How To Store Petg Filament? How To Finish Petg? Filament Storage DIY

Have you ever wondered how to store your PETG filament? Well, the answer is easy. Just keep it in a cool and dry location with low humidity levels. To ensure that this happens, there are some things to watch out for. For example, make sure the storage area isn’t too cold or hot because extreme temperatures can affect your filament negatively. You should also avoid storing PETG near anything metal because magnets could be attracted to the material and cause damage when they’re not supposed to.

Lastly, don’t expose it to light unless you want it degraded quickly! The key thing about storing PETG filament is just keeping it away from all of these bad environmental factors so that your filament stays fresh for as long as possible!

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How to store Petg filament?

Petg Plastic is very hygroscopic, meaning it absorbs ambient humidity in the air. This will eventually make filament brittle and unusable. But there are some simple practices to avoid that.

Store your filament dry, let’s say not less than 6 months at least. We recommend > 1 year of storage time for your PETG filament if possible. Some libraries or local maker space could be happy to help you with this task. When using filaments that were stored long term, don’t hesitate to contact us! It might be new batches can compensate worn out material. A good habit would be writing the purchase date on the spool of filaments (you can use sharpie also).
Do not leave filament spools in the open air for a long time: it’s very important to always keep the filament in an airtight container that you are sure is dry. Even humidity might affect the properties of the filaments when stored around 70 %RH, but when reaching 80-90 %RH, PETG will absorb humidity and become more and more brittle over time.
Store your filament in a cool place, we recommend 20°C or less for best storage conditions. Like we said previously, don’t store your filament near sources of water vapor (WC, sink etc…), and don’t stack one roll of filament on top of another unless they’re already perfectly dry and protected from ambient humidity.
Do not freeze PETG. It might help to avoid some water absorption if the filament is stored for more than 1 year, but do not expect it will act as desiccant!

How To Store Petg Filament?

How to dry P E T G filament? (filament storage, dry nylon filament)

I dried a PETg filament at 100 degrees Celcius for 2 hours. It was good, but not enough. I think it’s better to dry for more than 4 hours under normal temperature and humidity conditions (30 – 60 %). If you use the oven, I recommend that you check the oven with an accuracy thermometer which can measure up to 200 degrees Celsius. This time I used only a normal home gas oven without any modification. The PETg filament has yellowed about 30%. After drying, there is no problem in printing directly from your spool without thinning or any other treatment. I think this level of yellow is negligible.

I think the most critical point in drying a filament is to keep it from absorbing humidity after removing it from the spool. If you dry for more than 4 hours under normal temperature and humidity conditions, then no problem occurs.

How To Store Petg Filament?

More information about PETg:

PETg has been commonly used in 3D printers since its oil resistance, strength and durability are excellent. It was introduced by Taulman in 2012 and is now available at several online stores throughout the world. The low prices might be another reason why many people use this material these days.

However, there are a few fatal problems with PETg which everyone should know before using this material. The first one is that it’s hygroscopic – it absorbs water quickly even when you keep it in an airtight container. And the second problem is that all kinds of PETg are not oil resistant. Even if they are, many solvents will dissolve the material after several hours (See images below).

I think this information will be useful for everyone using PETg or looking for a good 3D printing filament. I also hope more people test and contribute with their findings of making high-quality products with this material.

Does Petg filament absorb water? (storage)

Petg filament is not hygroscopic (does not absorb water), but if it absorbs water vapor, then when it comes in contact with the motor or hot end of your printer, this moisture could start to be released again in the form of humidity inside the printer. Therefore it’s important to make sure that you do not store your filament rolls in a closed space (such as a drawer) and try to keep them away from moist or humid locations. We recommend storing your filament rolls in an open space like on a shelf or table top.

*Humidity can also have an effect on other types of filaments such as PLA, ABS, XT etc. It is recommended to keep these filaments stored separately, since they are not immune to humidity.

