First time with PETG. Is this calibration, wetness or something else?
First time with PETG. Is this calibration, wetness or something else?
Been using prusaslicers default PLA profile with issues and this is my first roll of PETG, so I just selected the corresponding profile for that.
It seems so be super stringy whenever there’s movement and when printing the bunny (in vase mode) there’s lots of holes in the model.
I’m not sure if this is an issue with calibration (didn’t do anything when switching from PLA) or if the filament is wet.
Check for a partial clog. 80% of the time i get that consistency with petg, its because the nozzle is partially clogged. The other 20% is the ptfe tubing is shot. Usually it partially melts and causes underextrusion.
Wet filament could be an issue too, but this is pretty extreme for wet filament.
You were right! All clogged up.
Replaced the nozzle, heat block (heating element, sensor, PTFE) and fan duct. Wasn’t able to unscrew the nozzle (got stuck 80% out) so I replaced the whole thing.
Did two new temp towers:
Left tower is 235 (top) to 260 (layers labeled 280-260 are all 260). Right is 220-240.
https://i.imgur.com/1MQkStE.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/HDWq19A.jpg
I definitely feel like 220 is the right temp for this.
Make sure you calibrate your e-steps after swapping hotends. I did the same thing on my ender 3 putting on a volcano hotend, and started getting overextrusion. After adjusting the e-steps it was back to normal.
Do a temp tower. Find one hottest to coolest (260 to 220) and see where the sweet spot is. Going coolest to hottest could cause clogging.
And when in doubt make sure you PETG is dry. Likes to pull in the moisture. Tell-a-tale is popping and hissing.
Others: correct if I’m wrong but black PETG tends to be on the warmer side then other colours?
In my experience, moisture will cause excessive stringing in PETG long before it is saturated enough for popping/hissing.
I found petg to be a lot more challenging to print with than pla, but there's a lot of really cool benefits to using petg like it's more permanent and more flexible.
I think the first thing to look at would be raising the temperature of your extruder. Seems like it isn't really flowing a lot.
You sure you are using the PETG preset? The only time my PETG prints have looked like that is if I accidentally use the PLA preset and it under-extrudes because the temperatures aren't high enough.
That's literally the first thing I thought of as well. A few times that I've mistakenly tried printing with a PLA profile while PETG was in the printer. Doesn't get hot enough and really struggles to push the material through (for obvious reasons).
This could be it, OP should check what the actual temperature says on the screen during printing.
Yup, looks like way too low temps for me as well.
My vote is a combo but it includes being wet, is this a new roll or if not how did you have it stored? I have found PETG to be much more finicky with moisture than PLA overall so if you have a way to dry it definitely try that and see what happens before trying to calibrate it.
Brand new roll. I unfortunately don’t have any way to dry it :(
I would try what that other person said, that’s a great idea!
Anecdotally, I actually just got through half of a brand new roll today that I opened two days ago and it has been printing from a dry box and it started spattering from trapped moisture (you will find little chunks of plastic on your bed in past experience) so it’s in the dryer now haha.
Hope it works out!
ETA: I live in CO, USA and the humidity in the room where the printer is currently reads 70.4F/50% and the dry box reads 12% for reference, not much for it to soak up from the air.
You can use your heated bed, just set a temp and cover the roll with a box.
https://3dprinterly.com/how-to-dry-filament-like-a-pro-pla-abs-petg-nylon-tpu/ Scroll down to the heated bed portion
Aside from drying, here are some thoughts:
Double-check the print temperature, PETG should be about 240-ish. Also the spiral vase mode may be the issue if your model isn't designed for it. Also check your z offset, the first layer should be almost a flawless sheet... if not, stop the print and try again while live adjusting the z until it's correct. Typically PETG doesn't like to be squished down as much as PLA.
Update: replaced the nozzle, heat block (heating element, sensor, PTFE) and fan duct. Did two new temp towers:
Left tower is 235 (top) to 260 (layers labeled 280-260 are all 260). Right is 220-240.
https://i.imgur.com/1MQkStE.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/HDWq19A.jpg
I definitely feel like 220 is the right temp for this.
I’ll try the bunny again, the model is designed for vase mode, so it should work!
I had one weird roll of PETG that could only be printed at lower temperatures, so it's possible. Still looks like the filament is wet to me... I recommend picking up a Sunlu S1 Plus when it drops under $40, I like being able to both dry the spool and print straight from the dryer (only takes a couple hours to re-absorb moisture).
You could also mess with your retraction settings to try and reduce stringing.
Although my printer didn’t want to go above 260, so the first layers are all 260.
