Romstar
Posts: 2
Joined: Tue Feb 21, 2023 6:35 pm

Newbie PETG Issues

Hello People,

Newbie here. I've designed a small clip which prints well in PLA however I require PETG properties. I just can't seem to get it to print right. I've played wh temp, speeds, retraction etc. Printing at 190 degrees and slow vs 245 degreed results in a better print but brittle..but also a little warped and still not usable.

I've attached a pic..hoping you can point me in the right direction.

Thank you
Attachments
20230222_092619.jpg
SimpleScott
Posts: 49
Joined: Tue Jan 12, 2016 7:23 pm

Re: Newbie PETG Issues

PETG needs some time to cool. With something that small, you'll need to slow down and have the fan running full time. It may help to arrange several of them on the print plate, since printing multiples will give some extra layer cooling time for each one.

You also want to make sure your PETG is dry. It absorbs moisture like crazy, and it is often damp when received despite being sealed with a little Dessicant pack. When damp, it prints horribly. The moisture vaporizes in molten filament, causing oozing, stringing, bubbling, and a rough appearance. Hard to tell from your photo, but it looks like that might be at least part of the issue.

To see if that's part of your problem... Take several feet of filament off the reel and dry it 60-65C for a couple hours, then try to print a couple of those clips. You may be able to dry it in a household oven, but most ovens will overshoot that temp and may deform/melt the PETG. A food dehydrator is the best solution to maintain that temp and provide lots of air flow.

I dry every spool of PETG when I receive it and store it in a sealed container with Dessicant packs. For printing, I have a converted food dehydrator that holds the spool and feeds directly to the printer. Dry PETG is wonderful to print, but damp PETG is a monster!
Romstar
Posts: 2
Joined: Tue Feb 21, 2023 6:35 pm

Re: Newbie PETG Issues

Thank you, I'll give that a crack. I dried the spool in a filament dryer and spool unit, though perhaps could leave it longer.

I'll try the fan. I had read that petg didn't require much cooling, so hadnt considered your approach.

In your opinion, should my clips be printable with petg?
arhi
Posts: 483
Joined: Thu Oct 06, 2016 5:13 pm

Re: Newbie PETG Issues

1. this on the image is WET filament, as simplescott wrote, you have to dry it in order to print properly
2. why are you printing it in this direction (prongs up) ?! this type of clip needs to be printed on the side for max strength
3. fan 50 to 100%
4. print min 4 of these clips in the same time in 4 corners of the bed, so that each layer have time to cool while other 3 parts are being printed
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airscapes
Posts: 403
Joined: Tue Mar 06, 2018 10:35 am
Location: Philadelphia PA Area

Re: Newbie PETG Issues

+1 for everything already said.. I print a LOT of PETG and prefer Esun which prints best at 230-235.
You need a fan for something that small for sure. PETG does not need a fan other than on small items and with small you need to print slow. Something like that I would be printing at 10-15 mmS also do not make it 100% infill, go with 75 or 80%
You will get much better results if you turn the model on it's side rather than the current orientation.
In S3D push Control L the click the side of the part that you want on the bed and it will flip it.
Good luck!
KOPrinting
Posts: 36
Joined: Tue Mar 22, 2022 3:42 pm

Re: Newbie PETG Issues

All good suggestions given by previous posters. Out of curiosity, what nozzle size/layer height/width are you using?
OVRDOSE
Posts: 1
Joined: Thu Jun 01, 2023 8:09 pm

Re: Newbie PETG Issues

Hello, I am also having issues with petg, so I am printing individual teeth, using a 2 x 8 layer skirt to assist in bed adhesion, my issue is that in certain areas it seems to be over extruding I've attached an image and I am at completely lost trying to narrow this problem down, can anyone assist, please and thank you ahead.
PXL_20230601_234554405.jpg
Billzilla
Posts: 29
Joined: Sat Oct 04, 2014 9:09 pm

Re: Newbie PETG Issues

Another thing you can do to help the part(s) cool before the nozzle gets back over them again is to print several parts widely spaced around the bed, so the extruder unit takes more time to get back to that part.

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