PCTG, Polyethylene Terephthalate-Glycol 3D Printing Filament from Essentium

[@quasimongo410]

I came here, 3 years later, searched your whole channel and couldn't find the video where you wanted to show how to print more matte / more clear.

[@JT-Works]

Looks awesome, but can you guys get this over to Thomas Sanladerer or CNC Kitchen for an unbiased review?

[@christopherenoch4230]

I'd love to see that! This guy didn't acknowledge the Z separation on the part with no cooling... He just ripped the top off, at the z break, and said he couldn't break it. He's untruthful... Lie to me once, and I don't believe you anymore.

[@VisionMiner]

We're doing a bunch more videos in the coming weeks, please do let me know what tests you'd like to see! Shoot an email to [e-mail], with STL's, ideas, etc, and we'll put it to the test!

[@JT-Works]

@@VisionMiner Thanks for the reply. I think 3rd party testing is best to avoid bias, but your tests could benefit from being more scientific. You need to run repeatable experiments that give you numbers to compare against. You can see examples other channels do with pull tests and break test. As mentioned before, CNC Kitchen does a great job of this for reference (kzbin.info/www/bejne/q3LSi3amjdSDjdE). Keep up the great work!

[@TheLordinio]

​@@VisionMinercreep testing at different temperatures would be really useful for lots of materials.

[@andrewmorgan7770]

@Anthony Tether it’s not a review, and hardly a test. It’s more of a showcase or even an ad. Clearly the intention is to make you want to buy it,.

[@billclark5943]

Good to see 2 big filament manufacturers here in the US selling reasonably priced, cutting edge materials (along with their high end). If the PCTG doesn't come in black it needs to

[@CyprienDcty]

We produce it in Black, White and Natural (translucid). Contact Vision Miner or Essentium for colors batch.

[@VisionMiner]

In stock in 750g and 2.5kg, black for days :) visionminer.com/pctg

[@master-gbig1140]

Even when PCTG is printed the wrong way; with-out cooling fans; it works-out even better than you could have ever imagined. It just keeps getting better and better.

[@syberphish]

You may consider it "the wrong way" if you print lots of PLA, but I have the parts cooling fan completely turned off with PETG and I've never printed PLA (ever).

[@linuxinstalled]

Finally, the long awaited video on PCTG! Thanks for getting word out there about this. I can't wait till this becomes more common.

[@JanKopanski]

I wouldn't hold your breath. I've been waiting for that to happen to PCTPE...

[@toejamr1]

Well, it’s 3 years later and it’s on Amazon for mid $30 range.

[@syberphish]

Love this stuff in vase mode, it prints so so nicely. Very tough and very clear. I've only gone through one spool so far but will be getting more, great filament. I've been using it to print globes for lamps and led tea lights.

[@syberphish]

Been through 2 more spools since then and love it even more!

[@MichaelLloyd]

I really like this filament. I printed a weather sensor enclosure (for outside use) with it. I used almost two rolls (small) of filament over two days to print the enclosure parts and it is exactly as described here. Prusa I3MK3s, steel nozzle (because I print Nylon X sometimes). I have a Print Dry but I didn't need it.

[@ovDarkness]

I print from this stuff for like two years now (made by one Polish company who specializes in hi-end filament). One of my favorite materials on simpler machines. I call it "Panzer PET" and it's my preciousssss. I'm really glad that it reached mainstream.

[@TheCarLovingSwede]

Finally! After several decades of teasing ;)

[@supercurioTube]

Extremely interesting! At 4:15 you say it needs a nozzle temperature from 250-270 °C, that's not what an Ender-3 like or actually most common printers can do: you'll rapidly degrade the PTFE lining in the hot-end above 235°C and release toxic fumes in the process. From this, I don't understand the statement that it's as easy to print as PLA. I don't think I can print it with my stock CR-10 V3 for instance.

[@VisionMiner]

While the ideal temperature is 250-270ºC, we like to print in the upper end -- PCTG can be printed as low as 210ºC :) and you're absolutely correct about the PTFE lining, all-metal hotends are a must-have upgrade for engineering grade filaments! 😃

[@supercurioTube]

@@VisionMiner Ah okay! Good to know it will still melt and go through the nozzle at lower temps 😆 Do you think it would behave significantly different than what we saw in your tests in this video if printed at lower temps?

