HATCHBOX PETG 3D Printer Filament - 1.75mm, 1kg Spool, High Precision +/-0.03mm for Smooth Printing - Perfect for Functional Parts, Prototypes & DIY Projects

I've experienced all of the problems negative reviewers have mentioned (except bad spooling)... Until I learned why. Now it prints as easy as PLA, and strong enough that I bent a sturdy pair of hardened steel pliers while trying to remove supports after I screwed up my settings. My parts are in use on industrial clients' production lines, even ones that produce Amazon's boxes and some of the products you might use every day. Every product I produce impresses the engineers using them. This material likely helped produce some of the stuff sitting around you right now.Here are some pointers, but you really need to learn about the chemistry in-depth to fully understand it.Part Cooling:PETG does not like cooling, even with fast layer times. It may fail to adhere layers, especially single wall prints. with exceptions. If the area is very thick (solid, lots of walls, etc.) then you're going to need cooling but keep it moderate. With a stock Ender 3 part fan and a ring adapter or a Hero Me Gen3 with the stock fan, about 70-80% works but I only used it where necessary on the model. Using a Hero Me Gen4 Dual 5015 I set about 30-40%.PTFE Melting:I'm not sure why people say they have problems here, but I built an Ender 3 Q42018 model and printed for 2 years with the stock Bowden without any issues... The end of my stock white PTFE tube is just fine, even after testing at up to 260C using the stock hotend.Consistency:I have yet to find a deviation greater than 0.02mm on any roll of any Hatchbox material. YMMV, but that's _why_ I buy Hatchbox. I've never found any contaminants, changes in dye colors, kinks, bubbles, or other defects.Tangling:I think what is going on there in most cases is probably that this stuff is stiff and springy. If you don't have some strain relief between the spool and the extruder, or the spool can rotate too freely, you might feed back onto the roll and make a mess or cause it to spring loose on the roll and tangle from overlaps. I've never received a spool of any material from Hatchbox that was looped over itself and inherently tangled. In fact, with the way the filament is spooled at the plant, I don't think that it is physically possible for it to become knotted...Nozzle Temperature:Here's the finicky one. This setting is critical, and part dependent. Too much heat and you'll get strings and oozing like crazy. Too little, it'll drag and fail to adhere to the bed and other layers. What is too much/little? That depends... I only get good results with 230-245C nozzle temps for detailed parts on a 0.2 - 0.4 mm nozzle. 235C works great for slow speed 1mm nozzle prints, and I use 245C for faster ones. Over 245C makes it ooze badly in addition to becoming brittle and prone to shattering into razor-sharp shards. You can play with temps and cooling to get more flex or rigidity though, which can be pretty handy. If you work to minimize retraction in your gcode, switch to direct drive, print in vase mode, or use linear advance you can get away with 220-230C without much fuss, but you have to stop the part cooling. Higher temps are better for a small nozzle and a model with fewer surface details.Nozzleschmutz:A buildup of excess material on the outer surface of the nozzle can burn and leave black bits on the model or just drag around until it scrapes off, ruining the surface of your print. This is caused (easily) by extruder calibration, Z calibration, unlevel beds, or too high of print speeds. Turn your speed down a bit. It will not print infill well at 235C over 60mm/s. PETG is too viscous and will drag behind the nozzle instead of laying down, and those speeds don't radiate enough heat to strongly bond the current layer to the previous one. A BLTouch, a glass bed, antibacklash nuts, and stronger bed springs all helped with this issue, but getting the E steps dialed in was critical. If you just change the temps on your PLA profile and print, you will have problems. Linear Advance works great but getting your K factor correct can be a challenge due to bed adhesion and the speed at which the LA test pattern prints. See 'Bed Adhesion' (next).Bed Adhesion:Use polyester/polyurethane blended hairspray on glass. The default Ender build plate material works pretty well, but not as good. Your bed needs to be really flat or compensated by high resolution UBL meshes. The carriage must be trammed well and preferably square wrt the frame. I spray 91% IPA on the glass, then hairspray, then heat it gently to set the film. The IPA helps get a clean and smooth layer on the glass instead of uneven speckles from the spray nozzle. Make sure your bed temperature is BELOW the glass transition temperature! There are a lot of reports out there about glass cracking/chipping and PEI being destroyed when you don't do this. If you follow this rule and _let the part cool before attempting to remove it_, the part will release itself with no effort around 35-40C., You'll hear a 'tink' as it pops free. Print the first 2 layers at no more than 20mm/s for