# PCTPE newbe

**URL:** <https://forum.lulzbot.com/t/pctpe-newbe/4873>\
**Category:** Filament\
**Created:** [May 9, 2017, 12:51am UTC](https://forum.lulzbot.com/t/pctpe-newbe/4873 "2017-05-09T00:51:00Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 1\
**Showing post:** 2

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**Author:** ![ScottW](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/53a042/32.png) [@ScottW](https://forum.lulzbot.com/u/ScottW)\
**Post date:** [May 12, 2017, 6:39pm UTC](https://forum.lulzbot.com/t/pctpe-newbe/4873/2 "2017-05-12T18:39:24Z")

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My biggest recommendation for PCTPE would be to make sure it is DRY. A drybox as you plan will “keep it dry”, but it won’t remove existing moisture.

I have 3 spools of PCTPE, two from Amazon and one directly from Taulman. All were extremely wet when they arrived, despite being vacuum packed with a desiccant pack.

Here’s what it looks like when it has moisture (as all 3 spools did when I received them). Bubbling, popping, oozing caused by the moisture makes printing virtually impossible.  
[http://youtu.be/LqqRnooxCT8](http://youtu.be/LqqRnooxCT8)

Here’s what that same filament looks like after baking the entire spool at ~65C for about 12 hours:  
[http://youtu.be/s-I6nb3yLQw](http://youtu.be/s-I6nb3yLQw)

So… When you get your spool, extrude a bit into air as in the videos above. If you see bubbling/popping or a lot of oozing, then you will want to put the spool into a 65C oven for 12-18 hours before trying to print anything with it. Then store and feed it from a drybox to prevent it from becoming contaminated again.

As long as it is dry, PCTPE is **FANTASTIC**. Prints well, works with standard extruder (flexistruder not required), and is unbelievably durable. I made some pulley sheaves, put one on a concrete floor and hit it HARD with a hammer over and over. It still looks perfect, no damage whatsoever, the hammer just bounced off of it!

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