Comment by stavros
1 month ago
For something like this, where you need durability, lightness, and heat resistance, you just can't be at ABS. If your printer can't print it, I think it's worth getting it printed somewhere else (after prototyping with other materials). Just the reduced weight alone will be worth it, let alone the fact that ABS is nigh indestructible.
PETG and ABS have similar stiffness. Both are fine at the temperatures involved here.
PETG is easier to print and deal with. ABS puts out some bad fumes that require actively exhausting the printer outside if you're trying to print in the house.
ABS is harder to print. Getting good layer adhesion is hard. It's more prone to warping. You want a heated chamber, ideally.
PETG is a fine choice for this. Going to ABS wouldn't change anything.
Also FYI, most people prefer ASA over ABS for printing because it's a similar material with better properties almost across the board.
PETG is a nice option w/o the same fumes and which has less of a need to vent outside.
PETG is nowhere near as light or heat-resistant as ABS, so it's a nice option only when you don't really care about the characteristics of what you're printing.
PETG has a higher density than ABS.
Its heat resistance is also not that far behind ABS.
ABS is harder to print well. Warping and layer adhesion problems could make it perform worse than PETG unless everything was tuned properly.
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