eSUN – eSilk PLA – Magic Green / Blue – Dual -1kg – 1.75mm

WHAT ARE THE BEST FEATURES OF SILKY PLA FILAMENT?

• Despite looking somewhat soft and fluffy at first glance, Silk PLA actually offers less shrinkage than standard PLA. This is in part because of the polyester contained within the polymer, but is primarily because of the low glass transition temperature, which allows the filament to set for a slightly longer time before hardening into a defined shape.
• Again, despite the soft aesthetics of Silk PLA, it actually offers better toughness than standard PLA, which is due to the polyester additives providing better layer adhesion, flow capabilities and reduced stringing – resulting in a better overall polymer structure that can be bent, flexes or stretched more than standard PLA before it succumbs to permanent deformation.
•  Finally, and this doesn’t quite pertain to structural aspects, Silk PLA Filament offers the distinct advantage of maintaining near-perfect colour after printing. And whilst standard PLA often changes colour slightly depending on a variety of factors, from print temperatures to print speeds and even uncontrollable factors during the polymerisation process, the natural glossiness of Silk PLA directly translates through to the printed object, offering almost the exact same colour integrity before and after printing.

TYPICAL APPLICATIONS FOR ESUN ESILK MAGIC GREEN-BLUE PLA FILAMENT:

As some of the world-leading manufacturers of 3D Filament, we aren’t as surprised anymore when eSUN 3D introduce new and unique polymers. However, this doesn’t mean that it’s not exciting when they do, and we are excited to introduce their recent range of eSUN eTwinkle PLA Filament.

This filament utilises the base polymer of PLA, but features some ultrafine glitter particles as the additive, and while this may seem quite kitschy at first, when viewing full prints in this filament, it ends up having surprisingly awesome aesthetics – especially for 3D Printing fun prints like desktop toys and decorative pieces.

In addition to the awesome glitter effect of eSUN eTwinkle, these spools offer an array of rainbow colours which stand out with an extra sparkling flare which creates incredible magical decorations. In fact, eSun eTwinkling Rainbow PLA is the perfect choice for fantastical prints of a poring magical potion, elaborate fairy wings or a unicorn’s sparkling colourful mane and tail.

These twinkly filaments are a lot more eye-catching than standard PLA Filaments, and as such it’s important to consider how much they are going to visually “pop”. While this is typically ideal for these kinds of filaments, if you are trying to emphasise other parts of your project or multi-part print, then you may want to tone it down a bit with standard PLA, or consider using the Clear eTwinkle for a subtle but beautiful effect.

And finally, as an added benefit of eSUN Twinkling PLA, the shiny particles within the filament help to hide layer lines and small faults very well, and instead of those tiny faults being the centre of attention, onlookers can’t help but focus their gaze on the mesmerising glittery effect.

Please Note: While this filament will not damage your nozzle, it's recommended to use a nozzle size 0.4mm or larger, so as to accommodate the particle additives within this filament and prevent unnecessary clogs.

The colours that appear on rainbow filaments are pseudo randomised, and as such we can’t guarantee the exact colours or the order of colours that will appear on your spool. However, after opening and “testing” many of these spools (we’ve got a fond spot for rainbow filaments) we’ve thoroughly enjoyed each and every one and the unique colour combinations they’ve each provided.

TOUGH YET FLEXIBLE

FIL X SBS

Did you know that you are in daily contact with SBS products such as the soles of your shoes or the tyres of your car? But how can SBS be used in FDM 3D printing?

SBS (Styrene-butadiene-styrene) has the unique properties of being both tough and flexible at the same time, thanks to its Polystyrene origin lending it a hard, tough consistency and the Polybutadiene giving it a bit more bounce with its rubbery properties.

This powerhouse combination offers, apart from good layer adhesion, no odour during printing and does not absorb moisture. Furthermore, it has been FDA and EU directive approved for food contact.

Fil X SBS filament is very easy to print with on a glass bed with some hairspray for better bed adhesion and best of all can be smoothed with d-limonene (also available from Fil X!) leaving you with a stunning finished product.

