PCTG contains all the qualities we enjoy in PETG while also providing several distinct advantages - It offers increased toughness, impact strength and clarity, making it an excellent substitute for PETG, and even PC in many situations.
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The terephthalate polyester family, which includes PETG, also includes a lesser known but also glycol-modified copolyester, PCTG which has higher chemical resistance, a larger range of printing temperatures, and increased durability. These qualities make PCTG easier to work with while also providing the same safety and recyclability as PETG. What makes Essentium PCTG unique is its superior Izod Impact Resistance which means it can withstand way higher impacts than similar filaments while still maintaining similar tensile strength and heat resistance. It’s a truly amazing material for makers looking for a tough, easy-to-print and affordable filament. It’s only $40 for 750g, or about $50/kilo.
Best of all, it’s made right here in the U.S.A.!
Perfect starting point for fixtures since it’s really easy to print, machine, and finish. It prints in open air so it's compatible with just about every FDM printer. You’ll see it used for Handheld tools, Gauges, Location fixtures, General assembly fixtures, Check sockets for prosthetics - it’s a really great filament for prosthetics and orthotics. It’s also unaffected by humidity, so drying isn’t as big of an issue, and hydrolytic resistance is good. It’s strong enough for lightly loaded fixtures plus, there are colors available for color coding
It’s a very good Good general purpose material with Excellent toughness, High optical clarity, all while printing like BUTTER.
WHAT KIND OF MACHINE DO YOU NEED TO PRINT THIS FILAMENT?
Nozzle: 250-270c on your nozzle, so any machine can print it, like PLA
Bed: 70-80 on the bed
Bed Adhesive: our nano polymer adhesive works FANTASTIC on all surfaces
Chamber: You do NOT need a chamber, like PLA, this stuff prints fantastic in open air!
Speed: much like PLA, anywhere from 40-80mm/s and faster -- on the HSE, they’re printing this stuff at 500-800 mm/s -- that’s right --- the HSE is an incredible machine, make sure you look that up.
Drying: yes, you MUST dry this filament. Like almost every thermoplastic, this does need to be dried thoroughly before processing, which is the fancy word for melting.
In regards to drying, we’ve got an entire kit available on our site, including the vacuum chamber and ovens -- that’s basically all you need, so we put together the stuff WE use at OUR shop, so that you can do it just as easily as us. We also made METAL spools, so you don’t have to worry about melting or warping your spool when drying at high temps.
Drying Kits can be found here: visionminer.com/drykit
BASIC MATERIAL SPECS:
Glass Transition Temperature: 76C
Melting Point: 202c
HDT: 76C
Ultimate Tensile Strength, on the ISO 527-2 test, in Megapascals, is
148 on the X/Y
74.5 at a 45 degree angle
40.6 on the YX
And 24 on the ZX -- so you still do lose a bit on the z-axis, but you get an INCREDIBLE
You’re looking at an ultimate tensile strength of 44mpa -- in the XY. And guess what? You get 45 MPa in the ZX! That’s right, it’s STRONGER in the z-axis!! Insanity. I love it.
Tensile modulus is around 1800 Mpa, flexural modulus of 1780 MPa, and All data sheets are available on our online store, at visionminer.com/data, so you can find the tensile modulus, elongation, impact strength, and more juicy details on there.
Again, lots of great general purpose uses • Excellent toughness • Good solvent resistance • High optical clarity • Easy-to-print for applications including: Jigs and fixtures • Orthotics and prosthetic check sockets • Prototypes • Consumer goods and even Part trays
PCTG is commonly used as an insulator, and while we don’t have specific data yet on dielectric properties, this should work very well as an electrical insulator as well. Unfortunately, right now, you’re not going to use this for implants or medical tools, as it’s a bit too low-temp to be sterilized with most methods, and of course, it doesn’t have a ton of certifications yet -- it’s pretty new!
FUME EXTRACTOR:
visionminer.com/BOFA
At Vision Miner, we specialize in Functional 3D printing, especially high-performance plastics like PEEK, ULTEM, PPSU, PPS, CFPA, and more. If you're interested in using functional 3D printing and materials in your business, feel free to reach out, and we can help you make the right choice for your application.
Call 833-774-6863 or email contact@visionminer.com, and we're here to help!
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