Polycarbonate, also denoted as PC, is a strong, durable, and tough material. It's a naturally transparent thermoplastic with high impact resistance and excellent heat resistance. As a 3D printing filament, it's heat resistance is both a benefit and a problematic characteristic, as it is even more prone to warping and splitting than ABS filament. As such, this material needs high temperatures in order to extrude and have proper layer adhesion. Once it's all said and done though, successfully printing Polycarbonate filament can enable you to print some stellar and almost indestructible RC cars, drones, or anything else you can imagine.

What is Polycarbonate Plastic?

You may have seen various printer manufacturers showing off their Polycarbonate, or, "PC" prints, but not all Polycarbonate filaments are created equal. Some are actually co-polymers to make PC easier to print, but in doing so essentially tones down the capabilities of pure PC. MatterHackers Polycarbonate is based on the same form found in water bottles, sports equipment, CDs, and DVDs, making it among the purest PC filament on the desktop 3D printing market.

Finding Quality Polycarbonate 3D Printing Filament

Quality Polycarbonate filament is a necessity if you want a good Polycarbonate print. Polycarbonate filament that isn't sufficiently dry before printing or manufactured poorly will not print properly and can cause defects and issues that will waste your time.

Polycarbonate is also hygroscopic, which means it will actively absorb moisture from the air. For this reason, Polycarbonate should be stored in a cool, dry place and dried if exposed to humidity for too long. What constitutes “too long” depends on the relative humidity in the air, but when it comes to 3D printer filament, it is best to err on the side of making the filament “too dry” rather than allowing it to be a “little wet.” After opening a spool and when not in use, make sure to keep Polycarbonate filament in vacuum-sealed or resealable storage bags with desiccant packs.

Printing wet Polycarbonate can lead to hydrolysis which will permanently alter the filament on a molecular level, making it significantly weaker than it would be if it were printed dry. Check out our in-depth article on how to Beat Moisture Before It Kills Your 3D Printing Filament and how you can successfully dry and maintain your Polycarbonate filament.

What Is The Right 3D Printer?

The bottom line is this: it is hard to print Polycarbonate filament. Besides the fact that high temperatures are necessary, Polycarbonate just doesn’t stick to anything. In fact, the best surface to use when printing with Polycarbonate is Polycarbonate. A plastic cutting board or a sheet of garolite will do. On other surfaces, e.g. borosilicate glass, massive amounts of adhesives like Cyanoacrylate is essential. Without these adhesives, the Polycarbonate print will warp and easily pull off the heated bed.

A high temperature heated bed is necessary for printing with Polycarbonate
A high temperature heated bed is necessary for printing with Polycarbonate

As far as printing temperatures go, you need a 3D printer with a hot end that can reach and maintain a minimum of 290°C. The printer should also be able to heat and maintain a minimum bed temperature of 135°C, with 145°C - 150°C being preferable. Even with a bed temperature of 110°C, the printed part will separate or crack between the layers of deposition and will easily break apart by hand. Therefore it is essential that the printer be able to reach and maintain high hot end and bed temperatures. Often times an enclosure is necessary to keep the ambient heat around the printer stable (please reference How To Build An Enclosure For Your 3D Printer).


To find a suitable desktop 3D printer to work with MatterHackers Polycarbonate, several printers were tested to include the Ultimaker 3, Raise3D N2 and the Lulzbot TAZ 6. The one that produced the best prints was the Lulzbot TAZ 6. This was most likely due to the ability of the printer to maintain a consistent bed temperature of 135°C.

How Do I Print With Polycarbonate Filament?

Polycarbonate filament will typically flow well in the range of 290°C - 310°C. We test printed at 290°C. Tests were run to determine the optimal bed temperature for layer adherence and curing. Test prints were run with the bed temperature ranging from 110°C - 135°C. These test prints were completed with non-modified stock printers, so the maximum bed temperature achieved was 135°C. Preferably the bed temperature should be between 145°C - 150°C.

Getting the First Layer Right.