consistent results. If you must use bare glass, use tempered glass and clean it to the point of being completely free of oils, IPA denaturing agents, anything which isn't glass. Print the first 2 layers at 10mm/s and avoid tight radii, backtracking, or sharp angles. PETG will stick to completely clean and smooth plates, but not strongly enough to survive a nozzle collision or very hard jarring from bed deceleration. Using brims may help. I've heard 50/50% water and Elmer's Glue All works well, but I haven't needed to try that yet.Bubbles, popping sounds:PETG is very hygroscopic, meaning it will readily absorb atmospheric moisture. You can't load this on an exposed spool holder and leave it for days. For long term storage, I place spools in a bucket with a gasket on the lid (Home Depot orange bucket) with silica crystal cat litter in the bottom. Silica dust from the coarsely ground litter can get on your filament, so watch out for that. I used a sewing machine and Velcro to make a fabric sack to contain the silica. To recharge silica desiccant, bake in an oven at around 180C for 30-60 minutes to drive off moisture, and as soon as it is cool enough, put it in the bucket and seal it again. I've just finished a roll I've had open for over 2 years which has absorbed moisture many times, and my last prints were great in terms of printing, strength, color, and finish. This isn't a problem with Hatchbox filaments, but a natural chemical property of this polymer. I can tell you from working with industrial facilities, vacuum packing or even wrapping round objects like spools is very difficult and they might leak, that's just the nature of the technology used in packaging equipment. I've never received an unsealed spool from Hatchbox, but it wouldn't disappoint me. Just handle it gently to avoid cracking it, dry it out, and it'll be fine. Desiccant drying times range from hours to days depending on exposure. One thing I have noticed is that the spools have all been wound very neatly and the unexposed parts absorb little moisture, so if you're reeeaaally in a hurry, you can unwind a couple of layers of the spool, snip it, and print with the more fresh filament beneath it. Better still, just mount your currently used filament in a container with desiccant using a foam port to keep out more humid air and wipe any dust from the material as it feeds. Try to pick a foam with a low dielectric coefficient wrt PETG so you don't cause a static electric charge to build up and attract new dust to the filament.Stringing:If your retraction is wrong, nozzle temperature is too low/high, hydrolysis has occurred, or your print speed is too high, you will certainly see the spaghetti monster soon. This stuff can string like crazy, but when you're dialed in that all goes away. You'll know you've got a good profile set up when it behaves almost like PLA instead of glue. I didn't believe this until I saw it, I thought this was just a horrible material in terms of stringiness. The roll I just finished was the same roll I calibrated with 2 years ago. It was nothing but a non-bed-adhering, stringy, goopy, crappy mess for the first month of trial and error, my last print was gorgeous. It's not hard to print with, but it is hard to build a profile for and your settings may depend on the model a little.Warping:PETG, like many materials, expands and contracts substantially with changes in temperature. Judicious use of part cooling can keep this to a minimum on overhanging areas which might curl up otherwise, but too much will just cause weak layer adhesion. A warm build area (i.e., heated enclosure) will reduce this a lot. The problem isn't anywhere near what you might see with most ABS filaments, but it can make printing some parts difficult. Plan ahead, have supporting ribs or infill which help the part hold its geometry, and avoid steep (>70 degrees) unsupported overhangs. It took many tries to get a successful print of some belt tensioners without the last 2 cm curling up badly and causing the part to be knocked from the build plate by the nozzle. Once I reduced my print speed, lowered my nozzle temp to 230, closed the A/C register in the room, and set 30% part cooling fan during the last of the overhanging arch, everything went smoothly but it was frustrating for a few days while I figured it out. An enclosure would have solved it I think.Multimaterial Printing:Well, you will learn that almost nothing sticks to PETG very well. You can print TPU onto it while it's hot and get a decent bond but not as strong as pure PETG parts. Slow down the interface layers to allow heat to flow from the nozzle into the PETG below. Friction fits, mechanical fasteners, or adhesives may be a better way to go.Layer Bonding:Strong parts become very weak if you cool them too much during printing or take too long per layer at too low a temperature. Print one part at a time, low/no fan, and slow it down a little.Infill:Print infill at the same speed you print walls if you want it strong. If you don't need much strength in the infill, just support, then faster speeds may be fine.Supports:Unless you utilize thermal tricks like setting high part