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Polycarbonate and PC blends: hot nozzle, warm chamber and what the HDT figures say

Published October 15, 202616 sources

Short answer

Printable polycarbonate is usually a modified PC or PC blend; Prusa says pure PC adheres poorly and expands too much to print well [1]. Data sheets list a 250–285 °C nozzle, a 90–120 °C bed and part cooling between off and 60% [2, 4, 6]. All three makers recommend an enclosure, and Polymaker asks for a 70–100 °C chamber [1, 8, 4]. Heat deflection at 0.45 MPa is 112–114 °C in the three data sheets [2, 4, 6].

Published ranges at a glance

The span of values that makers publish for 7 products (PC) in the filament database, by grade. Every product, with its source, is listed in the full table below the guide.

GradeProductsNozzle °CBed °CDrying °CHDT at 0.45 MPa, °C
PC6 from 6 brands250–28590–12070–85101–114
PC-CF1 from 1 brand275–295100–12090114

Pure PC versus the blends you can buy

Outside 3D printing, polycarbonate is used for protective glasses and car headlight covers because it is tough and heat resistant [1]. In its pure form it prints badly. Prusa’s Knowledge Base says pure PC is unsuitable for 3D printing because of poor surface adhesion and significant thermal expansion, so prints deform and crack; filament makers add modifiers to make it printable [1]. Prusament PC Blend is Prusa’s own example, which it describes as significantly easier to print than other polycarbonates [1].

That matters when reading data sheets, because two spools labeled PC can contain quite different polymers. Bambu PC lists a glass transition of 145 °C, while Polymaker PolyMax PC lists 113 °C [2, 4]. OrcaSlicer’s reference table lists PC and PC-ABS separately, with PC at 270–310 °C nozzle, 100–120 °C bed and an 80–100 °C chamber, and PC-ABS at 260–280 °C, 95–110 °C and 60–80 °C [9].

Temperatures, cooling and chamber

Setting Bambu PC Polymaker PolyMax PC Prusament PC Blend
Nozzle 260–280 °C 250–270 °C 275 ± 10 °C
Bed 90–110 °C 90–105 °C 110 ± 10 °C
Part cooling 0–60% off 20% (0–30%)
Chamber 45–60 °C 70–100 °C not published
Bed preparation PVP glue textured PEI, glue when needed glue stick on smooth PEI and powder-coated sheets
Print speed below 300 mm/s 50–200 mm/s up to 200 mm/s

Sources: [2, 4, 6].

The Prusa Knowledge Base gives 275 °C for the nozzle and 110 °C for the first layer, 115 °C after that [1]. Bambu Lab’s plate table lists 100–120 °C on its Engineering, Smooth PEI and Textured PEI plates and does not recommend the Cool Plate [8].

Chamber guidance varies the most. Bambu Lab’s data sheet asks for 45–60 °C, while Polymaker’s lists 70–100 °C and recommends a heated chamber for large parts [2, 4]. Polymaker’s wiki goes further for some grades: PolyMax PC-FR and its PC-ABS should only be printed in a heated chamber of at least 90 °C, which it says rules out standard consumer printers [5].

For printers without a heater, Polymaker suggests heating the bed to 105 °C for 10–15 minutes before starting so the enclosure warms up [5]. Prusa warns that below about 18 °C ambient some printers cannot hold the high bed temperature and stop with a bed thermal runaway error [1].

Controlling warping

PC shrinks and pulls away from the bed even with modifiers. Prusa’s Knowledge Base lists the factors that make it worse and better [1]:

  1. Enclosure. Printing inside one helps; without one, center the part and set the skirt as high as possible to build a warmer microclimate.
  2. Part size. PC is not suitable for large objects covering the whole sheet.
  3. Geometry. Rounded edges warp less than sharp corners.
  4. Infill and walls. Denser infill, and more material inside the part generally, increases warping. Fewer perimeters improve the odds on large parts.
  5. Brim. Use one on parts with a small contact area.

Prusa Polymers adds a specific number: a 4 mm brim for PC Blend parts larger than 5 cm [6]. Polymaker says to print slowly and hot and to use a larger nozzle to help layer adhesion [5]. Layer bonding is the other failure mode, covered in layer separation; for edge lift, see warping.

