Any reason you are recommending PLA instead of PETG?
For functional parts I would not use anything else until there is a really good reason (such as high temperature stability or more strength for a given weight or cross section). I've gone through multiple tons of the stuff now (3500 Kg in total or so) on 85 printers (Bambu's (43), Creality (22) K1s and Prusas (20)), consistency between batches is very good though from brand to brand there can be some notable differences.
If you have stringing and globbing problems with PETG my first guess would be that the filament profile that you are using is subtly off for that particular brand of PETG and/or that the filament wasn't dry.
PETG is just oozier and stickier by default, so stringiness is almost guaranteed to happen, bridging at a greater risk of failure, etc. It is tougher, so unless you have a printer that can use multiple filaments on the same print, removing supports is more difficult.
Can you reduce these factors by tuning your 3D printer - yes, a bit. But that's not "utterly problem free".
PLA is the plug and play of the 3D printing world right now.
Incidentally, a lot of the stuff on thingiverse and other similar sites suffers from those kind of issues. They are tuned for PLA on a particular printer without realizing it.
I personally run all PETG because it is ultimately better material post-print, and once you understand how to print with it, it’s not really much harder to deal with.
The day I discovered that I should just run my dryer with the PETG inside while printing was revolutionary. Of course, that requires you own a dryer that allows the filament to print while it’s inside.
I am getting reasonably consistent prints but they aren't perfect.
The long version of my tips for using PETG are:
- A Bambu Lab printer doesn't hurt since it's so nicely calibrated and idiot-proof
- Clean the build plate with dish soap and dry fully. I haven't found any need for glue stick on a textured plate.
- Using a filament that has a profile available from the manufacturer for Bambu lab printers
- Printing with the filament in the dryer with the dryer running during printing
I can print PLA at 100mm/s with .25mm layers...but PETG I don't go much over 65mm/s give the same line width/layer height.
Since getting things dialed in I switched to primarily printing PETG. Although, I have no issue printing PLA, PETG or ABS when needed.
Better ratio of weight to strength, far more durable parts for most jobs, and acetone smoothening opens up all sorts of doors to incredibly high quality prints without all the labor of sanding.
Also due to lower nozzle and bed temperatures, prints start faster so you can check the first layer sooner before you let the printer do its thing.