[@VisionMiner]

@@supercurioTube I've accidentally printed at 210 and normal speeds before, and it didn't have as good layer adhesion, but I'd imagine going a tad slower and a bit hotter (230 or so) would have made it all good :)

[@JoeStoffa]

I have a marine application that could benefit from this. I’m currently using ASA but that occupies my more expensive machine (heated chamber). Do you have any data on UV resistance or HDT after annealing? The pre-annealed HDT is probably too low for my application (about the same as inside a car with the windows up in direct sunlight).

[@snarkyeconomist2141]

Rob, Thank you for another great video on a really interesting material printable on the Ender 3. Wish I'd seen this video before my last order from you, I would definitely added a roll of this new material.

[@monkeywrench1951]

PCTG seems to have gone down in price, however, it seems like it didn’t get much popularity. Is there a reason for this ?

[@davidnogueira3884]

Yes, its a garbage of material

[@lestertheinvestor6720]

If Carbon Fiber PCTG was a thing, would the z-axis still be relatively strong? This looks like a material that might be very interesting with some carbon fiber added for strength and temperature resistance. Thoughts?

[@VisionMiner]

Excited and waiting for CFPCTG to come out one day :) I think it will be better overall!

[@sethphillips4779]

Man, if they could pull some material science magic out of their hat and increase the usable temperature range 10 or 20c, they'd have a seriously good general purpose engineering material on their hands. I'd love to try it but a material barely tolerating hot car temperatures is a hard sell.

[@JoeStoffa]

Essentium says that you can anneal it for higher temperature use, but I haven’t seen a post-annealing HDT quoted.

[@EK1H]

You could try CPE, it's impact resistant too but higher tensile strength and temperature resistance

[@lonnieor]

I really like this stuff. I've been printing with it for a while now. I don't know why people would mess with PLA or ABS anymore (other than color options).

[@lonnieor]

@ckatlinga I have gone as high as 80 mm/s without any issues and didn't try any faster, but I typically print at 50 mm/s. I would love to have that printer he was talking about that does 500 mm/s!

[@ALTIMIT09]

I wanna see this for cold temperature applications. Like -40F I want a simple material that can handle Bitter cold winters in Canada. I got a product I’d like to sell for ice fishing.

[@Hirudin]

I bought some (on your recommendation) and I'm anxious to try it! I just gotta get my first printer built first... Although drying isn't necessary, I'm curious what temperature it should be dried at in case I decide to at some point. The bit with the 1911 was pretty funny!

[@rileyneufeld7001]

Usually with higher temp filaments a higher drying temp is a good idea for speed but not needed. 55-60c would work and the Glass transition temp of 76c means keeping it at least 10c below that to not affect it.

[@mururoa7024]

Blew my mind. I really need to get rid of my stock of PETG now.

[@BloodSpillerGaming]

Is the vase you guys use for break tests a ZYYX vase? If not, is there somewhere I can download the STL? I’d like to start printing some of my own materials with similar settings to see how my results compare with yours. 🙂 Love the consistent testing format that you guys follow. Cheers!

[@VisionMiner]

It's the Nerys vase, you can find it here: www.thingiverse.com/thing:3019056 😀

[@BloodSpillerGaming]

​@@VisionMiner Thanks! 🙂 Also, I'd like to put in a request for demonstrating 3DXTECH PC/ABS and CF-PC/ABS, looks interesting, similar to PC but better looking finish apparently. I got a 500g roll to try out after it goes through a 24h dry in the SUNLU at 55C.

