I am trying to figure out if I can use PETG for an interior component of a car that will not see direct sunlight (inside center console) or if I have to use ASA. The piece is quite large about 6 x 9 x 7 inches. For temperature reference I live in Hell’s swamp AKA Florida so other then death valley, consider about worst case scenario. The piece itself is non load bearing but has many small compartments with tight tolerances so any movement of the part is unacceptable.
Thank you
As far as filaments go, if PETG doesn’t work, you’re kind of running out of temperature head room as far was available technologies that will print with a Bambu Printer. However, if it were me, I have a fondness and preference for PC precisely because it works so well in so many applications. But I’ll admit, if you don’t dry it well and manually calibrate it, it can be persnickety and definitely does not print as pretty as PETG. So if you’re placing it on a dashboard I’d wager that you want it to look pretty. Also, PC even colored PC is anything but opaque so it will give a more translucent look rather than that “molded ABS” look that the OEM dashboard plastic is likely made of.
Check out the Bambu chart for their specs to get a feel for how far off the two filaments are. They let you dial-in a grid of your own so you can do a simple side by side.
I’m kinda testing this right now.
I have a part for under the hood in Florida.
I printed it in PETG, but I had to do a slight re-design. I was printing in ASA that day so I just did it in ASA.
I have the PETG part sitting on the center console. I plan on leaving it there for a few weeks, then I’m going to ziptie it somewhere under the hood.
I would think ASA would be the ideal material if an enclosed printer is available.
It’s going to be inside a normally closed center console but yes I do want it to look good but also be stable. While it will almost never be in direct sunlight and never for more then 5 minutes it will still be subject to 140 degree temps for periods of several hours in some rare cases.
Let me know how it goes. This will not be my last car part
X1c. I’ve never printed ASA before but do have a roll of appropriate color sitting here.
Here is the ASA part. I had a filament jam that’s why that line is on it, but I can always print another 
Give it a go.
It is designed to be used in ultraviolet-rich environments, the inside of your car is a goldfish bowl.
Actually, I have to chime in on that. When I first purchased transition lenses (aka chromatic adjusting lenses) for my eyeglasses, I thought they were defective because they wouldn’t darken when I was driving. I brought them back to the store, thinking they had ordered the wrong lenses when they filled my prescription. They explained that all cars have UV-filtered glass, which prevents the lenses from turning dark. I thought that made them useless since I only need sunglasses when I drive, not when I’m indoors. 
They gave me a refund.
Yeah, I was going with open windows, I get the point though.
Plus, if many Americans can melt their kids in the car, I imagine it will melt filaments that aren’t meant for the job.
I believe UV and heat are the two parts of the equation, lazy writing on my part earlier only going with one.
I have printed all my interior parts in PETG Carbon, and all have held up fine. One is a mount bracket for the overhang in my F150 for my switch pros switch panel. It has held up to the high internal heat of the cabin and the heat generated from the switch panel itself. During the summer months, you can not hold your hand on the back side of that panel, or it will burn your skin. With both heat sources, the bracket hasn’t warped or deformed at all. You just have to print stuff and see if it works in your setting.
