#petg

75% des makers impriment du PLA. Et vous ?

✅ Le PLA — Le roi absolu (~75 % des usages)

✅ Le PETG — Le compromis pragmatique (~15 % des usages)

✅ L’ABS et l’ASA — Les historiques de la mécanique (~5 % des usages)

Build Log: Printing Strong RC Parts with PLA, PETG and TPU

This build log follows a small project to replace a cracked suspension arm on my foam RC buggy and to make a few flexible bump stops, with an eye on durability and print efficiency.

Material choice was the first decision and it shaped every subsequent setting, so I tested PLA, PETG and TPU for different roles in the model and measured fitment against the chassis before assembly.

For stiff non-impact parts I used PLA at 0.2 mm layer height for quick results and good detail, for load-bearing items I switched to PETG with extra perimeters, and for vibration damping I printed TPU at 40 percent infill and low speed, and I also shared the STL files and measurement notes on WatDaFeck for anyone who wants to print along.

Layer height: 0.12–0.2 mm for PLA, 0.16–0.2 mm for PETG, 0.2–0.25 mm for TPU.

Perimeters: 3–5 shells for structural RC parts, with 5 shells on high-stress zones.

Infill: 20–40 percent gyroid or cubic for strength-to-weight balance, 100 percent for press-fit or load plates.

Temperatures: PLA 200–210°C, PETG 240–250°C, TPU 220–230°C with printer-specific tuning.

Retraction: 4–6 mm at 25–40 mm/s for Bowden, 0.5–1 mm for direct drive TPU at 6–12 mm/s.

Tuning the slicer is the workhorse step and I iterated on extrusion multiplier, cooling and top/bottom thickness while watching gap tests and tensile stress pieces, because a good slicer profile turns a promising design into a reliable part.

Orientation and layer direction matter for structural prints, so I oriented arms so the layers run along the length where bending stresses occur, added fillets to distribute loads, used chamfers to avoid stress concentrations and increased top solid layers where the part mates with metal hardware.

Printing RC-specific details required small adjustments such as slight negative tolerances for press-fit bushes, printing servo mounts with a sacrificial skim for cleaner screw holes and using TPU for bump stops to absorb impacts, and I tested assembled parts under load before committing to flight or racing.

Lessons learned include keeping a log of slicer changes tied to filament spools, avoiding rapid cooling for PETG bridging, and printing small quick test coupons when changing suppliers, and these practices save time and filament in the long run.

3D Printing Buying Guide for Hobbyists: PLA, PETG, TPU and RC Parts.

Getting started with 3D printing as a hobbyist is as much about choosing the right materials as it is about picking the printer itself, and this guide will help you make practical buying decisions for structural prints and radio control parts. Consider your main goals first: neat visual models, strong functional parts, or flexible bumpers and dampers for vehicles. Budget for a reliable FDM printer with a standard 0.4 millimetre nozzle, a heated bed, and a decent extruder before adding specialty filaments and hardened nozzles as needed.

Know your filaments before you buy them, because PLA, PETG and TPU each solve different problems and demand different handling. PLA is the easiest to print, cheap, and great for prototypes and non-load-bearing parts with typical nozzle temperatures of 190 to 220 degrees Celsius and weak heat resistance. PETG is tougher, more impact resistant and better for functional or outdoor parts, with print temperatures around 230 to 250 degrees Celsius and a little more tendency to string. TPU is a flexible thermoplastic elastomer used for bumpers, mounts and vibration isolation, printing best on direct-drive machines at slow speeds and temperatures typically between 210 and 230 degrees Celsius. Choose 1.75 millimetre filament with ±0.05 millimetre tolerance from a reputable supplier and plan for dry storage for hygroscopic materials.

Slicer tuning makes the biggest real-world difference to print quality and part strength, so prioritise a good slicer and calibration routine when buying hardware or filament. Start with a 0.4 millimetre nozzle and layer heights of 0.12 to 0.28 millimetres depending on detail versus speed, set retraction to avoid blobs, and keep cooling high for PLA but reduced for PETG and TPU where layer bonding matters. Calibrate flow by printing single-wall cubes, test bridging and overhangs, and tune print speed in 10 to 20 millimetre-per-second steps until you find a reliable balance between quality and time. You can find printable test models and tuning guides at WatDaFeck to accelerate your setup process.

