PC print settings
Polycarbonate · Advanced
PC (Polycarbonate) prints at 260-310°C with the bed at 100-120°C. It needs an enclosure. Dry the filament before printing.
The strongest and most heat resistant material most desktop printers can run. Genuinely tough, genuinely difficult, and it demands a hot end that can hold 300C.
Settings at a glance
Ranges are typical manufacturer-published figures for this material class, not measurements we took. Always start with your filament maker’s own numbers where they differ. The price is an indicative street price for a 1 kg spool, not a live quote.
Good for
- Load-bearing brackets
- Parts near heat sources
- Impact-resistant housings
- Optically clear parts when tuned
Avoid for
- PTFE-lined hot ends
- Printers without a heated chamber
- Beginners
The problem people actually hit
Layers delaminate under load even though the print looked clean. That is moisture. Dry the spool properly and keep it dry during the print.
Drying
Very hygroscopic. Dry at 80C for 6-8 hours and print straight from a dry box. Wet polycarbonate is the single most common cause of failed PC prints.
If your printer cannot run PC
PC needs an enclosure, a dry box and a hot end comfortable at 260-310°C. That is a real hardware investment for a single part. If you need one bracket rather than a new capability, buying the machine time is usually the cheaper answer.
A print service already owns the machine. You upload the model, choose PC, and a part arrives. For a one-off this is almost always cheaper than the equipment, and it is the only route if your printer tops out below 260°C.
Industrial supplier with the widest confirmed engineering-material range, including certified work.
Marketplace of independent print shops, so pricing varies more and availability depends on the individual shop.
Confirm the service actually offers PC before uploading. Material menus change, and a service that lists dozens of options may not carry this one. We have no commercial relationship with any of these companies, and these are ordinary links.
Buying PC
PC is stocked unevenly by general retailers. A specialist supplier is usually the better source, both for availability and because they publish the spec sheet. Typical street price is $35-70 per 1 kg spool.
Check before you order
- Diameter 1.75mm unless your printer takes 2.85mm. Check before ordering, not after.
- Published diameter tolerance. ±0.02mm is good, ±0.05mm is loose and shows up as inconsistent extrusion.
- Vacuum-sealed with desiccant. Hygroscopic filament that shipped open has already absorbed moisture and will need drying before its first print.
- Confirm you have an enclosure before buying. Without one this material will warp regardless of spool quality.
Specialist suppliers
Deep engineering-material catalogue and published spec sheets, including grades general retailers do not stock.
Specialist stockist with strong coverage of nylon and carbon-fibre filled materials.
Named because they stock this class of material and publish specifications. We have no commercial relationship with either, and these are ordinary links.
Amazon listings for PC are often mislabelled or relabelled stock. Verify the datasheet before ordering.
Not sure this is the right material? Compare all materials.
What you need to print PC
Gear that PC genuinely requires, with the specification that decides whether a given unit will actually work.
Filament dryer
Must reach at least 80C
PC will not print cleanly wet, and many budget dryers stop at 55-60C. Check the maximum temperature before buying, not the marketing copy.
See filament dryer on AmazonPrinter enclosure
Fully closed, with a door
PC warps when a draught cools the part unevenly. An enclosure holds chamber heat steady, which fixes lifting corners and split layers more reliably than any slicer setting.
See printer enclosure on AmazonBed adhesion
PEI sheet sized to your bed, or a PVP glue stick
PC lifts at the corners before it fails anywhere else. A textured PEI surface plus a thin glue layer holds the first layer down while the chamber comes up to temperature.
See bed adhesion on AmazonHeat-set threaded inserts
Brass, M3 unless your design says otherwise
Printed threads strip. If you are making load-bearing brackets out of PC, melting brass inserts in gives you a metal thread that survives being undone more than once.
See heat-set threaded inserts on AmazonAirtight storage with desiccant
Sealed container plus rechargeable desiccant
Drying a spool once achieves nothing if it sits open afterwards. Storage is what keeps the filament usable between prints.
See airtight storage with desiccant on AmazonAs an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases. Links above are affiliate links, and using them costs you nothing extra.
PC questions
- What temperature do you print PC at?
- PC prints at a nozzle temperature of 260-310C with the bed at 100-120C. Start at the lower end of the nozzle range and raise it in 5C steps until layers bond cleanly.
- Does PC need an enclosure?
- Yes. PC needs an enclosure. Without one the part cools unevenly, corners lift off the bed and layers split partway up the print.
- Do you need to dry PC?
- Very hygroscopic. Dry at 80C for 6-8 hours and print straight from a dry box. Wet polycarbonate is the single most common cause of failed PC prints.
- What is PC good for?
- PC suits load-bearing brackets, parts near heat sources, impact-resistant housings, optically clear parts when tuned. Avoid it for PTFE-lined hot ends, printers without a heated chamber, beginners.
- How much does PC cost?
- A 1 kg spool of PC typically sells for $35-70. That is an indicative street price rather than a live figure, so check the retailer for today's cost.
PC or PA-CF?
PA-CF (Carbon Fibre Reinforced Nylon) prints at 260-280°C with a 80-100°C bed and needs an enclosure. Nylon with chopped carbon fibre. Much stiffer and more dimensionally stable than plain nylon, and abrasive enough to destroy a brass nozzle in a single print.
Read the PA-CF settings guide →After the print
The workshop steps that matter most for PC.