What Is PETG?
What is PETG, and what does PETG stand for? PETG is an abbreviation with the initials standing for polyethylene terephthalate glycol, a type of plastic with all the desirable qualities. The material is formed when a glycol molecule is added to polyethylene terephthalate to add durability and strength to the resultant plastic.
PETG is impact resistant, durable, chemical resistant, and offers different chemical properties. The properties make PETG sheets the material of choice for heat-forming processes, including 3D printing, routing, bending, and die cutting.
What Are the Benefits Of PETG?
Odourless Emissions
Unlike acrylic or polycarbonate plastics, PETG doesn’t produce an awful smell when the sheet material is being cut to size. The non-toxic nature makes PETG suitable for office and home use.
Food Safe
The clear sheet material can hold drinks and food without causing adverse health effects. You might have used PETG containers multiple times without realizing it.
Supports Colour Blending
PETG is transparent, allowing for the application of unique effects. You can blend the colours to create different illusions.
Easily Formable
PETG can comfortably withstand manipulation in both heat and vacuum manufacturing systems without cracking. It can be made into various shapes or better formed into sheets easing further manufacturing processes.
Resilient and Cost-Effective
PETG is impact resistant hence easier to cut to size. Its resilient nature makes it ideal for strong display units, glazing, signage, and three-dimension printing products.
Fully Recyclable
PETG is fully recyclable, which leaves a positive environmental impact.
What Are the Common Applications Of PETG?
Machine Guards
PETG is an incredibly strong and resilient material that has excellent fabrication characteristics. It is an optically clear material which allows machine operators to be able to see how the machinery is operating when required.
3D Printing
- Chemical resistant
- Odourless during printing
- Excellent layer adhesion
- Lower shrinkage rate when compared to ABS and PLA
- Filament prints easily
Medical Applications
PETG can retain its strong structure during harsh formative processes. This makes it suitable for printing medical implants. It is also common in medical devices and pharmaceutical packaging because it can survive sterilization.
Food Packaging
Due to its excellent chemical resistance, polyethylene terephthalate glycol meets all FDA regulations for food storage containers. It is commonly used in cooking oil, food, and drink containers. Additionally, PETG is cheap, strong, and lightweight hence common in cosmetics packaging.
What Is the Difference Between PETG, Polycarbonate, and Acrylic?
Polycarbonate is a strong and durable material that serves most PETG qualities, like making security screens. However, while the material can be cut or glued together to make security displays, it is pretty hard to work with. PETG, on the other hand, is easily formable and can withstand as much as 70% of polycarbonate impact.
Acrylic and PETG have their unique properties. However, each material is different in its own way. PETG is softer than acrylic, which means it can be scratched easily. While acrylic is scratch resistant, it forms cracks with sharp edges; hence PETG is safer for daily use.
PETG FAQ's
Yes! PETG is the material of choice for many 3D printers because it is tough, resilient, and doesn’t produce an awful odor during printing. In fact, printing on PETG is easier than printing on polycarbonate and ABS.
If you want to know how strong PETG is, think of factory security and machine guards. The material is a bit soft, meaning it doesn’t crack easily. PETG can withstand as much impact as 70% of polycarbonate.
PETG has excellent formability characteristics. It is also a thermoplastic which means it is easy to cut to your required size.
PETG has the capabilities to be used in both an internal and external environment. Thanks to PETG’s weather-resilient nature, it is not affected by changing UV rays and temperature.
PETG is completely safe for food preparation and storage as stipulated by the FDA. It is, therefore, ideal for making anything that will come close to food, including microwave dishes, cans, dishes, cups, and other utensils.
PETG doesn’t release harmful chemicals, tastes, or odors to the food, and the extra glycol molecule makes it suitable for further processing. However, PETG, like all other materials, has its shortcomings. For instance, germs and bacteria can accumulate and breed in the crevices formed during printing. This weakness can be overcome by adding more PET filaments during printing.
We Cut Clear PETG Sheets to Your Specifications
Do you need some food-safe plastic sheets with wide service temperature and good chemical resistance? Then PETG is the perfect material for you. With a maximum sheet size of 3000mm x 2050mm and eight thicknesses from 1.5mm up to 10mm, it can be suitable for a varied range of projects. We also offer custom shapes, drilled holes and rounded corners on this material.
How to Order Cut To Size PETG?
Ordering cut-to-size PETG from us is as simple! You just need to know your required dimensions and thickness and you’ll get an automated quotation online. Then you can simply proceed to checkout, and follow the steps until completion.
For more information on Acrylic, Perspex, MDF, Dibond and Polycarbonate please visit our Guide and Blog sections of the website.
Cut Plastic Sheeting are based on the south Coast in Ivybridge, Devon UK. We have a full manufacturing facility which enables us to offer Cut To Size Acrylic as well as Cut To Size MDF. Shop our full range of products, including our Clear Acrylic, coloured acrylic and more recent MDF Wood Sheet ranges.
Our Team are always here to help with any enquiry, please send us an email or for more urgent needs give us a call – Contact Us
