3 ms·

I got into 3D printing from zero knowledge a couple of months ago, and i found PETG an absolute nightmare to deal with compared to PLA. Mind you, i only bought

I got into 3D printing from zero knowledge a couple of months ago, and i found PETG an absolute nightmare to deal with compared to PLA. Mind you, i only bought filament from Prusa and AtomicFilament, two very respectable manufacturers. Had zero issues with their PLA, and it looked beautiful. With PETG, no matter how much i tried adjusting live-z levels or playing in PrusaSlicer with print speed levels, temperature, layer height, etc., it all would mess up at some point. Out of 5 prints of the same object, I finally managed to get one great print out of PETG. But when I tried printing another one, I would start having various issues again and would have to adjust things again in hopes of eventually getting it right. I just went back to PLA and had zero issues at all since then. Even though I am aware of PLA disadvantages compared to PETG, I simply realized that for my purposes, they didn't matter nearly as much as consistency and ease of good prints.

qup 3y ago
I'll check out PLA if I can't get PETG going properly. I also have some TPU to play with, but haven't yet. Thanks! I'm also going to re-run the cube to see if the same settings work a second time, prompted by your comment. I've really only had failures with the one model.
mitthrowaway2 3y ago
I don't want to deny your experience but I want to provide a counterpoint. I actually find PETG easier and more reliable to print with than PLA, aside from a little bit more stringing. It's especially good for large objects because the warping is very minimal, and it has more strength and flexibility than PLA, and better inter-layer bonding strength, so I don't have to worry as much about brittle failures or print orientation. I use a Prusa MK3S+, with Prusa's textured sheet. After setting the first-layer Z height properly and cleaning the bed with an alcohol pad, it works flawlessly basically every time. I've used both Prusa's PETG and 3rd party filaments with equal success. After many years of falling out of love with 3D printing, PETG helped me fall back in love with it.
- krisoft 3y ago
  > I don't want to deny your experience but I want to provide a counterpoint. I heard that PETG is more sensitive to humidity from the air than PLA. So maybe that is the difference? Maybe you live in a dryer climate and the person you are responding to has more moisture in the air?
  - mitthrowaway2 3y ago
    It's a reasonable thought, but I live in the pacific northwest, which is one of the wettest climates in North America... it's possible, though.
  - filoleg 3y ago
    Could have been, but they just replied that they live in the pacific northwest, which is, incidentally, where I live as well. So that shouldn't be a factor.
- filoleg 3y ago
  Thanks for providing a detailed counterpoint, gave me some ideas. Next thing I will try is a textured sheet. For additional context, my main issues with PETG were prints detaching from the printing bed midway through (but i fixed that one by adding brims to my prints + using printing glue on the bed, and a textured sheet would help with that even more), and a more major one was the nozzle getting strings and eventually the material sticking to it and accummulating to the point of the nozzle getting clogged on the outside/unusuable (recovering from which would require aborting the print and doing the 10-min long cleaning ritual with heating up, rubbing alcohol, brushes, etc).
  - mitthrowaway2 3y ago
    This might sound like an ad, but the textured sheet (https://www.prusa3d.com/product/double-sided-textured-pei-powder-coated-spring-steel-sheet/ https://www.prusa3d.com/product/double-sided-textured-pei-po...) is somehow a miracle when it comes to printing PETG. I can't get PETG to work on a smooth bed either, but with the textured sheet, it works every time. All it takes is to keep the bed clean with an alcohol wipe, and warm it up to ~85 C during the print. Not only does it hold very well during printing, it practically slides right off the bed when the print is finished and the bed cools down. PETG does tend to curl and stick to the nozzle, that's true. I find the main culprit is if it oozes while the printer is warming up. While I'm waiting for the printer to reach temperature and the print to start, I make sure to remove any filament that might be dribbling out the nozzle using pliers or a wire brush until either the print starts or the nozzle pressure decreases enough for the oozing to stop. As long as the nozzle is clean when the print starts, it shouldn't have an opportunity gather up more material during the print. On the other hand, when 3D printing, getting off to an imperfect start will always tend to snowball toward a terrible end. Good luck!

qup 3y ago

I'll check out PLA if I can't get PETG going properly. I also have some TPU to play with, but haven't yet. Thanks! I'm also going to re-run the cube to see if the same settings work a second time, prompted by your comment. I've really only had failures with the one model.

mitthrowaway2 3y ago

I don't want to deny your experience but I want to provide a counterpoint. I actually find PETG easier and more reliable to print with than PLA, aside from a little bit more stringing. It's especially good for large objects because the warping is very minimal, and it has more strength and flexibility than PLA, and better inter-layer bonding strength, so I don't have to worry as much about brittle failures or print orientation. I use a Prusa MK3S+, with Prusa's textured sheet. After setting the first-layer Z height properly and cleaning the bed with an alcohol pad, it works flawlessly basically every time. I've used both Prusa's PETG and 3rd party filaments with equal success. After many years of falling out of love with 3D printing, PETG helped me fall back in love with it.

krisoft 3y ago
> I don't want to deny your experience but I want to provide a counterpoint. I heard that PETG is more sensitive to humidity from the air than PLA. So maybe that is the difference? Maybe you live in a dryer climate and the person you are responding to has more moisture in the air?
- mitthrowaway2 3y ago
  It's a reasonable thought, but I live in the pacific northwest, which is one of the wettest climates in North America... it's possible, though.
- filoleg 3y ago
  Could have been, but they just replied that they live in the pacific northwest, which is, incidentally, where I live as well. So that shouldn't be a factor.
filoleg 3y ago
Thanks for providing a detailed counterpoint, gave me some ideas. Next thing I will try is a textured sheet. For additional context, my main issues with PETG were prints detaching from the printing bed midway through (but i fixed that one by adding brims to my prints + using printing glue on the bed, and a textured sheet would help with that even more), and a more major one was the nozzle getting strings and eventually the material sticking to it and accummulating to the point of the nozzle getting clogged on the outside/unusuable (recovering from which would require aborting the print and doing the 10-min long cleaning ritual with heating up, rubbing alcohol, brushes, etc).
- mitthrowaway2 3y ago
  This might sound like an ad, but the textured sheet (https://www.prusa3d.com/product/double-sided-textured-pei-powder-coated-spring-steel-sheet/ https://www.prusa3d.com/product/double-sided-textured-pei-po...) is somehow a miracle when it comes to printing PETG. I can't get PETG to work on a smooth bed either, but with the textured sheet, it works every time. All it takes is to keep the bed clean with an alcohol wipe, and warm it up to ~85 C during the print. Not only does it hold very well during printing, it practically slides right off the bed when the print is finished and the bed cools down. PETG does tend to curl and stick to the nozzle, that's true. I find the main culprit is if it oozes while the printer is warming up. While I'm waiting for the printer to reach temperature and the print to start, I make sure to remove any filament that might be dribbling out the nozzle using pliers or a wire brush until either the print starts or the nozzle pressure decreases enough for the oozing to stop. As long as the nozzle is clean when the print starts, it shouldn't have an opportunity gather up more material during the print. On the other hand, when 3D printing, getting off to an imperfect start will always tend to snowball toward a terrible end. Good luck!