HELPFUL TIPS FOR PRINTING WITH SUNLU PETG FILAMENT:

• PETG Printing Tips – First Layer Adhesion: Although it may come as second nature to try and get the squishiest squish-factor around for all kinds of filaments and polymers, PETG is a little different, and actually shouldn’t be squished too hard for the first layer. In fact, it’s good practice when printing with PETG to have your first layer print at around 125% of the defined layer height. This will give it the ability to “grab” the following layers more effectively, and because PETG layers tend to bond well to each other, this dramatically helps with the overall print quality. This is primarily due to the glass transition temperature of around 85°C for PETG, as well as how the heatbed draws heat away from the first layer due to the direct contact with the thermally conductive heatbed.
• PETG Printing Tips – Effective Bridging: With PETG Filament, one of the more difficult factors to get right is bridging between parts, as PETG tends to sag quite dramatically due to the high temperatures required for printing. However, it’s important to note that this is more so for opaque than transparent colours, as the colourants can affect the overall chemical composition of the material being printed. As such, it will take some time to dial in just right, depending on the colour and brand you’re using, but for most cases, it’s prudent to print bridges quite slowly, turn the fan on if you’ve got it off, and then define a bridge overlap of around 1mm. This will help prevent the bridging strands from curling upwards as they’re printing, while also adding some strength to the edges so the strands stick well and don’t pull themselves loose.
• PETG Printing Tips – Strength vs Aesthetics: This factor is certainly one that we love about PETG, and is also a factor that seems quite undervalued in most 3D Maker communities, but with PETG filament you can actually distinctly choose whether you want to focus more on durability and strength, or aesthetics and detail quality. In fact, choosing which you would like to focus on is as simple as defining whether the fan is turned on or off for the print, as printing PETG with the fan on tends to produce a great surface finish, while printing PETG with the fan off helps with layer bonding and lamination, lending itself well to high-strength parts instead. Of course, you could always choose the best of both worlds by printing for strength and post-processing for aesthetics, but if you’re not interested in post-processing your prints afterwards, then the above rule is quite easy to utilise for whatever application your print is being made for.
• PETG Printing Tips – Infill & Top Layers: While it’s typical for people to assume that higher levels of infill result in higher strength prints, the truth is that high infill doesn’t always equal strength, and oftentimes an object with a good internal structure is far stronger than a solid object. As such, it’s important to tailor your infill percentages according to each specific print, and then tailor the number of top layers according to the level of infill. The reason for the differing amount of top layers is because if you are printing with less than around 40% infill, the top layers can easily sink into the infill pattern, resulting in blotchy or patchy top layers. So, if your infill is set to 40% or lower, consider adding up to three extra top layers, allowing for the first one or two layers to fall into the infill spaces, with the remaining top layers producing a strong and aesthetically pleasing top surface.

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES FOR 3D PRINTING PETG:

• The following guide is an awesome amalgamation of hundreds of Makers’ hard work, all collected and summarised into a single, easy to understand, rather informal, PETG Filament Printing Guide – with the primary focus being on eSUN PETG, making it very relevant for ultra-cool customers who choose to shop at DIYElectronics.
• This is another PETG Printing Guide, created by a brand known as Rigid Ink. However, it’s important to note that they very likely used their own Rigid INK PETG Filament, so some settings and tips will likely vary from our own.
• This PETG Filament Guide from Tractus is quite unique compared to others, and does an awesome job at explaining what PETG is, how it’s used in various industries, as well as some great technical specifications to help you understand more about this unique but exciting polymer. Bear in mind, however, that their settings and specifications are somewhat specific to their range of 3D Printers, so they may exactly match our suggested settings and parameters.
• Finally, this is a handy MatterHackers PETG Post-Processing Guide, detailing some of the post-processing options you have with PETG prints, as well as tips and basic instructions on how to do each of the different processes.

STRENGTH AND HEAT RESISTANCE

FIL X PETG

Fil X PETG offers easy to print quality parts. PETG's popularity is growing as an alternative to PLA when applications is needed where higer flexability and strength is needed. PETG is also more UV resistant than PLA and will not warp as easily as PLA in the heat of the sun.

PETG Is food safe and can be used for applications where in contact with food.