Alternative to PETG for "technical prints"?  

RE: Alternative to PETG for "technical prints"?

The obvious choice would be ASA. You can look up its properties (and that of other materials) at https://help.prusa3d.com/filament-material-guide

It's basically a "next gen" ABS but much easier to print and UV resistant. I use it for most things intended for outdoor use, in cars, etc. Prints like a charm on a Core One. My go-to brand is Polymaker, which offers ASA in a broad range of colors at a reasonable price. One feature of ASA that may be interesting is that you can vapor smooth it with acetone, which makes the layer lines completely disappear. Downside is that objects will end up with a "Barbie" like super smooth look, so it depends on your use case.

I also print a fair bit of PC-CF. I really like the final look of it. It doesn't look like cheap plastic. But it's a lot more expensive, and Prusament PC-CF only comes in black. I've tried other brands but none have given me the same consistent look and ease of printing as Prusament. 

RE: Alternative to PETG for "technical prints"?

I concur with you, ASA is an improvement over PETG. Living in Europe, I get my spools from Prusa or Fillamentum at a low shipping cost. Both filaments are very good and I use the same settings for both brands,

Never tried PC-CF, as I purchased first Prusament PA-CF11 and I liked it a lot. Quite expensive and not easy to find in stock, but worth every cent. The nice thing about this filament is that if you own a Prusa PA-steel plate, there's no need to use any adhesive or release agent. No problems with warping, bed adhesion or trouble removing the model from the plate.

Plain PC without CF from Prusa is also very good, but you need to use a strong adhesive, brims and any possible help to keep warping under control. Even so, big parts sometimes end up warping a bit. CF filled filaments are much more friendly regarding this issue. Of course, containing carbon fibers, they come only in black. Maybe someday somebody will manufacture carbon fibers in every color out there, but I'm not holding my breath.. 😘 

RE: Alternative to PETG for "technical prints"?

I have had great results with pbt it prints just like petg, with maybe a bit more stringiness, but it has a bit more flexibility which helps a lot with stuff like latches.

RE: Alternative to PETG for "technical prints"?

ASA is quite easy to print, but it warps more than PETG and PLA. So some things might not be perfectly straight after a print is finished, somethings sharp-points and corners lift from the print bed during printing, etc. So it's more difficult than PETG and PLA, but still overall not that difficult. 

Keep in mind that ASA fumes are health hazardous, so be careful when printing with it. I have the Prusa Air filter in the Prusa Enclosure and I've measured air pollution in the room it's in. It's perfectly safe (seemingly) during those circumstances. If you don't have an air filter in the Core One, I strongly suggest closing the doors in the room it's printing and when the print is done: Opening all the windows in the room and airing it out for a good while.

I'm a bit more careful with health-in-3Dprinting than most, but I think it's wise to be careful. 

RE:

How about PCTG?? I read a lot about it and it seems to be a very tough and easy to print filament. I have one spool of Fiberlogy PCTG and I am very impressed by it. Prints like a dream on my Core One.

Only thing is that not every major brand has it in their line-up, so the choices are limited. Anybody else any experience with PCTG??

RE: Alternative to PETG for "technical prints"?

Carbon fiber PETG is also an option. Although if you're looking for something that's a little flexible (like PETG), then this definitively isn't it. 

RE: Alternative to PETG for "technical prints"?

Posted by: @borreltje

How about PCTG?? I read a lot about it and it seems to be a very tough and easy to print filament. I have one spool of Fiberlogy PCTG and I am very impressed by it. Prints like a dream on my Core One.

Only thing is that not every major brand has it in their line-up, so the choices are limited. Anybody else any experience with PCTG??

I don't have a lot of experience with PCTG. I recently grabbed a couple spools of PCTG from 3D-Fuel (here in the US) and am currently dialing in my profiles. (There's a temperature tower sitting on my printer that I haven't gotten time to evaluate yet...)