cooling on your support roofs or increased gaps at interfaces, you will likely have a very hard time removing support material and achieving a nice finish. Once it bonds, it can become solid to the point that you need power tools to remove the supports... Be careful removing material, this stuff can fracture and leave dangerously sharp edges or violently release glass-like shards. Eye protection and gloves wouldn't be a bad idea.Use Cases:I've got wheels carrying 1200 Lb dynamic loads, hundreds of tons of material sliding across air conveyor nozzles made from PETG, grips for machetes and other tools, and heat-exposed printer parts which are all functioning extremely well. PETG has great abrasion resistance, impact resistance, tensile strength, and chemical resistance. Its thermal stability is very good for a material that extrudes at such a low temperature. I've also got replacement auto parts in service that are doing just fine in Texas temperatures. This stuff is my main money-maker and go-to material, I don't even keep any PLA in stock.General Notes and Safety:Short of printing PEEK, Acetal, or Polycarbonate, this is about as easy, strong, and versatile a material as you'll find to print with. Hatchbox filament doesn't seem to have any additives like compatabilizers or stabilizers which create noxious fumes, but I've read studies that suggest that VOCs can build up in a small unventilated space with longer prints. If you notice a mild flowery or sweet smell, you might want to increase ventilation or dilution (circulate the air). Wiping the outside of the nozzle with a lint-free cloth dampened with an oil that has a smoke temperature above the nozzle temperature may help prevent accumulated material from degrading, but ultimately you've got a layer height or extrusion amount miscalibration which must be addressed if that happens. I've read about olive oil and such, but some of these can denature and become toxic or carcinogenic above smoke temperature so I don't do that. This stuff really can shatter like glass, I'm not exaggerating... Wear safety gear if you think this might be a risk, and beware of shards in work areas. Bystanders, including pets, should stay well back while applying force to remove supports or test part strength. My personal test of PETG-worthiness has been to first get the machine to where it can produce PLA print-in-place racer bearings without binding, underextrusion, or overextrusion. Then I build the PETG profile by checking extruder hobbed gear tension, measuring extruder steps per mm, printing temperature towers, printing retraction tests, testing cooling settings for overhangs, and finally part fitting tests with zero tolerances. Once you get your machine and settings calibrated, PETG can be a very rewarding material with incredible qualities.So now you know more about PETG than most users, and your chances of success should be much higher. Don't get discouraged, just remember that PLA filaments are designed to be "idiot-proof" and tolerant of faults in machine calibration, but PETG is a serious material requiring knowledge to extrude correctly. Hyperbolic statements such as "This brand SUCKS" tell you that the individual doesn't understand the material, their machine, or both, so keep at it and soon you'll be amazing your clients and changing their perception of FDM machines.Easiest PETG to dial in. I’ve printed some pretty durable items with this, including some tools I use around my workshop. Adheres well if you’re using the right surface preparation. Since printing PETG on a glass bed is like printing in hard mode, apply painters tape first. My settings for this filament are 240C nozzle and 70C bed temp.Start with the filament is perfectly wound and clean. It was the strongest PETG I tested. Good finish, adhesion and no stringing. Wish I could get this result with USA made PETGI purchased this PETG filament to build a Caliburn nerf rifle for my son. Printing in on an Ender 3v2 with a Sprite Pro extruder and a magnetic PEI build plate. I've used both purple Elmers gluestick and dollar store hairspray as an adhesion promoter and a shield for the pei sheet, and this filament sticks easily to both, but comes right off when the plate cools. I'm printing at 240/70 with a .4 nozzle and 0.15 layer height. First layer I print 150% width at 10mm/s on the first layer. The majority was printed at 40mm/s and comes out pretty crisp.This is my first time printing PETGand Hatchbox had a good rating. I have gotten the best Benji that I’ve made out of any PLA. This is a perfect White, pictures don’t do it justice.I would highly recommend this !!!Actually I'm rather happy!....I was very impressed both with Amazons quick shipping!.And the quality of the goods, Plus the way they were vacuum packed.Now frankly I've never used Hatchbox before but have heard good things of it!.....I must Say it makes a Very Splendid work-piece/Item sic.Its such a Good Filament and over all works so well its hard to say much against it so in all fairness I can only balance it out as against 2 Points.A. It makes a really Good Item/Model.B It is very hard, Even troublesome to get this to stick, Or