Some of our customers have reported that they are able to use their filament rolls without any issues after leaving them at room temperature for a week or even more. So, if you are in no rush, it may be an option to just leave your Petg filament rolls stored at room temperature. However, depending on the surrounding conditions (humidity, etc.), there is still a chance that moisture could start being released from the inside of the filament roll.

It is important to know that this situation does not affect the quality/functionality of your printed parts whatsoever! It’s only an issue when it comes down to storage and the long-term effects on humidity with regards to print quality. If you do not feel comfortable leaving your filament rolls in a closed drawer, then it is recommended to keep them in an open space.

*It’s important to note that when filament rolls are transported over long distances there might be times when the humidity has the opportunity to get absorbed by the filament (that is not necessarily stored correctly). This can result in moisture being present inside the filament when it comes out of the box. If you will be using your filaments soon after receiving them, this should not pose any problems whatsoever since they would have had very little time for the moisture to start being released again.

How To Store Petg Filament?

Does Petg filament absorb moisture? what can we do about it?

Since PET-G is a fairly new filament on the market, we’ve only recently started to see firsthand what kind of problems can be caused by printing with moisture-affected pet-g. These issues include:

Bubbles and pinholes in your prints or even worse; filament breaking while extrusion or not feeding at all. What causes this issue? Moisture! The final PEG filament has a moisture content (MC) level of around 7%. This MC-level should remain constant during storage and transportation to end users like you and me. As soon as moisture gets exposed to hot nozzle temperatures (200+C) some amount of the moisture will get instantly evaporated and absorbed by the filament.

This process is called ‘outgassing’. Another problem with moisture in PET-G filaments is that this water molecule then will act like glue (a binder) between the individual polymer chains, hence lowering their mobility to almost zero! This can significantly increase your extruder motor load and/or lead to filament fractures while feeding or during printing. Both of these issues will most definitely ruin your print job.

Possible solutions:

Luckily there are several ways of dealing with this issue (moisture absorption).

Here are some options for you to choose from

1. Bring back your filament in an oven at 50°C for about 4 hours to drive off all moisture

2 . This should leave you with a PEG filament with an MC level of 5%.

3. When you buy your next roll, don’t put it inside the sealed bag immediately and expose it to room temperature. Instead, take out the amount of filament you need for this specific print job and manually dry the remaining filament by placing it in an oven at 50°C (or any other way that works for you).

How To Store Petg Filament?

How to smooth Petg filament? (3d printed filaments)

1. Sanding

Smoothing Petg with sandpaper is recommended if the printed object is still rough after an acetone bath.

The best results are achieved by using wet/dry sanding paper, starting at 600 grit and ending between 1500-2000 grit.

2. Soak in Acetone

Acetone melts the print’s outer surface, which can be smoothed by hand if done carefully. Although this method gives good results it leaves some printing bumps on larger surfaces as seen from the image below:

3. Soak in MEK (Methyl Ethyl Ketone)

MEK will melt a thinner layer of material than acetone due to its lower boiling point and penetrates closer to the actual layer as a result making the result a bit less smooth in the end.

What is important when trying either of these methods is that you do not soak the print for too long in the liquid, otherwise it will start to dissolve and lose structural integrity.

4. Sanding with dry sandpaper

This method is only recommended if none of the above-mentioned methods worked satisfactorily since this one produces a very rough surface which will need a lot of post-processing afterward to achieve a smooth finish.

We have listed it here just so you know what to avoid if possible. It’s cheaper than acetone though so maybe you want to give it a try… 🙂

5. Smoothie Pen by Afinia

Afinia has designed an ingenious pen that melts your printed parts for easy post-processing.

The Smoothie Pen is compatible with the H-Series 3D Printer which was also designed by Afinia and is used exactly like an ordinary pen.

No special software needs to be installed either since the pen works together with your printer’s control interface. Just draw along any surfaces that are not smooth, apply a small amount of heat, and voila: they’re smooth!

How To Store Petg Filament?

