ABS or PETG

[zemlin]

Maker Filamenet prints so clean that when some of my printed parts were mixed in with a box that also contained the same part printed on a Form 2 printer, my client was having to double check to tell them apart.
http://www.makergeeks.com/pet3dfilament.html

Looks like the Maker colors are opaque, which I prefer over eSun's transparent colors. Thanks for the recommendation. Will try Maker PETG for my next spool.

[pyronaught]

I've been using the eSun white PETG and it is very opaque, and also a brighter white than Hatchbox white ABS (which has a slight yellowish tint to it by comparison). I rarely use colors though so I haven't tried any of the eSun colored PETG.

The picture below shows a print in progress using the Maker Filalment clear PETG. It's a pretty organic object with lots of curves, but can be printed without any support without a problem. Note how smooth the walls look, the layer lines just sort of melt together and you can barely see them. This print is dialed in for speed to, not for high definition. I'm printing it at 6000 mm/min with a .2 layer height and 265 extruder temp, yet there is very little stringing, no blobing and no warts. The eSun strings a lot with these settings, and has slight warts too. This is only about 30% of the object height in the image. These are two piece gussets for connecting carbon fiber tubes together at angles.

[jimc]

i have tried the maker petg as well. your getting the stringing with esun due to the temp. drop that the 240-245 and the stringing goes away and you still have great layer bonding. 265 for esun is waaay too high. your temp for the maker filament sounds right though. i was about 260-265 with that. other than the temp though i saw no difference between the two. i use the same settings for both and prints come out identical. i have only used black. i have a spool of that bright green also but have not tried that. i do like that the maker filament comes in more opaque colors. i hate translucents. esun only has a few opaque colors.

[pyronaught]

i have tried the maker petg as well. your getting the stringing with esun due to the temp. drop that the 240-245 and the stringing goes away and you still have great layer bonding. 265 for esun is waaay too high. your temp for the maker filament sounds right though. i was about 260-265 with that. other than the temp though i saw no difference between the two. i use the same settings for both and prints come out identical. i have only used black. i have a spool of that bright green also but have not tried that. i do like that the maker filament comes in more opaque colors. i hate translucents. esun only has a few opaque colors.

The stringing doesn't really bother me much since one brief hit with a blow torch eliminates them all instantly. But if the higher temp doesn't result in any additional strength on the eSun then I might as well lower it. I still haven't done any strength comparison tests using accurate methods between these various materials yet, mainly because I'm having to ship these parts off as fast as I can make them. I've had a few failed prints I've been able to do simple destruction tests with though, and in general the clear PET seems to be slightly stronger than colored regardless of manufacturer. I like that this material fractures along random lines that seem to have no relation to layer direction, giving it a more isotropic load handling ability that is not effected by layer boundaries. The same can't be said for ABS.

[pyronaught]

Jim, there's something about PETG that puzzles me, and I could swear I saw you explain it somewhere on this forum but I have no idea where it was. Basically, over the course of a print there is this slow buildup of charred plastic that coats the the entire nozzle. At the end of a long print it is thick enough that it must be scrapped off before starting the next job. This is not from blobbing on the tip building up and sticking to the side, because I'm not getting that. The entire print is blob free at the tip, yet that residue still builds up. It's almost like PETG vapor is condensating on the nozzle over time, then bakes and turns black. I suppose it could also be from tiny strings drifting above the print plane and colliding with the nozzle, but I've never seen that. Does anyone else get this buildup on their nozzles?

[jimc]

you will always get some buildup. when its excessive, thats not normal. if it collects enough to fall and drop down into the model while printing then thats excessive. i run an e3d so the nozzle is removed with a 7mm wrench. if i couldnt make out the hex/flats on the nozzle then that would be excessive. a little coating would be normal. petg is just so darn sticky so it will buildup just from the micro fine hairs that are created during a travel move. they just collect over time. if you over extruding or your infill is printing all sloppy then thats where you collect the big globs.

[pyronaught]

I don't get big blobs, just a very slow buildup that accumulates evenly over the entire nozzle surface. It must be running into fine hairs and I just can't see it happening. After 9 hours there still isn't enough to drip off onto the part, but I think at 12 or 15 hours there would be.

[jimc]

Doesnt sound excessive to me but try dropping the temp 5 deg at a time and see if it gets better

[pyronaught]

What method do you use to clean PETG residue off the nozzle? Acetone won't dissolve it and it is too sticky to wipe clean. I've been scraping it off with tweezers, but I can't get it totally clean that way.

[insta]

Steel or brass brush. They're like 3/$1 in the bargain bin at any hardware store.