Polycarbonate (PC) - Strongest FDM Material

Polycarbonate (PC) is a technical material for the most demanding applications:

✅ Advantages: • Heat resistance: 110–130 °C (higher than ABS) • Excellent impact toughness • Transparent in natural color (optical applications) • Chemical resistance to oils and weak acids • Excellent strength and stiffness

⚠️ Disadvantages: • One of the hardest materials to print • Strong warping – enclosed chamber and heated bed required • Very moisture sensitive • Requires all-metal hotend (no PTFE) • Printer must handle 280–320 °C

🌡 Print settings: • Nozzle: 270–310 °C (All-Metal hotend required) • Bed: 100–120 °C • Chamber: 60–80 °C (ideally) • Cooling: None or minimal • Speed: 30–50 mm/s

🔧 Tips: • Dry 6–8 hours at 80 °C before printing • Bed surface: PEI + Magigoo PC or Kapton + hairspray • PC/ABS blend is less demanding and still very strong – good compromise • Ideal for: heat shields, light guides, transparent parts, mechanical components