3D Printing Materials

PETG

At a glance

Process

Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM)

Lead Time

As fast as 2 days

Colors

Black, white, neutral

Resolution

0.2 mm

Price

$$

Applications

Mechanical early-stage prototypes

About the material

PETG (Polyethylene terephthalate glycol) is a useful 3D printing material for mechanical early-stage prototypes. It’s a great option that merges the cost-effectiveness of PLA and functionality of ABS. Although not ideal for aesthetics, this material is known for its impact resistance, warpage resistance, low shrinkage rate and high head deflection temperature. Printers typically run at a slower speed for this material, so it does have improved tolerance capabilities considering it’s a hobbyist-level material.

Material Properties

Tensile Strength

45.8 MPa

Elongation at Break

18%

Modulus of Elasticity

2100 MPa (304579 PSI)

Flexural Strength

77 MPa (11167 PSI)

Material Finish

PETG prints with a relatively smooth surface, but is not the most ideal for aesthetics.

Support is typically more difficult to remove from PETG parts than PLA parts, so scarring is very common. This material also has a tendency to ooze and clump around a printer nozzle. As a result, stray hairs and very small blobs may also appear along a surface, typically at the beginning or end of the layer path.

Design Recommendations

Max Part Size [x, y, z]

304 x 304 x 600 mm

Min Clearance + Gaps for Fit

0.5 mm

Min Wall Thickness

1 mm
  • This material has poor bridging abilities, so we recommend avoiding large gaps between areas that don’t require support
  • PETG is generally better for simple geometries

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