to apply to your Hotbed or Plate?.Now this troubled me ,But i refused to give up and I tried all my usual methods!.I remembered when in doubt there are 2 things that usually work w prints.....1. Look at your Heats as most Plastics will usually melt/run at Half-Way/Half Heat.2. If nothing else works, Blue Tape used sticky side up will likely pin your print down!.Now I've had good luck in the past running PETG a Mite Hot and a Tad Fast so i gambled this method would work for Hatchbox so Ill explain what worked for me as it may help cause at first I was really wondering if I'd be able to run or print with this?????OK at first Preheat your head to 255 and your bed too 80 or 85!...On Cura I set first layer to run at 250, bed at about 80 and speed about 40 to 45.After 'First Layer' I finish the Run at Head 245, Bed 70 and run speed at 45...But remember to use Blue Tape sticky side up, And just before the Print Starts up give your tape a quick puff of Aquanet.OTHERWISE:Now i dont 'ALWAYS" do this but on Troublesome or Difficult jobs I run the job thru the first layer or twothen Ill push 'Pause Button'.....Then as quickly 'as possible' once again using blue tape Ill tear off 2 strips and put one strip across the top of the 'Raft or Brim' and again very quickly Ill take the 2nd strip and put it across the bottom being careful NOT to touch the Hot End or the work-piece itself!...Then push the Resume, Or Restart button to continue to Print and 97-98pt it will work out fine!.This method if you are watchful and quick to move can also help save parts from the dreaded uh'Heat Curl' if you catch it quick and work fast before the Curve or Curl get too pronounced.Thats -Very Important- if you have to run your machine either Hot or Fast and at times with PETG you will wind up in that situation so hopefully the above means an methods may prove useful to you...See since this Filament works between 230-260, So its kinda 'sensible' to set it halfway or run at 245.And this Half-Way method works with most filaments as its no secret how this stuff, And other Filaments run.As once you figure your prime Melting Point, If you run 'Too Fast' you get stringing.If too slow you get blobs an trouble with your Layers, And at times your Nozzle will jam/clog!.So and especially w PETG I like to preheat and get that first layer down 'Fast and Hard'.\Once the 'First Layer' is down OK, An your machine is running smooth its usually calm sailing, And after a bit a Fine Model is yours!.So enjoy Hatchbox Filament its a great product and you can make some neat stuff with it!...ENJOY:IndianaED.....As with all PETG, takes a bit of faffing to get it dialled in but once it's done its consistent. I use 230/70, 87% flow.Yellow looks like butter!The filament arrived in a sealed bag with desiccant, but showed severe symptoms of dampness - hissing/crackling noise while extruding and bubbly extruding.Possibly old stock being resold on amazon. There is no batch number or manufacturing date printed by Hatchbox, so it's impossible to tell.Supposed to be purple but it's not! More like Pink to me! Box colour label is purple, exact match my purple bowl but filament colour is completely off... Sad, was looking forward printing it...I've had okay results with default settings but it wasn't perfect. I had to reduce the flow to 93% and figuring that out was a bummer and a lot of filament, I recommend testing flow first. I use other PETG brands that print perfectly at 100% flow, it's not a calibration thing.Otherwise, strings much less than other brands, not at all when properly tuned, I have a Microswiss DD kit and 1.2mm @ 35mm/sec does the job with combing in infill only.The finish looks great but since I have to reduce the flow, even without coasting, I sometimes under extrude a tiny bit. Not enough to ruin anything and if you're not attentive to details you won't see it but it's worth mentioning and usually more visible on the first layer.The PETG stays a bit flexible but it breaks in shards (as PETG does) if printed only 3 layers thick and bend a little too much but otherwise very strong at 4 layers and above. We're talking about a single wall here, I used 3 layers wall with 30% triangular infill for a printer frame support and it's incredibly strong, can't bend or flex it one bit! Don't even think about breaking it!Great bed adhesion, I do not recall having any curling on my PEI bed with this filament. Pops right off the flex bed too!It's branded as hydrophobic but I kept it in a vacuum container with desiccant and it still had to spend a bit of time in my dryer to stop crackling moisture out of the nozzle, not long but enough to prove that this product is not 100% hydrophobic. It was easy to dry out and I didn't have issues afterwards.Will most likely buy again but I don't think it will become my 'go to brand' as it's 3x more expensive in Canada than the US.De los mejores filamentos por el precio, sigues las instrucciones y sale por que sale, en caso de PETG, incluso con detalles pequeños, hay poco o nada stringing, el color es genial y el acabado es brillante, siempre da confianza imprimir con Hatchbox, ojalá tuvieran mas colores disponibles!