PETG and cutting?

[Tyrosen]

What should I use to cut PETG tubing? and after I cut it, is there any better alternatives to sandpaper for deburring the ends of the PETG tubes?

[Roawoao]

Ever consider using a pipe reamer or deburring tool?

 

General Tools & Instruments 482 Swivel Head Deburring Tool with Metal Handle (also amazon)

 

 

Wolverine PST085 Inner/Outer Reamer (Amazon)

 

Not sure how well they would work on a rigid plastic pipe but it should in theory work. Also if your using sandpaper on a tube make sure you clean it out very well as the grit can ruin your pump.

[W-L]

21 minutes ago, Tyrosen said:

What should I use to cut PETG tubing? and after I cut it, is there any better alternatives to sandpaper for deburring the ends of the PETG tubes?

You can use old fashion screw down tubing cutters on PETG but you need to properly bevel and ensure the opening of the tubing doesn't get crushed in, as suggested the hand deburr tool is ok but usually a light chamfer with sandpaper or fine cut file will do very well:

 

 

[shibbs]

I use this wonderful tool by Bitspower.

 

http://www.performance-pcs.com/featured-products/bitspower-metal-tubing-cutter.html

[brandishwar]

12 hours ago, Tyrosen said:

What should I use to cut PETG tubing? and after I cut it, is there any better alternatives to sandpaper for deburring the ends of the PETG tubes?

Use standard ratcheting soft tubing cutters for PETG. You'll end up with a clean cut every time, and it's a hell of a lot faster.

[shibbs]

1 hour ago, brandishwar said:

Use standard ratcheting soft tubing cutters for PETG. You'll end up with a clean cut every time, and it's a hell of a lot faster.

I tried this first at a friend's recommendation, and my cuts ended up slightly angled. Perhaps there are better cutters out there, though. I know my cuts were perfectly straight with the Bitspower cutter.

[brandishwar]

1 hour ago, shibbs said:

I tried this first at a friend's recommendation, and my cuts ended up slightly angled. Perhaps there are better cutters out there, though. I know my cuts were perfectly straight with the Bitspower cutter.

This is what I've used: HDX Ratcheting PVC Cutter (Home Depot) I most recently used it with my wife's computer and didn't have any problems getting clean, straight cuts. If the cuts end up slightly angled, it's likely because you didn't have it sitting flat in the cutters, if you used something similar to what I linked.

[0ld_Chicken]

19 hours ago, Roawoao said:

Ever consider using a pipe reamer or deburring tool?

 

General Tools & Instruments 482 Swivel Head Deburring Tool with Metal Handle (also amazon)

 

 

Wolverine PST085 Inner/Outer Reamer (Amazon)

 

 

Not sure how well they would work on a rigid plastic pipe but it should in theory work. Also if your using sandpaper on a tube make sure you clean it out very well as the grit can ruin your pump.

I tried both of those on my PETG (since I use them at work) and they were both very... not smooth.  I found a step bit works great for reaming the PETG

Spoiler

 @Tyrosen as far as cutting, I used a rothenburger pipe cutter and it worked great.  I'm sure some of the racheting type ones work great, but I was a little concerned with them deforming the pipe by smashing it a bit before actually cutting into it. 

Spoiler

 

[Roawoao]

4 minutes ago, 0ld_Chicken said:

I tried both of those on my PETG (since I use them at work) and they were both very... not smooth.  I found a step bit works great for reaming the PETG

  Reveal hidden contents

as far as cutting, I used a rothenburger pipe cutter and it worked great.  I'm sure some of the racheting type ones work great, but I was a little concerned with them deforming the pipe by smashing it a bit before actually cutting into it. 

  Hide contents

 

 

They need to be very sharp to work on softer plastics otherwise it will just smear things. Again I've never tried using hard tubing because it looks fragile to me. If I ever went with rigid tubing it would be all stainless steel 316 swagelok piping.

[brandishwar]

On 3/11/2016 at 7:36 PM, Roawoao said:

They need to be very sharp to work on softer plastics otherwise it will just smear things. Again I've never tried using hard tubing because it looks fragile to me. If I ever went with rigid tubing it would be all stainless steel 316 swagelok piping.

That's actually one of the beauties of PETG: it doesn't have the fragility as acrylic. It doesn't seem fragile at all and requires a lot of force to get it to break. Even then it doesn't really break but deform. JayzTwoCents demonstrated such when he smashed acrylic and PETG with a hammer. The acrylic shattered while the PETG was merely misshapen. It's a very good material for building a hardline loop.

[shibbs]

On 3/12/2016 at 0:03 PM, brandishwar said:

That's actually one of the beauties of PETG: it doesn't have the fragility as acrylic. It doesn't seem fragile at all and requires a lot of force to get it to break. Even then it doesn't really break but deform. JayzTwoCents demonstrated such when he smashed acrylic and PETG with a hammer. The acrylic shattered while the PETG was merely misshapen. It's a very good material for building a hardline loop.

Except that it doesn't like (EDITED) ethylene glycol if you listen to the hype.

 

I used PETG in mine, and it was great to work with, and looks great, too.

Edited March 14, 2016 by shibbs
Accidentally wrote PROPYLENE glycol instead of ethylene.

[0ld_Chicken]

 someone (can't find who) on ocn turned me on to this mini miter saw. They said it works wonders and i could see that being true

http://m.harborfreight.com/2-in-mini-bench-top-cut-off-saw-62136.html?utm_referrer=direct%2Fnot%20provided

[brandishwar]

2 hours ago, shibbs said:

Except that it doesn't like propylene glycol if you listen to the hype.

 

I used PETG in mine, and it was great to work with, and looks great, too.

No, it's ethylene glycol, also called ethane-diol, that it doesn't like, and the compatibility charts released by various plastics manufacturers show this. As far as I know, there is no incompatibility between PETG and propylene glycol (Koolance and EK coolants), also called propane-diol or glycerol (Mayhem's).

[shibbs]

4 hours ago, brandishwar said:

No, it's ethylene glycol, also called ethane-diol, that it doesn't like, and the compatibility charts released by various plastics manufacturers show this. As far as I know, there is no incompatibility between PETG and propylene glycol (Koolance and EK coolants), also called propane-diol or glycerol (Mayhem's).

You are correct. My bad. Editing first post to avoid spreading misinformation.

[nwgsolidus]

I use something identical to that Wolverine black cutter that was posted earlier. IT was maybe $5 and does the job really well. You don't need anything fancy at all.