For structural prints you should design and slice for strength rather than cosmetic perfection, because part orientation, wall count and infill pattern determine load paths. Use three to five perimeters for load-bearing parts and choose grid, gyroid or cubic infill at 20 to 50 per cent for a good strength-to-weight compromise, increasing to solid infill at critical mounting points. Orient parts so layers run along the principal load direction where possible, add fillets and ribs to reduce stress concentrations, and increase top and bottom solid layers to avoid delamination. Consider printing test coupons with the same geometry to validate stiffness and fatigue behaviour under realistic loads.

RC-specific parts bring extra demands such as impact resistance, wear and secure fastenings, so match material and hardware to the application. Use PETG or nylon blends for chassis parts, gears and linkages that need toughness and some heat resistance, while TPU is excellent for bumpers, shock mounts and tyre treads where elasticity is required. Use heat-set inserts or stainless steel threaded inserts for repeated assembly and avoid printing thin screw bosses without reinforcement. A direct-drive extruder is a worthwhile purchase if you will print a lot of TPU, and consider hardened steel nozzles if you plan to use abrasive carbon-fibre-filled filaments in drivetrain components.

Finally, use this checklist when buying supplies and upgrades: a robust printer frame, heated bed with good adhesion options, direct-drive or convertible extruder, spare nozzles and a dry box for filament storage, reliable slicer software and a handful of calibration prints. Buy small spools to test unfamiliar filaments, label them with print settings that worked, and keep a notebook of temperatures, speeds and retraction values for repeatability. With the right material choices and careful slicer tuning you can produce RC-ready parts that are both strong and light without overspending on exotic equipment.

Build Log: 3D Printing Strong RC Parts with PLA, PETG and TPU.

I started this hobby project as a straightforward upgrade to a 1/10 scale RC buggy, and the aim was to produce light, strong parts that could survive impacts while also testing flexible bumpers and mounts for vibration damping.

The filament choices were deliberate and task-specific, with PLA for rapid prototyping and non-structural items, PETG for most structural parts that need toughness and some flex, and TPU for bumpers, motor mounts and dampers where elasticity matters.

Before printing I create a checklist to follow for each piece, and I tick these items off as I progress.

Decide functional requirements and select filament based on strength, temperature resistance and flexibility.

Orient the model to maximise layer direction strength and minimise support usage.

Tune slicer settings on small test prints before committing to a full part.

Design and slicer setup are the next step, and I usually use a 0.4 mm nozzle with 0.18–0.24 mm layer heights for a balance between strength and detail, increase to 0.28–0.32 mm for purely structural prints to speed up production, and set the first layer height to 0.2 mm with a slightly wider extrusion width for a good bond to the bed.

Slicer tuning is where most failures are saved, and my go-to settings vary by material: for PLA I start at 200–205°C with a 50–60°C bed and 40–60 mm/s print speed; for PETG I choose 230–245°C with a 70–85°C bed and slower speeds around 35–45 mm/s to avoid stringing; for TPU I run 210–220°C with nozzle cooling off or very low and print as slowly as 15–25 mm/s to maintain extrusion reliability.

Structural strength comes from the right combination of perimeters, infill and print orientation, and for RC parts I generally use 3–4 perimeters, 30–60% infill depending on load, and consider gyroid or cubic infill for isotropic strength while using 100% solid layers where screw threads or bearing seats are needed.

After initial prints I perform functional testing on the car, measure fit and adjust slicer settings for seam placement, retraction, coasting and acceleration to reduce weak points, and document the final settings on my blog at WatDaFeck so future prints can be reproduced reliably.

de aztán hiphopp eltelt 30 év, vettem egy 3d nyomtatót, és senki nem akadályozhatott meg abban, h kinyomtassam a több, mint ezer alkatrészt (you wouldn't download a car ...or would you!?)

és nem akadályozott 🤷😀

leterveztem Onshape-ben 110+ féle elemet, kinyomtattam kb. 1200-at*, úgy 3 hónap alatt, és íme:

úgyhogy harminc év után megnyugodtam végre 😌👌 van egy 8880-am (viszonylag fillérekből). igen, forog, gurul, mozog is.

(*disclaimer: ok, úgy 95%-ban nyomtatott, volt pár nagyon pici meg mechanikus alkatrész, amit képtelenség lett volna nyomtatni (hinge-ek, rugók, lánc, átlátszó elemek), úgyhogy aliexpressről rendeltem, de az se lego, csak aftermarket)