As with any type of filament, getting a good first layer is essential to a successful print. Without a good first layer you will likely need to reprint the item, so it’s imperative that you know what it takes to start a print off right so it can build to completion. This is especially true with Polycarbonate since a mediocre first layer will result in a print failure due to warping and the print peeling from the bed surface. The key to getting a good first layer is a direct result of printer calibration and a good printing speed. It is recommended that an overall printing speed, including infill, should not exceed 20mm per second.

Cooling Fans and Retraction

Finally, remember to disable the filament cooling fan(s) during printing. Filament cooling fans adversely affect curing of the print and should not be used. Also, retraction distance should be kept under 10mm while printing.

Below is a list of the test results while printing with MatterHackers Polycarbonate on three popular printers. These printers were “out of the box” and not modified in any way to ascertain true performance while printing Polycarbonate.

Raise3D N2 Dual:

  • Hotend Temperature: 290°C
  • Bed Temperature: 110°C
  • Printing Speed: 20-70mm/s
  • Infill Percentage: 30
  • Raft: ABS Raft
  • Bed Type: Borosilicate Glass
  • Bed Adhesion: None
  • Result: Warping; some layer separation - See Figure 1

Figure 1
Figure 1

Raise3D N2 Dual:

  • Hotend Temperature: 290°C
  • Bed Temperature: 110°C
  • Printing Speed: 50mm/s
  • Infill Percentage: 50
  • Raft: ABS Raft
  • Bed Type: Borosilicate Glass
  • Bed Adhesion: Cyanoacrylate*
  • Result: Layer separation around surface - See Figure 2
Figure 2: Layer separation at the surface
Figure 2: Layer separation at the surface

Raise3D N2 Dual:

  • Hotend Temperature: 290°C
  • Bed Temperature: 110°C
  • Printing Speed: 50mm/s
  • Infill Percentage: 90
  • Raft: ABS Raft
  • Bed Type: Borosilicate Glass
  • Bed Adhesion: Cyanoacrylate*
  • Result: Layer separation - See Figure 3
Figure 3: Layer Separation
Figure 3: Layer Separation

Raise3D N2 Dual:

  • Hotend Temperature: 290°C
  • Bed Temperature: 110°C
  • Printing Speed: 50mm/s
  • Infill Percentage: 20
  • Raft: None
  • Bed Type: Borosilicate Glass
  • Bed Adhesion: Cyanoacrylate*
  • Result: Layer separation - See Figure 4
Figure 4: Layer separation
Figure 4: Layer separation

Raise3D N2 Dual:

  • Hotend Temperature: 290°C
  • Bed Temperature: 110°C
  • Printing Speed: 20mm/s
  • Infill Percentage: 30
  • Raft: Polycarbonate Raft
  • Bed Type: Borosilicate Glass
  • Bed Adhesion: Cyanoacrylate*
  • Result: Layer cracks and separation - See Figure 5
Figure 5: Layer cracks and separation
Figure 5: Layer cracks and separation

Raise3D N2 Dual:

  • Hotend Temperature: 290°C
  • Bed Temperature: 110°C
  • Printing Speed: 20mm/s
  • Infill Percentage: 50
  • Raft: Polycarbonate Raft
  • Bed Type: Borosilicate Glass
  • Bed Adhesion: Cyanoacrylate*
  • Result: Warping; layer cracks - See Figure 6
Figure 6: Warping and layer cracks
Figure 6: Warping and layer cracks

Ultimaker 3 Dual Extrusion 3D Printer:

  • Hotend Temperature: 290°C
  • Bed Temperature: 110°C
  • Printing Speed: 20mm/s
  • Infill Percentage: 30
  • Raft: Polycarbonate Raft
  • Bed Type: Borosilicate Glass
  • Bed Adhesion: Cyanoacrylate*
  • Result: Layer separation - See Figure 7
Figure 7: Layer separation
Figure 7: Layer separation

Ultimaker 3 Dual Extrusion 3D Printer:

  • Hotend Temperature: 290°C
  • Bed Temperature: 110°C
  • Printing Speed: 20mm/s
  • Infill Percentage: 20
  • Raft: Polycarbonate Raft
  • Bed Type: Borosilicate Glass
  • Bed Adhesion: Cyanoacrylate*
  • Result: Layer separation - See Figure 8
Figure 8: Layer separation
Figure 8: Layer separation

