After printing a spool or so’s worth of ABS, PLA, and now PETG, I can honestly say PETG is my absolute favorite. Why? PLA is too brittle, ABS smells a bit but also really warps on long prints. PETG, once you find the right temperature is strong, not brittle, and only costs a bit more than the others.
I’d like your opinions…
I’ve had a difficult time getting retraction and ooze control set correctly with PETG, but even with the occasional surfaces finish problems that gives me I’ve been happier with it than any of the many other filaments I’ve tried in the last couple years. It will print on a cold bed (although long parts definitely benefit from a heated bed), exhibits very little curl even without a cooling fan, and doesn’t delaminate even when printed in drafty environments.
It’s not the perfect filament, but it’s definitely a good one to keep on hand and probably a good default choice for a lot of people.
To me PETG is like an abs with better warping properties. It seems to be a very very nice material.
Another thing I like about PETG is that you can tap it–no need to worry about nut traps and complex blind holes when you can put threads straight into the part
Yep petg is one of those all in one kinds filaments. I do still like my pla wood for pretty or painted things. Have you noticed how light petg prints? It feels half as dense as pla but so much stronger!
Jules I haven’t noticed the weight difference, in fact I thought petg was a little heavier - evidenced by 1kg rolls that on the same size spools look to be slightly less filled, hence heavier per mm… I’ll have to check.
might be my pla, HB neon green vs esun white petg.
PLA is 1.27 g/cm^3 and PETG is 1.25 g/cm^3. So PLA is heavier by a fraction.
PETG is now my go-to filament in a big way. The other day I printed a part that needed screws, and didn’t have a tap in that size, so I simply screwed the screws in without tapping, holding my breath all the way. Worked like a charm.
PETG is far stronger than ABS or PLA in every possible way. The transparent stuff I buy (3D Prima from http://amazon.co.uk) is a gorgeous glass-like material.
I find it as easy to print as PLA, since it stick to the glass just using UHU stick glue, and rarely needs a brim to hold things down.
@Dani_Epstein , I did some basic tensile strength tests on PETG vs PLA, and I think PLA is the stronger plastic, but is far more brittle and probably less impact resistant
Thanks!
You just inspired me to try out my new spool of clear PETG that I bought months ago but never had the time to test.
After 5 test prints, each time fiddling with the parameters to fine tune it, I got a great result.
I wanted to print another of my pencil holders - basically a long thin tube, and I ended up with these settings on my Printrbot Simple Metal:
The surface finish is not as smooth as PLA, and there were some big, annoying random blobs on the inside and outside of the tube.
So, quality-wise, I prefer the smooth surface finish of PLA.
But the really cool thing was that because I needed to remove a big blob from the inside of the tube, I basically had to abuse it severely with a flat screwdriver to remove that blob. I really, really abused it… and yet the print held together no problems.
PETG is really tough stuff! I love it already!
Thanks again.
Try increasing your retraction length to avoid those blobs.
In my experience you have to be very careful with retraction with PETG. Too much too often will lead to a clog of sorts, the filament in the hot end seems to swell a bit and will get stuck. I’ve only ever seen it do that when frequent retraction is required though, on larger prints with less frequent retraction it’s less sensitive.
The random blobs seem to be more related to over extrusion. PETG reacts a little differently to overextrusion, the excess filament (or some of it at least) builds up around the nozzle and sticks there, sometimes for a very long time, before eventually breaking loose and sticking in the print as a random blob. If you get your eye level with the nozzle and watch you can actually see it happening, it’s kind of neat… And annoying.
I will keep an eye out for that, sounds interesting.
I had blobby problems with petg. Measuring the diameter of the filament and changing the numbers in cura made them go away for the most part.