Build surface

PC needs a separation layer as much as it needs adhesion. Prusa says not to use PC on the smooth PEI sheet without glue stick, because the bond can damage the surface [1]. Its powder-coated satin sheet works without glue for occasional PC Blend prints, but Prusa still recommends glue stick for regular use to preserve the sheet [1]. Bambu Lab lists glue stick for PC and does not recommend its liquid glue [8].

Moisture and drying

Prusa calls most polycarbonates extremely hygroscopic and recommends airtight storage with desiccant and oven drying before printing; Prusament PC Blend absorbs much less moisture than other polycarbonates, according to Prusa [1]. Its data sheet lists 0.13% after 24 hours and 0.15% after 7 days at 24 °C and 22% humidity [6].

Drying settings from the sources:

  • Bambu Lab Wiki, PC: required, 80 °C for 8 hours in an oven, desiccant required during use [8].
  • Polymaker PolyMax PC: 75 °C for 6 hours [4].
  • Prusament PC Blend: 85 °C for 5 hours [7].

The drying planner works from these values.

Heat resistance: reading the HDT rows

Product HDT at 0.45 MPa HDT at 1.80 MPa Glass transition
Bambu PC 112 °C 117 °C 145 °C
Polymaker PolyMax PC 114 °C 99 °C 113 °C
Prusament PC Blend 113 °C 93 °C not published

Sources: [2, 4, 6].

The Bambu row looks inverted. In the Polymaker and Prusament sheets the 1.80 MPa value is the lower one, while Bambu’s data sheet lists the higher value at the higher load. Bambu Lab’s own ASA product page gives PC 117 °C at 0.45 MPa in its comparison table, which suggests the data sheet rows may be swapped [2, 3]. Bambu’s published PC figures at 0.45 MPa therefore span 112–117 °C. The heat resistance comparison shows PC against other materials.

Annealing

Bambu Lab classes PC as amorphous: annealing relieves some thermal stress and can improve strength and heat resistance, but parts may deform, especially large or thin ones [10]. Bambu tested its PC specimens after annealing and drying at 80 °C for 12 hours [2].

Polymaker is the most insistent. Its data sheet recommends annealing PolyMax PC at 90 °C for 2 hours right after printing to release residual stress [4]. Its wiki says annealing is required, especially without a heated chamber of 90 °C or more, and that the part should go into the oven as soon as the print finishes, without cooling first [5].

Carbon-fiber PC blends trade some of these problems for others; see the carbon-fiber filament guide.

All 7 products in the database

Values as each manufacturer publishes them (PC). Filter by grade or brand, or click a column heading to sort; "not published" sorts last.
Source
Bambu LabPCPC260–28090–1101.2080 °C, 8 h112 °C @ 0.45 MPa
117 °C @ 1.8 MPa		not published[2]
ElegooPCPC250–27090–1101.2075–85 °C, 8 h109 °C @ 0.45 MPanot published[11]
OverturePC ProfessionalPC250–27090–1051.2175 °C, 7 hnot publishednot published[12, 13]
PolymakerPolyMax PCPC250–27090–1051.1975 °C, 6 h114 °C @ 0.45 MPa
99 °C @ 1.8 MPa		not published[4]
PrusamentPC BlendPC265–285100–1201.2285 °C, 5 h113 °C @ 0.45 MPa
93 °C @ 1.8 MPa		not published[6, 7]
PrusamentPC Blend Carbon FiberPC-CF275–295100–1201.2290 °C, 4 h114 °C @ 0.45 MPa
106 °C @ 1.8 MPa		not published[7, 14]
SunluPCPC260–280100–1101.1570–80 °C, 6–8 h101 °C @ 0.45 MPanot published[15, 16]

Questions

Can polycarbonate be printed on an open printer?

Prusa's tip for printers without an enclosure is to center the part and set a skirt as tall as possible to create a warmer microclimate, and to avoid large parts [1]. Bambu Lab does not recommend PC on its open-frame printers, and Polymaker lists an enclosure as needed [8, 4].

