Hey all,
Just got a spool of MadeSolid’s “PET+” filament. The reviews looked great, prints like PLA but stronger than ABS without warping. I’ve done a few rounds of calibration with it and I am struggling a bit. The spool has a label of recommended settings (250-270 C, 40mm/s), however online the settings state 220-250 at 30mm/s.
My settings:
Makerbot Replicator I: Makerware
Temp: 250 C (dropped down to 225 C)
Print Speed: 30mm/s
Travel Speed: 100mm/s
Heated Bed Temp: 75 C (no warping yet! )
I started at 250C and began stepping temp down until the “stringy-ness” went away. I’ve got nominal temp of ~225C where the stringy-ness is gone, however in some basic prints (boxes, cylinders) I am seeing “gaps” where the filament isn’t there … and overall the prints have not been smooth but rather rigid & choppy.
Am I missing something??? Anyone else having similar issues? This is my first PET+ filament.
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@maxence @MadeSolid01 @thomasvancraen do you guys have any advice on what settings would work best? Cheers
There’s a wide variation in temperature and settings based on the printer, what’s on the spool is just a general guideline since we can’t print specific settings for everything on it. On our makerbot replicator 2x we tend to print in the 240-250 range, and back when we had the wooden replicator 1 I believe we used similar temperatures. My guess is that 225 is just too low for that machine. Symptoms of low temperature is printing skipping sometimes (not being able to melt filament fast enough) and for parts to be extra weak (layers can snap apart without too much effort).
sounds good! I’ll post some pics (I’m currently out of town) when I get the chance. I forgot to mention I was printing with layer height 0.25 mm and thought that may be too large based on some other people claiming most success with 0.1 mm layer height.
hey, another quick question @thomasvancraen, should PET+ be printed with an enclosure or cooled with any fans?
I live in Miami and I usually don’t use an enclosure on PET. If you are somewhere with cooler climate it could be an issue. Fans and PET DO NOT mix in my experience. Layers will not stick together.
-Jesse
PET is one of my favorite materials but can be a little tricky, especially if you don’t know its limitations. It is best for solid things that need to be strong. While I have had success printing single wall with spiral vase method, anything with thin structures or small details will lead to frustration. Bottom line, if the print involves more than a little retraction you will have a tough time. For temp, just like any other material, increases heat untill it oozes out the nozzle on its own and dial back. That is your starting point and when in doubt, increase heat. Two more tips, print with a large brim to avoid warp and print slow. I included a picture of some single wall boat hulls I printed to give you an idea of what’s possible.
Good luck!
-Jesse
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