[@evanbuskirk11]

Can PCTG be painted? Curious on using this for a RC truck body, trying to print something to replace a lexan body

[@alcr6201]

Hello, i want to print a water pump gear for an engine with pctg as a replicate from the original plastic gears, is this material good enough? Is it a good solution instead of nylon? Does exist a pctg with carbon addition, like carbon pet? Thank you

[@jakeallen09]

Is it super sticky and “gooey” like PETG? I would love to know which acids it’s resistant to

[@VisionMiner]

Almost the same resistances as PETG, very very close -- and it does flow nicely, though I'm not exactly sure what you mean by the gooey :)

[@musicalatv]

I wonder the same thing. PETG is so gooey and sticks to the nozzle during printing

[@anonymous-gf6hj]

Vision miner please compare PCTG to Nylon and or CF Nylon I would love to see its impact resistance

[@ThekingofBAC]

CNC Kitchen found that layer adhesion is not that good. I ordered some.

[@VisionMiner]

We're working on a machine to test that, and use different settings to get it isotropic :)

[@andrigtmiller]

What kind of support material can you use with the Essentium PCTG? I just bought some based on this video, as I have some large models where I am having trouble getting them to print over 56 hours with PLA, and since this material seems to be even easier than PLA, I thought I would give it a try.

[@VisionMiner]

For support materials, you can pretty much use anything that works with PETG -- they're quire similar on the molecular level. Aquasys 120, Aquatek, and even PVA should work -- HIPS apparently works too, and a lot of people are using PLA as support, as well!

[@andrigtmiller]

@@VisionMiner Okay, thank you.

[@master-gbig1140]

Wow; That's the BOMB! I'm so getting me some of that!

[@Hancholo_Express]

Is this material safe to make a water pipe out of and use ?

[@TravisBrown42]

Love the Shamwow infomercial guy energy.

[@VisionMiner]

YEAH! :D

[@__--JY-Moe--__]

I would like 2 see a socket & nut torque test. also a shear. then finally a weight holding break/shear!! gona try a kilo!! thanks!

[@garrettslobey9204]

What filament would you suggest for press brake dies? I've been using PLA with epoxy instead of infill which seems to work fine, but just curious if something like this would be more resistant to impacts and stronger with pricing similar to PLA?

[@princefpv1]

great video as always boys ill have to try some

[@Jack-ny7kn]

Will it stick to the Prusa textured plate?

[@VisionMiner]

Yep!

[@rydinorwin]

UV Stabililty - this would be very useful to know!?? Excellent work btw!

[@josiahong5177]

I've printed PET filament and it broke exactly like this. Interesting. (Settings: 245 c nozzle 80c bed, 35mm/s to 10mm/s depending on geometry.)

[@stevesloan6775]

Man the Z axial strength.. heat is your friend post printing 🤓🤜🏼🤛🏼🇦🇺🍀😂😂

[@RRMGarage]

Only thing I noticed with PCTG was on one of the prints I did this weekend I got a little warping. is was just at the far ends of the print were lifting a little.. I was printing at 270c and bed was 100c, fan at 50% and not enclosed. Im sure I could have easily tuned that out if it were an important print. PS thank you for sharing my PCTG post yesterday.

[@VisionMiner]

Are you using our Nano Polymer Adhesive?

[@RRMGarage]

@@VisionMiner I havent tried it yet.

[@joemulkerins5250]

I don't know how the strength could ever possibly be stronger in the z direction than the x,z. Kinda calling a little bit of bs on that one.

[@VisionMiner]

Check it out on the datasheet :) www.essentium.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/TDS-Essentium-PCTG_v1.0-Minus-3D.pdf It's true!

[@joemulkerins5250]

@@VisionMiner I see your point! The data sheet does indeed say the tensile modules in the xz direction is slightly higher. I really do not know how this is possible. Even with a completely homogeneous printed object (unlikely) would, at best, produce the same result for the z direction as the xy direction....because it is the exact same material/testing parameters etc. As i said, in an ideal situation, the only difference in strength between the xy orientation and z direction is the layer lines which "must" produce less strength due to a crack initiation from a stress concentration point, ie. somewhere along a layer. Anyway, maybe there is some other reason for this that I am unaware of. That's my 2 cents. Great video! Thanks.

[@grosserboss]

When I compare the PCTG data sheet with PETG, it does not show any major differences at all. It even shows some smaller values sometimes. Also the z-adhesion is identical to the others (you have to consider the standard deviation as they have written in the datasheet). I have printed the same vase in PETG at elevated temperatures of 250 °C and it behaves very similarly to PCTG if not even equal. So I wouldn't call it als a "WONDER material".

