In many cases, depending on the application we are working with, or our experience and equipment, we must decide between one type of filament or another.
If we do not have much experience, we want a material that is easy to use, without unpleasant odors and a good finish, we will surely favor PLA. On the other hand, if we are looking for a resistant material that does not soften at low temperatures like PLA and is not fragile like this, we will use ABS.
But what if there was a material that has the advantages of both? Well, that material exists, and it's called PETG.
WHAT IS PETG?
PETG is the most famous and most widely used copolymer in 3D printing.
It arises from the combination of PET (polyethylene terephthalate) and glycol. Glycol modifies it, giving it more resistance and transparency.
Outside of 3D printing, we know it because it is used in the manufacture of water and soda bottles. It is also used in other
packaging and many other applications.
WHAT ADVANTAGES DOES IT OFFER?
Besides being an easy-to-use material, having very good adhesion between layers (zero delamination), odorless and very good mechanical resistance, PETG is the most transparent filament in everybody. On the other hand, it allows to print watertight parts (hermetic) and can be sterilized. It is recyclable and non-toxic.
HOW IS IT PRINTED?
As we said, PETG is an easy material to use. ABS has the drawbacks¹ a poor adhesion between layers and to the hot bed, in addition to delamination. With PETG this does not happen, not even in open impressions.
Like any material that we have not used before, we will need a little time to find the best setting for the PETG, it may require a little more precision than PLA, but once you have found the right point, it will be your favorite material.
Printing surfaces: PETG adheres very well to blue painter's tape, glass or aluminum with an adhesive spray (we recommend the PrintaLot) and PEI. We recommend that the initial separation from the nozzle to the bed be a little higher than PLA, to avoid that when printing the following layers the nozzle drag plastic, producing threads and other defects.
¹Inconveniences that are eliminated and / or reduced in closed printers with heated chamber.
IN WHAT COLORS IS IT AVAILABLE?
Diameter 2.85, 1kg spools natural colors (translucent), white, yellow, red, green, blue and black.
Diameter 1.75, in spools of 4kg black and white colors.
