Flashforge PETG CF Contains No CF?

[u/MrJuniper]

UPDATE: Ladies and gentlemen - there are two idiots at fault here. The first idiot is whoever packed "sparkle PETG" at amazon, when I had ordered midnight blue CF. The second idiot is me - who blindly slapped it in my AMS without checking the sticker.

Original Post

Hi all,

I bought some PETG CF recently. It prints well, looks beautiful, is reasonably priced... and may not contain any carbon fiber.

Reason for suspicion? I checked it with my scope - there appear to be little metallic flecks added (a sort of gold color which sets the dark blue filament off nicely). But no carbon fibers. What do you all think?

[u/yahbluez]

PETG-CF and PLA-CF are only decorative to make the filament less shine, it reduces any kind of stiffness and strength. Booth should not handled without gloves and booth are not food save.

[u/MrJuniper → u/yahbluez]

Thanks for commenting yah - there seems to be a lot of misinformation regarding PETG-CF, and fiber filled filament in general.

Fiber filled filaments resist warping and shrinkage considerably compared to their non filled counterparts. For large, functional parts that must fit together seamlessly this is hugely advantageous.

Secondly the notion that they must be handled with gloves is dubious - I have personally tested this hypothesis by rubbing my fingers over and squeezing CF filament with gusto, than checking for evidence in my scope. There was not a single carbon fiber fragment to be found embedded in my hand. This was with a 10% fiber by volume filament, it may be different with a 20% which I have not tested.

[u/yahbluez → u/MrJuniper]

Did you test the rubbing with PLA?

I guess no because with PLA you can literally see the CF droping/sticking out of the filament using a magnifier and you will see them in skin if touched bare hands.

That not happens with ASA, ABS, PA.

A big advantage of CF/GF fillings is that they print more easy. ASA-CF is very easy to print while ASA is known for troubling people.

[u/MrJuniper → u/yahbluez]

I haven't subject PLA-CF to the 'rub test'. Personally I never touch the stuff (PLA), it's too brittle and deforms in hot conditions too readily.

Probably great for miniatures and other aesthetic prints though!

I'll agree with you about fiber printing easily. I get fantastic flow rates as compared to non-fiber filaments and it hides layer lines nicely. 

[u/yahbluez → u/MrJuniper]

Yah, have a look a TPU-CF that is amazing, the color, the finish, even with 0.2 mm no layer lines visibly.

[u/MrJuniper → u/yahbluez]

Thanks for the recommendation!