Posted on 16/01/2019

What is PETG?

Materials

PETG is the most famous and used copolymer in the world of 3D printing. Its appearance is due to the combination of PET with glycol, improving the interesting properties of PET with a glycolization process.

PET (Polyethylene terephthalate) was born in 1941 by the British scientists Whinfield and Dickson, who patented this polymer for the manufacture of fibers, which would replace cotton fibers. In 1946 this material, in the form of fiber, settled in the industry and its use in the textile sector is still pointer today. At the beginning of 1952, the use of PET in the form of film for food packaging began, but it was in 1976, when this polymer was booming with the manufacture of rigid bottles for drinks that are not very sensitive to oxygen, such as carbonated soft drinks, beer and mineral water. . For this last reason, it is not surprising that PET is the most used plastic in the world.

Bottles made with PET

Image 1: Bottles made with PET. Source: Plastics Today

PETG appears by the copolymerization of PET. The process is based on adding cyclohexane dimethanol (CHDM) instead of ethylene glycol, obtaining a block of longer atoms, where the adjacent chains do not fit like ethylene glycol does. With this, it is possible to stop the crystallization when an effort is applied on this material, more translucent objects and to reduce its melting point, ideal characteristics to create resistant and easy parts to thermoform or extrude. Due to the ease of extrusion and thermal stability, PETG and other PET derivatives are being used more and more frequently in the world of 3D printing FDM / FFF.

Clinical thermoformed container

Image 2: Clinical thermoformed container. Source: Palcon

There are other copolyesters derived from PET, which show different mechanical and appearance properties. The Taulman T-Glase stands out for its great transparency and high resistance. The Taulman Tritan-BluPrint is considered one of the strongest co-polyester filaments on the market. The Taulman T-Lyne shows high flexibility, a non-slippery surface and an ideal surface hardness for performing clinical devices. The Taulman Guidel!ne highlights its use in containers that contain food, as it has the FDA certificate. Another filament that stands out within this family and that is more and more used every day is the CPE HG100. This material resists cold environments, chemical agents and also has high mechanical resistance.

One of the reasons why PETG is used in 3D printing instead of PET is because of the latter's problem when it warms up. During overheating, PET becomes cloudy and fragile, which is unfeasible for use with a 3D printer FDM / FFF, a problem that does not happen to PETG because it contains glycol. It is also more durable thanks to its greater resistance to wear and corrosion to oxidizing agents, aspects that are combined with a high resistance to impacts. Other advantages that presents PETG against PET is the option to sterilize any object and the possibility of being sold by radio frequency.

The PETG as a material used in 3D printing is characterized by a functionality very similar to ABS (good temperature resistance, durable, resistant) and the ease of being printed as the PLA. It also shows good adhesion between layers, little deformation during printing, resistance to environments with low temperatures for prolonged periods of time, chemical resistance (bases and acids) and the absence of odor during printing, characteristics that give the attribute a wide majority of users of "The new PLA".

The application of this copolyester in 3D printing focuses on the production of parts that require some flexibility, good resistance to shock (even at low temperatures), such as: pressure-clad parts, protective parts or food containers, which can be totally recyclable.

Functional piece

Image 3: Functional piece. Source: Fillamentum

When you start using PETG you can see the only "drawback" that this material presents, find the ideal temperature parameters. Always start with the values offered by each manufacturer, usually 210-260 ºC extruder and 60-80 ºC base, although it can be used with a cold base. To get the best possible temperature settings faster, it is advisable to start with low printing speeds (30 - 35 mm/s). Once the optimal values for the 3D printer have been obtained, the speed can be increased.

Therefore, from our experience we can say that the PETG is a very interesting material, which offers good mechanical and aesthetic characteristics in exchange for average knowledge about the use of a 3D printer FDM / FFF.

Related Posts

PETG vs PLA

PTEG vs ABS vs ASA

Products mentioned in the post

Comments (18)

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    • Avatar
      Greg feb 5, 2019

      Bonjour,

      Le sujet est extrêmement intéressant mais je suis navré de vous dire qu’il est mal écrit ou mal traduit. Il est très difficile à lire, j’ai eu beaucoup de mal à vous comprendre.

      Vous deviez relire les articles avant de les publier.
      C’est vraiment dommage, le mail que j’ai reçu de votre part m’avait donné envie de lire les articles

      Greg

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    • Avatar
      fernando luiz fanti oct 3, 2019

      boa noite
      interesante esta materia gostaria de saber se posso cortar petg com maquina laser .
      se com calor do corte sai gas corrosivo ou toxico

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      • Avatar
        Filament2print oct 4, 2019

        Olá Fernanado. Se pode-se cortar o PETG com uma máquina laser mas o material não pode ser translúcido. Por outro lado, ao cortar qualquer plástico produzem-se partículas daninhas para a saúde.

