I am starting to try out PETG. Wow, annoying stuff. Prints awesome, when it works.
The only thing I have been able to get it to stick to consistently is my Fleks3D plate. However, it sticks so well I can’t get it off without destroying the print!
I am trying blue tape with a sugar/water solution on it. That didn’t seem to work at first. However, I did discover that a very thin first layer, mushed right into the tape seems to work. The next layers then stick to the first. I don’t know how it will work without the sugar solution yet. Also, I don’t know how easy it will be to get off.
It also seems to stick to glass with a dry sugar solution too (had a bare spot that it went on and it stuck to it).
Any suggestions? I will not use hairspray. I haven’t had any success with the glue sticks in the past, but haven’t tried it with the PETG yet either. I don’t have a heated bed.
I’ve used tape, but tape gets ripped easily and its a pain to remove, Next I used used glue mixed with water, around 50/50 as posted above, that stuck well then the second time not so well, Then I did another layer of glue and did two coats of hair spray, boy did that stick. had to use a thin scraper to get it off, but the bottom was smooth, looked great
Avoid the Fleks3d plate with PetG – I think that was the main problem when I broke my plate trying to get the print removed. I don’t think it’s the fault of Fleks3d, just the PetG liked it TOO MUCH!
I’ve printed on blue tape with PETG with success. Generally, print it at higher temperature 240-245; petg tends to string a lot - so use higher retraction.
That’s odd, I’ve never had any trouble getting PETG to adhere to blue painter’s tape. The only thing I will occasionally do is wipe the blue taped bed down with some isopropyl alcohol to improve adhesion.
I do occasionally get a little warp around corners and edges, but I’ve taken to printing PETG with a 1mm brim when it’s vital the bottom stays flat and haven’t had any problems since.
It has minimal warping compared to stuff like ABS or Nylon, especially on unheated beds, but will warp about like PLA in worst case scenarios.
Extruded polymers will always want to warp to some degree or another as they cool and the bonds between these long and complex molecules contract, it’s just a matter of how much that’ll happen, and how hard it is to prevent with mechanical adhesion and environmental temperature.
I’ve also found that it requires playing a bit with multiplier settings and retract settings. It likes to ooze quite a bit, and it expands more than most other plastics as it leaves the nozzle.
Glass and Alu with hairspray and 45° bed never have issue…remember to print slow is more viscosity and depending form hotend velocity is variable from 45mm/s to 60mm/s this help adesione too
Tried it a few days ago on a glass heated bed. 235 °C extrusion temperature, bed temperature was 60° if I remember correctly. No issues with warp or adhesion. Speed was in the ballpark of 50mm/s.
Printer used was a modified Witbox (stock extruder and hotend, heated bed with capacitive bed leveling sensor, Marlin firmware, printing surface glass without any coating (cleaned with isopropanol some days earlier, used for a few PLA prints in the meantime).
Try mod podge glue. I use the spray type but they have it in a container that you can spread on. And just buy they heated bed. It is worth the purchase.
I’ve got it working well with blue tape. No warping now after a few prints. Maybe someday I’ll get a heater. But not as long as I can make it work without!
