Polycarbonate filament is crap!

[3D Printing Tips and Tricks]

I’ve had it. Literally every use case with straight PC or PC+ CF has failed. The stuff is too brittle. It’s garbage. I’ll never use it again and I recommend to anyone to not waste your time or money. Total crap whomever produces it. PC goes into the same pile as hips… total trash!

[Jody Harris (imhavoc)]

I have a roll of Prusa's CF PC blend. I have just been assuming that it's crappiness was due to Prusa's use of "Carbon fibers inside the filament are made by recycling waste from the manufacturing process or from carbon composites after the end of their lifespan." It's total crap. All of the PETG carbon fiber filaments I have used (none from Prusa) have been outstanding.

[3D Printing Tips and Tricks]

I made the same assumption so I bought a spool of Snolabs polycarbonate with no cf. It’s still way to brittle for actual use. I’m not saying it’s brittle on the spool. It prints real easy and the esthetic is nice, it’s afterward when the printed part is used. The parts consistently break way easier then cheap pla.

[markni...@gmail.com]

From what I have read, all of the Voron's, from the tiny 0.1 to the bed slinging Switchwire to the flagship 2.4 all do a credible job with ABS plus and ASA.

This makes me wonder if other high temperature filaments might benefit from the stress relief provided by an enclosed, warm, build envelope.

[3D Printing Tips and Tricks]

It does not matter what printer nor whether or not it’s totally heat soaked. Like I already wrote it prints great. It’s a bit later that the stuff simply breaks.

[Whosa whatsis]

Polycarbonate filament is extremely moisture sensitive. Are you thoroughly drying it before printing?

I've also had much better luck with PCABS blends than with straight PC.

[3D Printing Tips and Tricks]

For a third time… it prints great. Looks great.

It’s after the part is in use for a bit that the material fails.

About 25% of the parts I printed in pc have broken where the same parts in pla and PETG have not.

[James Fackert]

Is it interlayer adhesion that is failing?

Polycarbonate sheet is incredibly tough stuff!

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[Whosa whatsis]

Moisture sensitivity isn't just about print quality. Some plastics (the type of PET used in soda bottles, without the 'G') get damaged on a molecular level by being processed at high temperatures in the presence of water. It shortens the polymer chains, making the material weaker. The same is likely true of polycarbonate.

[Whosawhatsis]

Moisture sensitivity isn't just about print quality. Some plastics (the type of PET used in soda bottles, without the 'G') get damaged on a molecular level by being processed at high temperatures in the presence of water. It shortens the polymer chains, making the material weaker. The same is likely true of polycarbonate.

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[Scott Wells]

Not disagreeing, just adding my experience to the discussion:

Ive used the Polymaker PC - seems to hold up very well. Just grabbed an older part and tried to break it, couldn't. I do make sure it's in the dry box at 70c prior to printing

On Sat, Apr 8, 2023 at 8:58 PM 3D Printing Tips and Tricks <3d-printing-...@googlegroups.com> wrote:

Ok… that may be the case… However, these parts are failing across a range of time since the original vacuum sealed bag was opened. Even parts printed right after opening the bag are easily broken by hand.
If this is abnormal for Polycarbonte in general, then it’s on Snolabs.

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