Ultimaker 3 Dual Extrusion 3D Printer:

  • Hotend Temperature: 290°C
  • Bed Temperature: 110°C
  • Printing Speed: 20mm/s
  • Infill Percentage: 50
  • Raft: Polycarbonate Raft
  • Bed Type: Borosilicate Glass
  • Bed Adhesion: Cyanoacrylate*
  • Result: Layer separation - See Figure 9
Figure 9: Layer separation
Figure 9: Layer separation

LulzBot TAZ 6 3D Printer:

  • Hotend Temperature: 290°C
  • Bed Temperature: 135°C
  • Printing Speed: 20mm/s
  • Infill Percentage: 30
  • Raft: Polycarbonate Raft
  • Bed Type: PEI on glass
  • Bed Adhesion: PVA Gluestick
  • Result: Good print - See Figure 10
Figure 10: Good Polycarbonate print
Figure 10: Good Polycarbonate print

LulzBot TAZ 6 3D Printer:

  • Hotend Temperature: 290°C
  • Bed Temperature: 135°C
  • Printing Speed: 20mm/s
  • Infill Percentage: 90
  • Raft: Polycarbonate Raft
  • Bed Type: PEI on glass
  • Bed Adhesion: PVA Gluestick
  • Result: Good print - See Figure 11
Figure 11: Good Polycarbonate print
Figure 11: Good Polycarbonate print

LulzBot TAZ 6 3D Printer:

  • Hotend Temperature: 290°C
  • Bed Temperature: 135°C
  • Printing Speed: 20mm/s
  • Infill Percentage: 100
  • Raft: Polycarbonate Raft
  • Bed Type: PEI on glass
  • Bed Adhesion: PVA Gluestick
  • Result: Some layer separation; some burned residue - See Figure 12
Figure 12: Layer separation and burn residue
Figure 12: Layer separation and burn residue

*Use extreme caution when printing with Cyanoacrylate since the heated liquid compound produces fumes that are an irritant to both eyes and lungs.

From the test results, one can see that printing Polycarbonate well takes a good adhesive, a good print surface and a bed temperature of at least 135°C. If you attempt to print Polycarbonate on a printer that cannot heat the bed to at least 135°C, you are most likely wasting your time.

Changing Filament

To Polycarbonate

When changing filament from any other material to Polycarbonate, you’ll want to heat the hot end to at least 260°C. Once the Polycarbonate filament is flowing nicely and all remaining traces of the previous filament is no longer deposing, increase the hot end temperature to 290°C.

From Polycarbonate

When changing from Polycarbonate filament to another filament, heat the hot end to at least 260°C. Begin deposing with the new filament until there is no Polycarbonate visible in the deposed material. Next, adjust the temperature on the hot end to match the new filament’s printing temperature.

How Do I Set Up Parts When Printing With Polycarbonate?

The greater the surface area of the model that comes in contact with the print bed, the greater the chance for printing success. With that in mind, it is usually better to print with a raft or with a large brim that comes into contact with the edge of the model surface. Next, be sure to keep all your print speeds throughout the part at or below 20mm per second. Third, if you need supports then print with an air gap below .4mm. This may make the supports challenging to remove, but it helps to mitigate layer separation throughout the print. Finally, use a sheet of garolite or good adhesives to prevent warping and to make certain that the print adheres to the bed.

Bringing It All Together

As mentioned, Polycarbonate is hard to print but not impossible. What is required is a good printer that heats to and holds high hot end and bed temperatures, a good print surface, the right adhesive and the ability to partition and/or control the ambient temperature around the printer. Once mastered Polycarbonate yields the strongest and most durable desktop 3D printed parts from filament that exist today, but only through continual print iterations to maximize the results.

If you have any comments or contributions, please drop us an email or give us a call. We are always looking for tips and best practices - and would love to hear from you. Feel free to reach out with any specific questions about your Polycarbonate 3D printing experience.

Happy Printing!