PETG filament on the Flashforge Creator Pro

3D Fabrication
#1

Hi 3D Fab,

I’ve designed a few prototype weather sensor enclosure pieces, and plan to use PETG for printing, because of its water and UV resistance.

The FlashForge website states the Creator Pro to the left of all the PolyPrinters supports PETG, and I assume that’s if the nozzle temperature is set to 230 or 240. Link .

I have a FlashForge Finder at home that prints with PLA, so I’m accustomed to the LED screen and user software, and I’ve taken the PolyPrinter course just in case. Also will be bringing my own PETG filament. I’ve got the STL files sliced to x3g files and put them on an SD card for direct loading into the printer.

It seems @Hanna_Kessler may have been the previous owner of the Creator Pro? Maybe you could give me a status on this printer and if it’s OK that I hop on it tomorrow. Any recommendations on which extruder to use? I should only need one.

Thanks!
Nick

#2

I’m not the previous owner of this particular creator pro, but I have owned one in the past. It hasn’t been operated since it was received, as far as I know. Feel free to tinker and try to get it to work for you.

#3

It was just coincidence that it was the same mode then. Thanks, I’ll take a go at it in the morning.

#4

Hey Nick,

We don’t have any official training for that machine, and might vote to get rid of it at the next 3D Fab meeting.

However, until then, have at it! I’d be interested to hear about successes and challenges on that machine.

Edit: if the Creator Pro ends up not working so well, feel free to print PETG on the Prusas. Those are currently self-service, and I think an official manual is floating around the area.

Best wishes,
Evan

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#5

I noticed there was PETG (with metallic filling) in one of the Poly Printers all day (it was loaded before noon when @skyspook and I were in 3D fab and was still in the printer when I left around 8pm). From this thread is it safe to assume that shouldn’t have been used (no PETG on the PolyPrinters)?

#6

From my understanding, only ABS is allowed in the polyprinters, so the fact that there was PETG in there (especially metal filled) doesn’t sound good. I imagine new filaments make it more difficult for PolyPrinter technicians to fix.

Thanks Evan for the Prusa suggestion. Good to know there’s a backup. I’ll definitely be looking for that manual, as I’ve never used it before.

#7

An update on the printing:

Loading the filament and everything started out fine. Then a few failed prints indicated the bed wasn’t level. I went through the leveling process, but only managed to shift the problem to a different area of the bed.

The bigger issue is that PETG is sticking significantly to the glass. When I tried to pry it off, the glass plate got separated from the rest of the bottom bed. Right now I’ve got a partial print still stuck to the bed and it simply wont budge. Going to research what anti-adhesives are good for this problem. And how to glue the glass plate back on.

#8

Oh yeah, PETG sticks like heck to glass. In the future, use glue stick as release agent.

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#9

There is some Isopropyl alcohol spray here. Not sure if it’s here for cleaning, but apparently it’s also a good release agent. We’ll see how it did in T-minus 1 hour!

#10

If you use PETG, be sure to flush out the the PETG from the nozzle when you’re done. When I had to do this, I very briefly brought the ABS up to PETG temperatures to be sure the ABS could force out the PETG residue.

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#11

FWIW, I printed a temp/humidity probe enclosure for my weather station out of regular ABS filament and hit it with a coat of spray paint to match the box I put the electronics in.

It’s held up just fine for five years in the cold weather and higher UV of the Colorado mountains.

5 Likes
#12

Switching between filaments with different temperature ranges is the best way I’ve seen to consistently kill nozzles. You have to be very careful about what temperatures you purge at (don’t burn the lower temp filament but allow the higher temp filament to flow) and have to purge way more than necessary.

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#13

I have one printer for ABS and one for PLA. Never had to replace a clogged nozzle, despite having run perhaps 30 spools of filament thru them over a few years.

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