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The QIDI Plus 4 uses smaller notched belts to drive the hotend, so it's able to print in finer resolution than most 3D printers, at this moment in history (everyone will be doing it soon and better too).

silvertriple wrote: ↑Sun Feb 02, 2025 2:47 am

GreenBar0n wrote: ↑Sat Feb 01, 2025 8:49 pm The details for the parts I was working with, are what PETG was not looking as good compared to PLA for. Be that moisture, or whatever you want to attribute that to, I didn't require strength for that project, just the level of detail. PLA was better in that case.

Again, it may linked with both experience, calibration and settings.
All my recent prints are actually PETG for many reason : it stands much better the heat than PLA, it provide strength closer to nylon than I expectd (I have a 44B chassis running with PETG prints without a single broken parts), and for the details, once calibrated it provides far enough details for what I do. Now that's where it becomes tricky : details means fine parts, and they are the ones that are going to be issues with PLA in case of direct sunlight, unless in clear color (not even speaking about being stored in a car a sunny day) : bigger PLA parts with thick walls may not have so much issue with heat as there is a lot to heat before it deforms much, but for smaller parts, that may be).
That said, it may totally depends as well where you are living : I'm living near Lyon in France, and during summer, days are 40°C are quite a few. during those days :
- temperatures in a car under direct sunlight can get over 60°C
- temperatures in a garage with a metal roof can reach about 55°C
- temperatures in a home are generally not an issue as we can reduce the light flow
For people living in the North of that area in Europe, it may not be an issue, and the number of days in those conditions are fewer. But I often remind the experience of one guy at the club who was very happy to show his printed car (PLA) during the winter, and who went unhappy few months later and showed a superb melted bent printed car during the summer (the printed car was in the real car the previous day, under direct sunlight).

At the end, yes, PETG is definitely more difficult to print than PLA, in particular because it tends to stick to the nozzle, resulting often in a mess when there is adhesion issue because it drags elements failing over the rest of the print. But this should not happen when it is perfectly calibrated. Further, PETG tends to be shiny, and that doesn't help for the details as well, but most often than not, they are there.

XLR8 wrote: ↑Mon Feb 03, 2025 12:51 pm Again, it may linked with both experience, calibration and settings.
All my recent prints are actually PETG for many reason : it stands much better the heat than PLA, it provide strength closer to nylon than I expectd (I have a 44B chassis running with PETG prints without a single broken parts), and for the details, once calibrated it provides far enough details for what I do. Now that's where it becomes tricky : details means fine parts, and they are the ones that are going to be issues with PLA in case of direct sunlight, unless in clear color (not even speaking about being stored in a car a sunny day) : bigger PLA parts with thick walls may not have so much issue with heat as there is a lot to heat before it deforms much, but for smaller parts, that may be).
That said, it may totally depends as well where you are living : I'm living near Lyon in France, and during summer, days are 40°C are quite a few. during those days :
- temperatures in a car under direct sunlight can get over 60°C
- temperatures in a garage with a metal roof can reach about 55°C
- temperatures in a home are generally not an issue as we can reduce the light flow
For people living in the North of that area in Europe, it may not be an issue, and the number of days in those conditions are fewer. But I often remind the experience of one guy at the club who was very happy to show his printed car (PLA) during the winter, and who went unhappy few months later and showed a superb melted bent printed car during the summer (the printed car was in the real car the previous day, under direct sunlight).

At the end, yes, PETG is definitely more difficult to print than PLA, in particular because it tends to stick to the nozzle, resulting often in a mess when there is adhesion issue because it drags elements failing over the rest of the print. But this should not happen when it is perfectly calibrated. Further, PETG tends to be shiny, and that doesn't help for the details as well, but most often than not, they are there.

silvertriple wrote: ↑Mon Feb 03, 2025 2:26 pm

XLR8 wrote: ↑Mon Feb 03, 2025 12:51 pm Again, it may linked with both experience, calibration and settings.
All my recent prints are actually PETG for many reason : it stands much better the heat than PLA, it provide strength closer to nylon than I expectd (I have a 44B chassis running with PETG prints without a single broken parts), and for the details, once calibrated it provides far enough details for what I do. Now that's where it becomes tricky : details means fine parts, and they are the ones that are going to be issues with PLA in case of direct sunlight, unless in clear color (not even speaking about being stored in a car a sunny day) : bigger PLA parts with thick walls may not have so much issue with heat as there is a lot to heat before it deforms much, but for smaller parts, that may be).
That said, it may totally depends as well where you are living : I'm living near Lyon in France, and during summer, days are 40°C are quite a few. during those days :
- temperatures in a car under direct sunlight can get over 60°C
- temperatures in a garage with a metal roof can reach about 55°C
- temperatures in a home are generally not an issue as we can reduce the light flow
For people living in the North of that area in Europe, it may not be an issue, and the number of days in those conditions are fewer. But I often remind the experience of one guy at the club who was very happy to show his printed car (PLA) during the winter, and who went unhappy few months later and showed a superb melted bent printed car during the summer (the printed car was in the real car the previous day, under direct sunlight).

At the end, yes, PETG is definitely more difficult to print than PLA, in particular because it tends to stick to the nozzle, resulting often in a mess when there is adhesion issue because it drags elements failing over the rest of the print. But this should not happen when it is perfectly calibrated. Further, PETG tends to be shiny, and that doesn't help for the details as well, but most often than not, they are there.

Some great info, thanks again!!

Lacking experience printing PTEG, I'd probably just used the default settings. What settings have you found work best for PTEG on your Bambu printers?

XLR8 wrote: ↑Mon Feb 03, 2025 2:52 pm So, you're calibrating to each filament roll or does each PTEG manufacturer provide calibration recommendations for their brand of PTEG?
Sorry for the dumb questions; this is all new to me. I was only aware of the need to "calibrate" for dimensional accuracy. Maybe there's an instructional youtube video you can recommend? Thanks.