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65 Karma

Review on 🔧 Ultra-Durable and Transparent Polycarbonate Filament by Polymaker by Christopher Jackson

Revainrating 5 out of 5

One of the easiest materials to work with, even on a cheap Ender 3

This is a composite polycarbonate so you're sacrificing some strength and heat resistance for better printability. Polymaker really found the perfect balance! You don't need edges, a design, a build platform, a heated chamber, or even a whole body to get the perfect print. I have no problem printing this on my cheap Ender 3 with a sleek glass table and a makeshift cardboard cover. How do I print PC Max on my device. 1. First calibrate temperature, slope and extrusion percentage for this filament.2. In Cura, set the height and width of the first layer to 150% of normal. If you print with a layer height of 0.2 and a nozzle of 0.4, the first layer will have a height of 0.3 and a width of 0.6. On a smooth glass surface you want to extrude the first layer as much as possible to really push the material against the surface and against itself.3. Level your bed. Since my cheap Ender 3 doesn't have automatic bed leveling. I use a dispenser, manually level the bed. My PC value is 0.8 mm. Just for reference I use 1.3mm for PETG. If you don't get #2 and #3 right, you may have trouble sticking to the bed or warping. 4. Turn off the fan. Without a heated chamber, you rely on a heated bed to maintain the temperature around the print and to slow the cool down. The partial cooling fan can disturb the hot air coming out of bed and cause uneven cooling. Some will say that turning off the fan degrades print quality. This is not the case if you have dried the filament and calibrated the temperature correctly. For PCMax black I use a 260°C / 105°C glass bed at room temperature 25°C. The actual temperature of the layer is probably well below 105°C as it is a glass layer. For long overhangs I use a 15% fan. Type slow, 40mm/s I use for 260C on my machine. You may need to increase the nozzle temperature to compensate for the higher print speed. But I've found the 260c to offer good quality and durability.6. Full fencing is not required. I cover my car 70%. This is enough to eliminate drafts and keep some of the hot air away from the heater. It really doesn't have to be too hot inside. The inside of my sub-enclosures is no more than 10 degrees hotter than the outside.7. Preheat the supplied printer. Wait 5 minutes after the printer has warmed up to the correct temperature before printing.8. Wait for the build platform to cool to room temperature before removing the coating.

Pros
  • No jams and constant diameter
Cons
  • No performance