Does PC stick to smooth PEI?

Too well. Prusa says not to print PC on the smooth PEI sheet because its adhesion can damage the surface, unless glue stick is used as a separation layer [1]. Bambu Lab lists glue stick for PC and does not recommend its liquid glue [8].

Sources

  1. Polycarbonate (PC). Prusa Knowledge Base. Manufacturer documentation. Pure PC vs blends, hygroscopy, enclosure, skirt microclimate, warping factors, cold-room thermal runaway. Accessed October 12, 2026.
  2. Bambu PC Technical Data Sheet (V2.0). Bambu Lab. Technical data sheet. Nozzle 260–280 °C, bed 90–110 °C, PVP glue, chamber 45–60 °C, Tg, HDT. Accessed October 12, 2026.
  3. ASA product page. Bambu Lab. Product page. Comparison table listing Bambu PC HDT at 0.45 MPa and Z impact strength. Accessed October 12, 2026.
  4. PolyMax PC Technical Data Sheet (V5.4). Polymaker. Technical data sheet. Nozzle 250–270 °C, bed 90–105 °C, fan off, 70–100 °C chamber, annealing 90 °C 2 h, HDT. Accessed October 12, 2026.
  5. Polymaker Material Print Tips. Polymaker Wiki. Manufacturer documentation. Bed preheat, larger nozzle, annealing immediately after printing, heated-chamber-only PC grades. Accessed October 12, 2026.
  6. Prusament PC Blend Technical Datasheet (v1.1, 16-02-2022). Prusa Polymers. Technical data sheet. Nozzle 275 ± 10 °C, bed 110 ± 10 °C, fan 20% (0–30%), 4 mm brim, moisture absorption, HDT. Accessed October 12, 2026.
  7. Drying filament. Prusa Knowledge Base. Manufacturer documentation. PC Blend drying 85 °C for 5 hours. Accessed October 12, 2026.
  8. Filament guide: printer, nozzle, AMS, build plate, glue compatibility and required parameters. Bambu Lab Wiki. Manufacturer documentation. Enclosed printer, PC plate temperatures, glue stick, drying required, 0.2 mm nozzle not recommended. Accessed October 12, 2026.
  9. Material Temperatures. OrcaSlicer Wiki. Slicer documentation. Reference ranges for PC and PC-ABS including chamber temperature. Accessed October 12, 2026.
  10. Post-printing procedures (removing, cleaning, annealing, bonding). Bambu Lab Wiki. Manufacturer documentation. PC is amorphous; annealing relieves thermal stress, may deform parts. Accessed October 12, 2026.
  11. ELEGOO PC product page: Specifications. ELEGOO. Product page. Specifications section: drying, recommended printing settings, physical properties (density, Vicat, HDT at 0.45 MPa) and X-Y/Z mechanical properties; no test standards named. Accessed October 12, 2026.
  12. OVERTURE PC PROFESSIONAL Technical Data Sheet (Version 5.1, August 2024). Overture 3D. Technical data sheet. Recommended printing conditions; separate property tables for transparent and other colors. Accessed October 12, 2026.
  13. Overture PC Professional 3D Printer Filament 1.75mm (product page). Overture 3D. Product page. Specs tab drying setting; description gives different bed and drying settings. Accessed October 12, 2026.
  14. Prusament PC Blend Carbon Fiber Technical Datasheet (v2.0-OY, 19-04-2023). Prusa Polymers. Technical data sheet. Recommended print settings, typical material properties and mechanical properties of printed test specimens. Accessed October 12, 2026.
  15. SUNLU PC Technical Data Sheet (SL-TE-WI-126, version A/1). SUNLU. Technical data sheet. Recommended printing parameters with drying temperature; ISO 75 HDT at 0.45 MPa, ISO 306 Vicat, ISO 1183 density and ISO 527-2 X-Y tensile results from printed specimens. Accessed October 12, 2026.
  16. Material Performance Comparison. SUNLU Wiki. Manufacturer documentation. Detailed specification table for the SUNLU line, including drying temperature and drying time per product. Accessed October 12, 2026.