3d Printing PETG For Beginners! Great For Functional Parts

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In this video we take a look at how to to 3d print with PETG. We touch on the properties of PETG, why you may want to print with it and of course how to be successful when printing with it. PETG is a fantastic thermoplastic with a lot of great properties making it an excellent choice for functional prints.

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[trynagetby]

Thanks so much for creating this! Feels like you fill a slightly more technical niche than a lot of other 3d printing YouTubers, and I'm just very grateful for your thoughtfulness and dedication :)

[davidshx]

By coincidence, I have my very first spool of PETG arriving today. I thought it was time to expand beyond PLA, so this video was very timely. Thank you for it. 👍

[robertmurgea]

i print petg on g10(garolite/fiberglass) it sticks down reallly well(you definately cannot take the print off) while hot and it self releases really nice when it cools down

[ShadowDrakken]

I definitely had issues with PETG being attracted to copper and its tendency to curl back onto the nozzle. A steel nozzle fixes that issue completely. For me, this was the cause of a major hot blob in one of my early overnight prints and was always causing minor first layer adhesion issues. But ever since moving away from copper/brass things have been perfect.

[KoreyMacGill]

I really hope you have a whole series on all the different material types just like this video. This was great

[evanbarnes]

Super helpful! I recently had a complex PLA mechanism warp to the point of uselessness because I left it in a warm car, so I can't wait to get my Prusa and start printing again in PETG

[cnc-maker]

I used to use PETG for almost everything, until I recently started using ABS. If you are printing a transparent PETG, there is something that you want to be aware of. PET & PETG will crystalize when they get too hot, or if they are heated for to long, thus you need to ensure that the filament is constantly moving. The glycol modifier in PETG slows this process a bit, but you still need to be wary of it. For your print, it means the difference between a cloudy print and a beautifully transparent print.

I saw that some people were having layer adhesion issues, which is most likely caused by, 1) Hot end is not hot enough, or 2) Bad or wet filament. Wet filament will also cloud transparent PETG filaments with microscopic steam explosions. PETG is extremely sticky, especially to itself (which is why it strings so well), so there should never be any layer adhesion issues.

[JONBOB]

Just jumped into printing a few months ago. Got really really good at my pla and pla+. But needed a video or two to get a hang of PETG. You have helped a bunch!

[terrypen]

LOL, this would have been a good video for me 4 months ago! I bought a used Anycubic Mega Pro and without research bought some PETG filament! OMG what a freakin nightmare to get figured out with no prior knowledge of 3D printing! That being said... I finally figured it out and did some successful prints and then made a dehumidifier box and subsequently purchased some Silk PLA. I have since switched back and forth between filament types and have had success with all of them along with some failures! Good video!

[MrNwVegas]

This has been the best knowledge and we'll said video about PETG I'm just learning now about because I accidentally bought. Learning a lot from this video. Very well said thank you so very much. I follow this guy he speaks correctly when explaining

[automaticasa_matteosulis]

Nice guide, one point I'd add from my experience, PETG tends to warp much more than PLA, especially when you print large surfaces on the bed (common with functional parts). I've found that printing under an enclosure solve this issue much better than using glue or toying around with temperatures and layer height.

[GapRecordingsNamibia]

One other thing I can confirm, sock or no, PETG DOES PENETRATE BENEATH the sock, I've found that having my sock off rather than on is a bonus as I am able to clean off the heater block and nozzle, I've just recalibrated my PID settings. I use and have been using a 50-50 mix of wood glue and water (Glass Build Plate), I have tried a lot of different products to use for bed adhesion / release all have worked or not, but the wood glue water mix has come in the most cost effective than any of the others. Not only that, but it is water soluble and once done just washes right off. Thanks for the good content and insight.

[extectic]

I run my plate at 85 (for Prusament, even 90) and that has worked out very well for me. Sticks down very well, releases easily. Perhaps that 70 degree setting contributed to the warping... this material does like warmth. :p

[adnamamedia]

This video is so well-timed for me. I've been printing with Inland PLA+ forever and decided to try PETG; bought some yesterday at Micro Center. Wish me luck

[DennisMurphey]

Ok I had a part in a model train got too hot and warp. I needed to try PETG for the part for better heat resistance. My print started out ok but started pushing out nurds or crumbs. I went hotter and slower that helps but the print time went from 2 hours to 4 hours. Not have to print another part after some edits in the design. I read some papers and listened to lectures like yours. I never had a print look like yours they were beautiful. I hope to get there soon. My parts are for model trains. The guys hate to sand and paint. Thank You, Dennis

[foureight]

It's handy to have some qtips around to wipe the PETG off the nozzle. Heat it up to 230c and it will wipe off easily. You can heat up to around 120c and use a fine tip tweezer to pull the PETG globs off the nozzle before wiping.

I usually print at 230 - 240c with an 80c bed for the whole print with 25% fan speed with a dual 4010 blower setup and a microswiss clone from trianglelab. I find that dropping the bed temp down to 70c after the 3rd layer in a room with an ambient temperature of 65f will most likely lead to layer lifting from the bed. Drying the filament as mentioned is very important. Even if you leave it in an "airtight" box with desiccant over a few months, it will still exhibit blobs and layer adhesion issues. Probably best to store all unused rolls in a vacuum bag with dessicant.

[its_Tricky]

Great vid mate. Everything I need to know to make me realise I'm doing everything wrong! Haha.

[danenderle]

Good video! With my PEI smooth plate I spray it down with windex first and have no issues with removal. I just let the plate cool completely before removing the print.

[crisi]

Thank you for putting this together! I wish I could upload a before and after picture of my printing results. Incredible improvement!

[connorpoort]

I've found that while printing with petg in recent times with an ender 5 plus that the filament "sticking" to the copper extruder only seems to occur when the temperature it prints at is too low. Additionally, I've found more success printing fine parts at a speed of 40mm/s than the stock 80 that the ender 5 plus uses.