Recycled PET-R material from TideOcean

We were the first to test TideOcean’s new PET-R recycled material.
We came across TideOcean’s PET-R recycled material when we were asked to manufacture products and prototypes for them. Right from the start, they told us that they were working with Swiss company Creamelt to develop a recycled filament. This sounded exciting to us, of course, but since filaments made from recycled material are always predicted to have poor printing properties, we were understandably skeptical. We had already tested a recycled PETG filament from another manufacturer, and these preconceptions were confirmed. Even back then, fundamental factors were not right with the filament we tested. The diameter of the filament varied greatly, between 1.3 mm and 1.9 mm. It was not possible to print larger components because the material feed kept clogging or could not be fed properly. This meant that it was not possible to judge the material. Except that it was really difficult to print and therefore not really possible to test and evaluate.
These preconceptions do not necessarily apply to every manufacturer, as the idea of recycled material is sensible and urgently needed. A few weeks later, Ivan Camponovo from Tide Ocean Material called us and said that he would bring us a roll of the new PET-R filament in the near future. He delivered the promised material that same week.

So let’s get testing

Since PETG filaments are known to absorb moisture easily, we first examined the packaging. I think many of you are familiar with the problem of filaments arriving poorly vacuum-sealed or damaged during transport, making them more susceptible to moisture absorption. In this case, the filament was well protected and showed no damage.
The next step was to check the filament diameter over the first 10 meters and we found a maximum deviation of +/- 0.02 mm, which is very good.
So, off to the printer with the filament. In our case, we chose the Raise3D Pro2 because it has a closed build chamber and we have already printed other PETG filaments from normal production with very good results.
To start with, we printed a small calibration cube to get a feel for the settings. As with all filaments, we created a new profile in Ideamaker (Raise3D’s slicing software) and started with the standard settings for a normal PETG filament. We only adjusted the printing temperature upwards to 265°C. Most filaments in the PETG range are around 245°C. The manufacturer’s specifications are 260-270°C.
We printed the cube with PET-R recycled material and achieved a good result with good dimensional accuracy. We then printed other parts, such as a protective mask holder with the #tide logo for face masks to protect the ears from becoming sore, and a cell phone holder as a useful gadget for the office desk. We used Blender and Autodesk Fusion 360 to design a model showing a bottle floating on waves, with the words #tideoceanmaterial to symbolize where the material actually came from. The goal behind Tide Ocean Material is to sustainably recycle plastic waste from the ocean.
During later use, we noticed that it suddenly became difficult to print. It seemed to us that it tended to absorb moisture more than normal PETG. We counteracted this with a filament dryer. The results were then satisfactory again.

The result

Printing with recycled PET-R material from TideOcean was a success. Overall, it is a really good filament that can really hold its own against standard PETG filament. Although neither of them likes water 😉
The only slight disadvantage is the transparent color. This is not ideal for models with lots of details, as these are difficult or impossible to see. However, this is only a cosmetic issue and does not usually matter for other components.
We would like to thank Tide Ocean SA and Ivan Camponovo for their trust and for providing us with the filament.

#tideocean
Creamelt
Raise3D

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