[@VisionMiner]

Definitely something to consider! They're so similar, that you bring up some interesting points, but based on printing 3 foot x 3/4" tubes, and them being incredibly strong.... we're still impressed!

[@crippninja4664]

I got some of this stuff but from a different seller and I am having kind of a bitch of a time trying to print with it. I've had multiple failed prints just trying to print a heat bed holder no clue what is going on with this stuff

[@josejimenez896]

Heat resistance?

[@beaugalbraith3242]

UV resistance vs ASA?

[@andyh8239]

How is this with gasoline?

[@winstonsmith478]

That glass transition temperature isn't that impressive at 76C: PLA: 60-65C ABS: 105C

[@VisionMiner]

Agreed, we wish it was higher :)

[@LoveItDirtyOffroad]

UV resist?

[@VisionMiner]

PCTG generally has excellent UV resistance for normal outdoor sun exposure. With artificial high intensity UV lamps, it may start to exhibit some surface crazing, but that would be equivalent to decades of outdoor UV exposure. One guy has several brackets printed from PCTG both natural and black at his house that have been in the sun for several years with no noticeable degradation. It is certainly on a level playing field with ASA and much easier to print with.

[@LoveItDirtyOffroad]

Awesome, I plan on making a tail light lens with it

[@master-gbig1140]

I'm going to 3D print my electric motors and RC helicopter rotor head out of PCTG. You have to do a heat stress test. Heat and stress at the same time compared to Nylon with carbon composite.

[@VisionMiner]

Good idea! Oven tests coming up....

[@codycarney4652]

Petg you get a matte finish with less heat faster speed and gloss with slower speed higher temp

[@joej3365]

hes got that trigger discipline on a 3d printed toy

[@VisionMiner]

His father raised him right :) Marine Corps!

[@guido11x]

Where does the "C" in "PCTG" come from? The only "C" that I see in the whole "Polyethylene Terephthalate-Glycol" is in "Glycol".

[@Peter_Schluss-Mit-Lustig]

PCTG is actually (P)oly(C)yclohexylenedimethylene- (T)erephtalate with (G)lycol modification

[@ameliabuns4058]

CNC kitchens video in this was disappointing. But they used another brand You guys should send CNC kitchen some pre printed samples. Even ultem ones maybe! For comparison

[@VisionMiner]

We built a UTM machine, so we'll be showing LOTS of how "not going off the manufacturers recommended settings" can make a huge difference -- every printer is different, and geometry, so show some great results!

[@ameliabuns4058]

@@VisionMiner god I know it's expensive and time consuming but i'd kill for a proper huge filament strengh/temp etc comparison video! tho the datasheets already can tell you a lot i'm curious about real life results!

[@ameliabuns4058]

@@VisionMiner OOOH and i'd always wanted to know how different in strengh ultem printed with a 90c enclosure vs ultem with a 110 - 150 - 200c enclosure is!

[@master-gbig1140]

Dud that stuff is BAD-ASS!

[@master-gbig1140]

Totally off the hook my man. PCTG, Polyethylene Terephthalate-Glycol IS THE "BOMB" You've made a believer out of me' How does it stack up next to Nylon Composite?

[@VisionMiner]

The z-axis sets it apart... it's definitely more flexible than CFPA6 and won't hold up to as high of temperatures, either, so there are some trade-offs

[@3dtechnologies153]

Can this be dyed or painted?

[@VisionMiner]

Yep! Much like PETG, it's very very similar

[@tahustvedt]

I wanted to try it and put one roll in the cart. The cheapest shipping option was $77. Not gonna happen.

[@VisionMiner]

Wow, what part of the world are you in? If you reach out via email, sometimes we can get better custom shipping rates than the automatic system spits out, but something tells me you're in Australia.... that's usually where we see the highest rates, it gets crazy!

[@tahustvedt]

@@VisionMiner I'm in Norway. Thanks though. I found a local store that will add ÅPCTG to their stock.