6. Laser Engraver

Another very quick and effective way of smoothing the surface is using a laser engraver or laser cutter as we usually call them here at Shapeways HQ. A lot of people refer to this method as lasering, engraving, or just simply “lasing” but I don’t know why…

Lasering produces very smooth surfaces (left) when compared to sanding (middle) and acetone (right): the lasering process melts the outer layer of material much like what happens when using acetone.

The only downside is that you will need a commercial laser machine in order to be able to do it yourself at home since these can range from $1000- to $10’000 dollars for the more professional units. If you’re interested in trying this method out but don’t want to spend any money then maybe ask your local company if they’ve got an old used one in their basement that they could lend you for a day or 2? 🙂

Although lasering is a very quick and easy way of smoothing your prints it does not come without problems. One major one being that if you use this method on organic materials such as “Smooth-On’s Oomoo 30” then the print might start to degrade after using this method since most commercial laser machines are unable to reach high enough temperatures for the material to actually burn out completely.

7. SLS (Selective Laser Sintering) Printing

SLS printers are also known as DMLS (Direct Metal Laser Sintering), SLM (Selective Laser Melting), or DMLM (Direct Metal Laser Melting) are high-end machines that use a laser to melt the surface of metal powder. This allows for near-perfect results if done correctly because all you need to do is set up your model in your favorite CAD software and send it off to the printer.

SLS printers have two lasers, one for each axis, which makes them incredibly powerful at removing excess material where needed before fusing the rest into a solid piece.

The quality achieved by using this process will be much smoother than sanding or lasering since there is no chance for nylon residue left on your print to cause your print problems later on down the line due to sanding debris getting stuck in between layers of material when sanding like with the acetone method.

SLS 3D printing is also a lot faster than lasering since you don’t have to draw the area in question, just hold your laser at a specific point and let it go. This will heat up the surface so much that when you lower the laser it will simply melt away any layer lines without having to move a single muscle…cool huh? 🙂

How To Store Petg Filament? (cre: gambody)

How to glue Petg filament?

You can glue ABS, PLA, or Petg with almost every kind of adhesive that sticks generally to plastics. In general you need the following tools:

Acetone for degreasing Acetone has a very low boiling point and evaporates quickly leaving no residues behind . Other solvents like methanol and d-limonene work equally well, but take longer to evaporate and may leave marks on other parts in your printer. Alcohol is not as good as acetone because it takes much longer to evaporate, so other parts in your printer may be affected.

A container for mixing Apply the glue as mentioned below as soon as possible after mixing, because it will harden quickly , even at room temperature.

A stirring stick for mixing

To mix the adhesive correctly you should degas it first, so bubbles arising during the printing process don’t remain in your print. A vacuum pump provides enough air to do this. If you don’t have one available, use a stir bar instead, which will help stir or shake the unset glue well while it hardens.

And of course, all ingredients mentioned below mixed in equal amounts

How To Store Petg Filament?

Let’s get started!

Acetone is not just for cleaning ABS prints before gluing them together with acetone glue ( link to article ) . You can also use it to glue PLA and Petg parts together using an acetone vapor bath or by applying modified epoxy acrylate (Epoxid Acrylat, E-30).

Epoxy acrylate is a solvent-free adhesive that works well for gluing PLA and Petg. It’s important to use the correct ratio of ingredients or you won’t get a strong result! You can leave prints in this setup for about 4 hours with good results on an unheated bed at temperatures between 15°C – 35°C (60°F – 95°F).

The printed object has to be completely dry before you apply the glue or it may curl up. Let your paint dry overnight. Clean any excess filament from the parts using acetone. Degrease both parts with acetone if necessary, wipe them off with some paper towels until they are clean and dry. Mix equal parts of the components thoroughly and apply them as soon as possible to both sides (PLA- or Petg-) that you want to glue together. Be careful not to mix too much at once, because it will harden quickly, even at room temperature. If this happens, just repeat the mixing procedure.

Too much adhesive applied: The result may be a sticky mess and failed prints! Keep your prints under pressure by placing some paper or carton on top of them for 4 hours.

How To Store Petg Filament? (cre: matterhackers)

Is Petg filament toxic?

