After printing with PLA for a while, sometimes you want to explore more, and maybe you have specific needs or applications that you just can’t achieve with PLA. That’s where PETG comes in. Stick around to learn why you need to use it now.
PLA is super friendly, available, and easy to print. With PLA Pro, the toughness is not an issue anymore, but there are some limitations when it comes to outdoor parts or chemically exposed parts.
PLA can degrade really quickly when exposed to UV or heat, making it impractical for outdoor use. I also find that PLA is not suitable for mechanical parts as it wears off pretty quickly. PETG can do very well at a fair cost without having to buy an engineering filament that costs a lot per KG.
Types Of PETG
PETG comes in many forms: standard PETG, PETG Though, High Flow PETG, PETG Carbon Fiber, PETG ESD safe, translucent PETG, and more! A lot of colors are available and the level of challenge to print is easy to medium. If you compare it to PLA that is pretty easy to print.
I generally print PETG at 50mm/s with a temperature of 250°C and a fan at 30%, a bed at 80°C with the BedWeld glue. I keep the retraction slow at 18mm/s to avoid clogging, and I also avoid having too much consecutive retraction as it tends to clog the nozzle.
PETG
Standard PETG is the cheapest and the one with the most color available.
Here is my favorite:
PETG Though
This version of PETG is tougher and more resistant.
High Flow PETG
This one is pretty new to me and truly a game-changer for quick prototyping.
PETG Carbon Fiber
PETG ESD Safe
When it comes to designing cases for electronic components or anything that can be sensible to electromagnetic discharge, this material is perfect to protect those components!
Translucent PETG
This one can have an excellent effect if you want to have something that lets the light pass through the print. You could print some pretty interesting lamps with that material.
Use Cases
A Plant Identifier
As a fellow gardener, I like to integrate some of my 3D prints to make my gardens more beautiful or help with structural parts to guide the plants.
A plant identifier to keep track of what is planted. With perennials, it’s nice to have a sign that tells you what is supposed to grow back after winter. PETG is tough enough to resist sun and winter snow.
Here is a link to download some free plant identifiers for your garden!
It prints well at 0.3mm layer height, so you need to do a manual filament change at 6mm to have a writing that is a different color than the body.
All purchases made through the links in this post will contribute to supporting my work as a writer and any upcoming project or demo I will do!
Happy printing
Jérôme
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