[@michaelwagner8856]

You should send a spool to CNCkitchen kzbin.info I would really love to see him test it.

[@fkingride.5500]

where can i buy this ?

[@VisionMiner]

visionminer.com/pctg :)

[@fkingride.5500]

@@VisionMiner does it ship to the uk?

[@VisionMiner]

@@fkingride.5500 Yes we will :)

[@fkingride.5500]

@@VisionMiner is there any deals for bulk buy ?

[@skogzor]

Where can i buy this in the EU?

[@VisionMiner]

We ship worldwide, but shipping is not cheap and depending on country, you'll deal with duties...

[@MicheleHjorleifsson]

Would love to see HIPS compared to this.

[@3dPrintingMillennial]

There's absolutely no comparison in my opinion. I love the light density of HIPS but that's it

[@MicheleHjorleifsson]

@@3dPrintingMillennial I like the surface finish I get with hips, I just got two rolls of petg going to take them for a spin

[@3dPrintingMillennial]

@@MicheleHjorleifsson do you have a link to any pics? My HIPS don't come out great. However today, someone mentioned that white filaments flow differently 🤷🏾‍♂️

[@hayden9944]

Sold!

[@Panda_Gibs]

Aren't phthalates (the plasticizer that gives it flexibility and durability) toxic?

[@Serpreme]

You'll find you only need to ask people to subscribe once per video.

[@charlesspringer4709]

Want more views? Show, don't talk. In 3 minutes you opened the box while imitating a network news presenter. This isn't radio, it is video. Well, I watched more. and after 8:30 you stick your finger in a vase. Finally! Watch some "This Old Tony". Just my two bits.

[@VisionMiner]

Thank you for the suggestions, will do!

[@Fishbone4u]

Pretty thorough video but definitely biased and sales "pitchy". Also, consider cleaning your nails on the closeups. I was too distracted with looking at those dirty things instead of the actual filament.

[@VisionMiner]

100% on the nails, not sure how we passed that off LOL -- and pitchy, for sure, since we're a business, but don't worry -- building a UTM machine to get more actual data, un-biased testing -- and we'll go a bit above and beyond others, as generally they will print with the "recommended" settings, whereas we will tune the settings to get optimal results. Going to be a really cool new series!

[@riba2233]

@@VisionMiner any news on that utm machine?

[@winstonsmith478]

Do the testing like this: kzbin.info/www/bejne/r5SqdYVtapeZipI

[@VisionMiner]

Working on a few testing setups like this :) New videos coming in a month or two!

[@bnut1979]

"...and still affordable." Hey bud...$50/kg is double what I pay for PETG. Hard pass.

[@VisionMiner]

We deal with filaments in the $200-800/kg range, so most of our stuff is well out of consumer reach -- but considering the benefits, it's a great deal :)

[@Peter_Schluss-Mit-Lustig]

Fiberlogy sells PCTG for 36€ kg as far as i know Though it probably should be said that i barely got it to work on my Ender 3V2 yet since it has all the Problems a PETG print has and it heavily underextruded initially

[@3Dmaking]

😂😂😂 you are fun to watch. Like a salesman who doesn’t know what he is talking about.

[@VisionMiner]

lol! Well, I'm certainly not a material scientist by trade, but ask me anything about 3D printing :)

[@benwagner7422]

A lot of blablablabla until the first test starts at 12min.

[@AwestrikeFearofGods]

Brace yoself, fool!

[@davidnogueira3884]

The worst material i ever tested ...Pctg = waste of money (I printed in diferent printers difrent profiles diferent brands and all the same ). For me with this video, vision miner lost all credibility

[@fkingride.5500]

would you stop putting the bottom of a gas filled plastic lighter on something you just set on fire plz ?

[@VisionMiner]

😂

[@hapskie]

Meh commercial

[@VisionMiner]

Meh pointless comment. It's a super cool material, and we are, in fact, a business, so yes, we're promoting something we sell -- but also something that is very very awesome!

[@thecoolshitdesigner]

Order placed. how is post processing and supports? easier or harder?

[@VisionMiner]

A bit tougher if printing with no fan, but the fan really makes it behave like PLA