# 3D Printing > 3D Printer Parts, Filament & Materials >  Tips and tricks for printing with PETG filament?

## jeffmorris

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

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## Alibert

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

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## 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.

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## 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)...

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## 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.

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## 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).

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## 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.

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## 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...  :Stick Out Tongue: 

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...

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## 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?

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## 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).

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## jeffmorris

I think that I may have a bad spool of ESUN PETG white filament. Is the filament supposed to feel "rough" instead of smooth?

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## ssayer

Originally they made it smooth. They've long since changed it to the rough feel so that the gear grabs it better when it feeds it in.

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## jeffmorris

CIMG0103.jpg

Please check the objects and tell me what's wrong with them. I tried different extruder and platform temperatures. Any suggestions?

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## ssayer

Wow! Only guesses... 

Extruder to hot. 
Speed to fast. 
Travel too fast. 
Not enough retraction. 
Need to add an active cooling fan (after the first layer). 
Can't see the support very well (if any), but would guess need better support.
Probably all of the above...

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## jeffmorris

I cut the speed and travel in half. I reduced the extruder temp. I increased retraction. I added active cooling fan after first layer. I tried to use PVA as support material - terrible mess. What can I use for support material?

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## Davo

I print it with the exact same settings as ABS.

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## ssayer

I use PETG for support as I never use two print heads (well, I did a couple of times when I first started out because of the novelty, but...). 

I can't compare the settings to ABS as I only used ABS a few times when I was starting out and just couldn't get past the smell.

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## jeffmorris

Should I use the same settings as ABS? What about the bed temperature?

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## Alibert

I print PETG at similar nozzle temperature as ABS (225 for PETG vs 230 for ABS in my printer), but at a bed temperature of 70C and at lower speed. PETG is more viscous than ABS, so you need to lower the printing speed to actually extrude as much plastic per unit of time as the slicers thinks it does. Increasing nozzle temperature to decrease viscosity leads to more stringing with PETG in my experience. Lowering printing speed works better.

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## jeffmorris

A few weeks ago, I found Simplify3D profile for PETG at http://forum.makergear.com/viewtopic...=2593&start=60 but I had to edit it for my printer. The prints looked better but they won't come off the BuildTak surface without using too much force and ruining the BuildTak surface and some prints. Yesterday, I found 3M 8952 tape and searched the Internet to see if I can use it for bed surface and found out from https://www.alibaba.com/promotion/pr...tion-list.html that I can use it for bed surface. I applied the tape to the bed, printed a manual transmission part using PETG and it came off the bed surface without any problems. I printed more parts and they came off the bed surface without any problems.

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## Gandalf_Sr

I'm just getting started with a Qidi FF Creator Pro / Dual clone using MakerBot software.  I have printed in PLA and found that it works really well, the 20 mm hollow cube is near perfect in PLA at 215 C nozzle and 40 C build plate (mine comes with the blue surface) with a near perfectly flat roof and dimensionally accurate.

 Now I'm trying to switch over to PETG (a eSun reel I bought from Amazon).  I tried the 20 mm hollow cube in PETG with a 70 C plate temp and the following results:
Nozzle 230 no turbo fan - printed OK but the roof was saggy.
Nozzle 249 no turbo fan - printed OK but the roof was very saggy and I couldn't get the raft to separate from the cube.
Nozzle 240 with turbo fan - printed OK, the roof was saggy, I could separate from the raft.

I suppose that it's unreasonable to expect PETG to print a roof with no supports but I'm interested in any comments on what I might try next.

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## jeffmorris

Which support material is compatible with PETG? I know that PVA is compatible with PLA and that HIPS is compatible with ABS.

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## Gandalf_Sr

I tried printing the calicat model which has unsupported 45 degree overhangs and a 'roof' that is supported. You can see the results in my pictures, orange is the PLA which I think is perfect and the black is the PETG which was globbing up around the feed head as it tried to print the roof which has holes in it despite the supporting honeycomb underneath. I think my temperature settings are OK but I am overfeeding, anybody got any other suggestions?

Damn, can't upload any pictures, even tried a different browser - this forum is broken.

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## DaveB

So, why use PETG vs PLA or ABS?  So far I've found PLA to be good and ABS to be great.  How is PETG different?

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## sealfab

for the sake of troubleshooting is it safe to say these are blobs? Whatever they are called what should I try to reduce or eliminate them when printing with esun PETG?

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## Alibert

They look like steam bubbles to me. Take a magnifying glass or USB microscope for a better look. Try to 'pop' them.

If steam bubbles, you need to dry your filament.

Despite the many false claims, PETG really does absorb water from the environment (as does every polymer to more or lesser degree .... ).

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## sealfab

> They look like steam bubbles to me. Take a magnifying glass or USB microscope for a better look. Try to 'pop' them.
> 
> If steam bubbles, you need to dry your filament.
> 
> Despite the many false claims, PETG really does absorb water from the environment (as does every polymer to more or lesser degree .... ).


Heres a pic after some widdling, whats the best way to dry the filament. Its only been out of the shring wrap for two days

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## Alibert

The filament can have absorbed the water before it was packaged. Also, 1 day in a humid environment can do it as well is my experience.

For drying, a vacuum oven is the best thing, but not everyone has one   :Roll Eyes (Sarcastic): . I usually dry it at 70 Celsius / 50 mbar for 4-8 hours.

Others have put the filament at an elevated temperature for a long time with air circulation, at least above 50 Celsius if I am correct. Make sure you control the temperature well. I once tried our kitchen oven at 70 Celsius, but the temperature distribution was so poor in the oven that the reels melted and deformed, ruining the filament.

You might want to google how other people do it succesfully.

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## sealfab

I dont have a humidity sensor to know the exact humidity in my office but it seems low and i have not had similar issues with any other filaments. Heres a shot of some extruded into mid air, it still has the specs on it.

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## sealfab

> So, why use PETG vs PLA or ABS?  So far I've found PLA to be good and ABS to be great.  How is PETG different?


Unkown ive been using pla until recently when I had the need to print parts that can be in a hotter environment. I was trying to avoid abs just because of the fumes but I think im going to give it a try

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## uncle_bob

Hi

One reason to use PETG (vs ABS) is that it does not curl as much on large prints. It is similar to ABS in strength (stronger than PLA) so it makes sense for some categories of parts. What's a "larger print?", generally something that is a few hundred mm in all directions and fairly solid (> 10 mm walls). Hollow cubes and spiral vases don't count ....

Bob

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## Alibert

As to the pic, yes those look like steam bubbles.

The filament can have absorbed the water at the manufacturers site, not your office.

I have had filament spools and samples from many sources (chinese AND reputable expensive A brands) have this problem right out of the package (PLA, ABS and PETG). There is a post of mine on here somewhere about PETG samples from Formfutura I bought some time ago. 

As I process a LOT of filament, this is why I have built my own vacuum oven...

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## ralphzoontjens

The globs on the side surface can also come from a too high flow rate.
The filament pressure will build up and then at times it will laterally shoot out of the line.
Try setting the flow rate down just a bit.

If the surface was printed on the bed surface, make sure the surface is clean because all irregularities will show through in the print.

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