Tips and tricks for printing with PETG filament?

[jeffmorris]

Are there tips and tricks for printing with PETG filament? I ordered ESUN PETG filament.

[Alibert]

Make sure it is dry. Contrary to the sales pitch, it CAN absorb water.

[curious aardvark]

other than that - it sticks well to pva, can't remember the printing temp but think it was a fair bit lower than polycarbonate. So shouldn't be a problem.

[ssayer]

I print on clean glass with a bed temp of 80° and an extruder temp of 251°. Never have a problem (just make sure that the glass is c-l-e-a-n)...

[jeffmorris]

The recommended printing temp for ESUN PETG filament is 230-250. I tried 240 and I thought it was too hot. I tried 230 and I thought that it was OK. I printed small gears and they looked OK. I have PowerSpec Ultra 3D printer (Flashforge Dreamer/Creator clone), BuildTak, all-metal hotheads, and Simplify3D.

[ssayer]

Everyone's printer is different. I use ESun PETG almost exclusively. I've found that 251° and sometimes 253° works best for me on my Powerspec 3D. BuildTak was just too sticky and any time I tried a fairly dainty part, I ended up breaking the part trying to get it off. With clean glass and 80° printing temp, as soon as the glass cools the part comes right off, no muss no fuss (no stick).

[jeffmorris]

ssayer, what's your Simplify3D settings for ESun PETG? I thought that the ring gear was too fuzzy so I changed the retraction distance from 1.0mm to 1.5mm.

[ssayer]

Settings depend on what I'm printing. Heck, on some prints I even use active cooling. That said, I've always used 1.0mm for retraction. I think the big thing with PETG is that you shouldn't go too fast. Haste makes waste, don't you know...

My default printing speed is 2450mm/min, but I usually run the first couple layers at 75% of that and am a lot happier because of it..I couldn't tell you the last time I had to tear off a print and start over (knock on wood), except for a reel of some horrible stuff from a different manufacturer (ESun doesn't have PETG in Silver, the other mfgr did and was it ever crap).

Any setting it particular you're asking about? Just keep in mind (I sure do), that what works for somebody might not work at all for you. Ambient temperature and humidity come into play. How dry your plastic is comes into play. Etc. Etc. Etc...

[jeffmorris]

I think that PETG doesn't do well with supports and bridging. Is the build platform supposed to be heated all the time or turn off heat after first layer? Is the top cover supposed to be on or off the printer?

[ssayer]

Why do you think t doesn't do well with supports? I use them whenever I think I need them. As a matter of fact, I make sure I use them to keep my bridging small.

As to a heated bed, you're using BuildTak. That stuff is like superglue to PETG. I doubt you even need heat. I use glass. With a 80° bed, PETG sticks great. That bed drops below 50° (or a little lower) and PETG comes right off. So, to answer your question on the heated bed time, it depends on your bed.

You don't need a cover on your printer unless you are printing ABS, which I haven't used in forever since we absolutely hate the smell (not to mention that it tends to warp and thus needs extra extra care).