Comment on Need help with printer recommendations
neidu3@sh.itjust.works 2 days agoHow do the physical properties of PETG compare to ABS?
And the fumes and such from ABS was something I was aware of, but one thing that always irked me was that I needed to use rafts floating on abs-juice to make a print.
Bluewing@lemmy.world 2 days ago
PETG is tougher and in certain situations stronger than ABS. PETG also has better chemical and UV resistance. But PETG has a lower glass transition temperature, about 80C vs 100C.
Both PETG and ABS/ASA benefit from enclosed and heated chamber printers but PETG is a lot easier to print with an open bed. Both of my printers are open bed and PETG is very easy to print.
PETG is somewhat hygroscopic and will absorb moisture from the environment. Making the filament a pain to print and prone to nasty stringing. So it should be stored sealed in a dry bag/box. Having a way to dry filament is a good idea. You can do so with a cheap food dehydrator or a dedicated filament dry for the purpose.
PETG has pretty much supplanted ABS in FDM printing. It’s often cheaper than ABS these days too. Between PLA, PETG, and TPU, those 3 filaments should cover 90%+ of all your printing needs.
KingRandomGuy@lemmy.world 1 day ago
My favorite way is an air fryer, as it can actually hit the temperatures needed for certain engineering filaments (ASA-CF, PET-CF, PPS-CF) and the forced air combined with the fact that they aren’t sealed tends to be more effective than the spoolholding dryers. I then print from a dry box made from cereal boxes with molecular sieves. This is overkill if you are just printing standard filaments though (PLA, PETG, TPU, etc.)
I’ll add that there are still fairly common situations when you’ll want ABS/ASA: If you’re building something with stepper motors (say parts for a printer), ABS/ASA’s higher temperature resistance means you can push more current through your motors without deforming the print where the motor is mounted. This is of course especially helpful if you’re putting parts into a heated chamber, where PETG will likely start to deform under prolonged use at 60C+ temperatures. ABS/ASA are also more rigid, so they’re better for high speed printer parts. Finally, if you’re putting something in a car in a hot environment, PETG will not really hold up, but ASA will.
Bluewing@lemmy.world 22 hours ago
An air fryer is an interesting idea if you happen to have one handy. But even dedicated filament dryers are a bit cheaper to buy, let alone a used dehydrator. And few people are using expensive engineering filament either to scratch build