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    • Avatar
      Herve mar 17, 2020

      Bonjour
      Contrairement à ce que Greg a dit en février 2019, l’article m’a paru clair et pas si mal écrit que cela
      Son auteur a fait un bon tour du sujet pour ceux qui veulent avoir une première information sur ce produit
      La critique est facile mais ...
      Herve

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    • Avatar
      Janai Zayas may 27, 2020

      Hello,

      Is PETG chemically resistant to Toluene?

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      • Avatar
        Filament2Print may 27, 2020

        Hello Janai,

        PETG is NOT chemically resistant to Toluene. Short contacts can damage the part and soften it.

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    • Avatar
      Jose Luis jun 1, 2020

      Pregunta puedo soldar PETG con poli carbonato o POLIPRO por medio de ultra sonido ???

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    • Avatar
      LUIGI jun 24, 2020

      HACE FALTA UTILIZAR VENTILADOR DE CAPA PARA IMPRIMIR PTEG O PUEDO USAR SOLO LA IMPRESORA A PUERTAS ABIERTAS?

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    • Avatar
      Eduardo Faia jul 29, 2020

      Prezados, bom dia! Estamos em busca de um fornecedor e que achamos vcs através do google e que nossa produção é voltada para injeção de plástico em Polipropileno e Policarbonato. Estamos precisamos de algumas amostras em bobinas de materiais que resistam a temperatura em torno de 250 à 300, para que possamos levar para nosso setor de injeção esta bobina junto com o processo de injeção IMD e esta bobina seja na cor branco ou preto para que depois possamos realizar gravações a laser em cima da peça injetada com esse filme.

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    • Avatar
      SILVANA CHAGAS PARABOA DE LIMA oct 15, 2020

      Olá, posso usar petg em objetos que ficarão expostos ao tempo, tipo ao ar livre?

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      • Avatar
        Filament2Print oct 15, 2020

        Olá Silvana, o material ideal para aplicações externas é o ASA, porém o PETG também possui boa resistência às intempéries, o que o torna uma boa alternativa mais fácil de imprimir. Basta ter em mente que no caso do PETG as cores podem desbotar com o tempo.

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    • Avatar
      Ismael Sais oct 16, 2020

      Boa tarde, e alguem saberia me informar onde posso descartar as aparas de PETG que produzo ?

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    • Avatar
      F1CHF nov 25, 2020

      question aux specialistes
      pour faire une piece qui doit etre installée a l'exterieur (antenne)
      on m'a dit qu'il fallait utiliser du PETG pour sa resistance aux UV
      est ce le meilleur matériau ?
      merci

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      • Avatar
        F1CHF ene 8, 2021

        y'a pas de specialistes ?
        ma question :
        question aux specialistes pour faire une piece qui doit etre installée a l'exterieur (antenne) on m'a dit qu'il fallait utiliser du PETG pour sa resistance aux UV est ce le meilleur matériau ? merci

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    • Avatar
      Delta-C ene 17, 2021

      Réponse tardive au message de F1CHF.

      Bonjour, vous pouvez utilisez l'ABS, amis difficile à imprimer sans espace clos, et à tendance à se décoller du plateau. Le ASA est une bonne alternative surtout si on est pas très pointu dans les réglages d'impression , (novice à confimrés). Le ASA s'imprime aussi bien que le PLA et a une bonne résistance aux agressions extérieures, (froid, humidité, abrasion, rayonnements divers et uv...) Pour la résistance mécanique, (pression, serrage, étirements...)cela reste à voir, mais il me semble que c'est pas mal.
      Voila pour les petites précisons.
      Personnellement j'utilise le ASA pour mes impressions de pièces ou éléments, statiques ou mobiles, pour l'intérieur ou l'extérieur.

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    • Avatar
      César Rabottini feb 2, 2021

      Buenas tardes.
      PET G. Se podría utilizar para fabricar garrafones retornables de 20 litros para água mineral ?
      Seria suficientemente resistente al impacto ?

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      • Avatar
        Filament2Print feb 4, 2021

        Hola, César. No recomendamos imprimir recipientes de agua ya que, a pesar de que el material es el utilizado en multitud de envases, la propia tecnología FDM provoca que la pieza impresa no sea completamente estanca, pudiendo quedar poros en la superficie y que filtrarían el agua con el tiempo.

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    • Avatar
      Ismael oct 26, 2021

      Hola cual es la fuente de donde sacaron la informacion de este articulo, hay algun libro?

      Gracias
      Ismael

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