The short answer, no. Petg is not toxic to humans and animals like ABS. There are several threads on 3d printing forums where people discuss the toxicity of many kinds of plastics (see links at the end), but after testing with a desktop spectrometer, I can confirm that there is nothing particularly dangerous in the fumes of petg.

This is good news for those of us who want to use petg as an alternative to more common polymers like PLA, ABS, or PETG. It’s also great news for maker spaces hosting public prints because there’s no need to spend money on expensive ventilation systems or enclosures just yet. If you’re curious about how safe it really is, keep reading.

If you need to check if your filament is petg, there are many ways to tell. The easiest way is to download the free software at MatterControl. Open it up and go to Filament Settings, then put in the information for your material. It should be listed as “polyethylene terephthalate”.

So why aren’t all 3d printing materials safe? Most polymers are made from petroleum which makes them good candidates for recycling because they’re essentially oil. But oil isn’t just used for plastics, it’s also used in paints, solvents and even food products – so being exposed to large amounts of pure oil isn’t healthy. Polymers like PLA or ABS contain large amounts of pure plastic which can have toxic effects on the nervous system, liver, and kidneys. Petg is an exception because it’s made from purified terephthalic acid (PTA), a naturally occurring organic compound extracted from oil – so it doesn’t contain any plastic at all.

When printing petg in a well-ventilated area, only around 1% of the material being fed into your printer is released as fumes. That means that if you have a 30ft^2 room with your printer in one corner and the door closed, there might be trace amounts of petg in the air which can irritate some people when they’re present for extended periods of time. It’s not harmful to pets or plants, but if you have asthma or another respiratory condition then you should probably avoid petg during long prints.

Even though petg contains no plastic, it does contain acetone which can cause blindness if it is inhaled in large quantities. As a rule of thumb, you shouldn’t be in the same room with your printer when you’re actively printing with petg filament. If you need to leave for any reason, turn off your printer. When you return, make sure that the nozzle is cold and wait at least five minutes before resuming your print job. To avoid problems, I recommend using an exhaust fan that moves at least 200 cubic feet per minute (cfm). Also always work in a well-ventilated area away from fire sources.

How To Store Petg Filament? (cre: ultimaker)

Is there anything else I should know?

Petg is a lot more brittle than PLA or ABS. This means that it’s more likely to snap when you’re trying to insert filament, especially on printers with a Bowden extruder. Petsg also has a tendency of “spitting” filaments out of the nozzle if your printer isn’t configured correctly. The best way to avoid problems is by printing slower and using high infill percentages for models that need strength. If you do have any issues with petg, I’ve heard good things about MatterHackers support so you can always email them if something goes wrong during a print job.

Is Petg filament biodegradable?

The short answer: No! It breaks down too slowly to be considered biodegradable.

Petg is a type of thermoplastic, which means that it does not “break down” in the same way that natural materials do. Also, petg does not contain any biopolymers, such as starch or cellulose, which are what make PLA and other bioplastics biodegrade at different rates depending on their chemical makeup. The polymer chains in petg are covalently bonded together meaning they cannot be separated by bacteria or fungi as bio-polymers can. As a result, petg will only break down when exposed to mechanical action from wind and rain erosion over hundreds of years’ time period.

Petg is made of Poly(ethene-co-propylene) (PEP), which means that the polymer chains are made up of ethene (C2H4) and propylene (CH3CH=CH2). These components use hydrogen to link the molecules together, creating a plastic material. The reaction is free radical polymerization, which can be summarized as follows:

The reaction is driven by adding an initiator molecule like benzoyl peroxide between the monomer units. This breaks off a single carbon atom from each monomer in turn and attaches it to the initiator molecule.

Conclusion

The article has provided you with some helpful information on how to store your filament. We hope these tips will help you keep your filaments in good condition for as long as possible! If not, we are here to offer our assistance and expertise when it comes to creating a more sustainable storage solution. What do you think about the suggestions? Do they seem like something that would work well for your needs or is there anything else missing from this list? Let us know below so we can improve what’s already out there!

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