Feed Failures with PETG

[treat1]

I'm new at 3-D printing and making a lot of newbie mistakes and needing to print PETG for its properties. In trying to figure things out I tried ESUN, Hatchbox, and then 3D Solutech semi-transparent blue (each are a different shade of blue).

One discovery is that th 3D Solutech PETG prints at the same temp range as PLA (200 to 220C whereas the others print at 230-260C) and has a larger diameter (averaging about 1.72 whereas ESUN and Hatchbox were more like 1.65). I used the Default M2 PLA parameters (including printing at 4800mm/min (80mm/sec) and it has not jammed in 11 hours of printing so far. I don't have it dialed in perfectly (quite a few "zits" that I hope to reduce in future prints) and I will later try printing slower to get better finish/quality, but it is great to have something that is so easy to transition to and has not jammed as what I am printing takes about 7 hours.

Anyway, the 3D Solutech PETG (available on Amazon) seems to be the easiest way to try out PETG.

[Jules]

You know - I'm wondering if your Solutech PETG is still going to have the same qualities after printing of strength and flexibility that you say you need? (Some of these blended and proprietary filaments can act a bit differently down the road.) Be sure to test it for strength to see if it still does what you need it to do, and if so, great, it's a new find....shoot a photo and add the write-up to "Insta's Filaments that Work with the M2" thread. That one is stuck and won't disappear over time.

[treat1]

Jules, no doubt it may behave differently in the long run, it is obviously a different formulation. I does feel a little stiffer than the other PETG's I have tried but it is tougher and more flexible than PLA. It will work for my purposes for now and has me off and running.

A huge beginner's advantage is that it will work and not jam with he same settings at a typical PLA.

I don't think it would be fair right now to show my results. I am making some large prototypes as quick as I can and I don't care right now about surface blemishes (there are quite a few "zits" that I might be able to tune out with slower printing and/or other settings such as retraction) but I need to get a bunch of stuff made right now. I will be circling back to try the ESUN and Hatchback filaments as my problems could be beginner errors.

What do you think of wmgeorge's suggestion to drill out the bottom of the extruder after the drive get to 2mm to reduce the chance of jamming? Any downside to this?

[Jules]

Jules, no doubt it may behave differently in the long run, it is obviously a different formulation. I does feel a little stiffer than the other PETG's I have tried but it is tougher and more flexible than PLA. It will work for my purposes for now and has me off and running.

A huge beginner's advantage is that it will work and not jam with he same settings at a typical PLA.

I don't think it would be fair right now to show my results. I am making some large prototypes as quick as I can and I don't care right now about surface blemishes (there are quite a few "zits" that I might be able to tune out with slower printing and/or other settings such as retraction) but I need to get a bunch of stuff made right now. I will be circling back to try the ESUN and Hatchback filaments as my problems could be beginner errors.

What do you think of wmgeorge's suggestion to drill out the bottom of the extruder after the drive get to 2mm to reduce the chance of jamming? Any downside to this?

Nope, no downside - we all tend to do it with the ones that we print as replacements. (And by that, I mean we remove the filament drive, take out the metal bits, and ream it all the way from the top where the filament enters and out the bottom where it feeds into the top of the hot end.) We use a special extra long drill bit from McMaster-Carr to do it. (One of the guys probably has a direct link.....I'd have to search for it.) I don't generally put it on a drill, just twirl it between a couple of fingers.....does a great job of gentle reaming.

It's an easy fix and a good suggestion.