Silk PLA is now one of the most popular filament types that you can use to print some of the most aesthetically pleasing products known to the world. You can create masterpieces like home decor items, action figures, and other props with a glossier, shinier, and beautiful finish. However, with such unique properties, you are getting the complexity of printing, too, which brings us to our topic for today: why are your Silk PLA prints bad?
In this article, we’ll cover the top 3 typical reasons why your Silk PLA prints ultimately fail, fall, or look deformed.
Why Is Silk PLA Getting Popular?
There are many filament options available in 3D printing, but Silk PLA’s specific use case is what makes it stand out the most. Thanks to its aesthetically pleasing prints, Silk PLA is becoming popular.
The regular PLA is known for its matte or semi-gloss finish, which is beneficial. However, with its Silk counterpart, your prints appear more vibrant and shine in a way that makes the 3D prints look more unique, beautiful, and sturdy.
From professionals to hobbyists, by paying a bit more money, you can get this professional and shiny finish without using any risky post-processing methods. Most of the time, Silk PLA is used to make one of the following items:
Display Items: Cosplay products, figurines, statues, art, etc.
Gift Items: Home decoration items, vases, boxes, and more.
Prototypes: Display projects for presentations to make them look more appealing.
Reasons Why Your Silk PLA Prints Are Bad
Now, let’s get to the main topic of today: why are my Silk PLA prints bad? Here, we discuss three main reasons why your Silk PLA is bad, has poor adhesion, or falls apart.
1. Wrong Print Temperature
The most common reason for Silk PLA failure comes from the use of poor printing temperatures. By ‘poor,’ we mean the incorrect print temperature, which is something you must take into consideration.
Different brands have different temperature settings for printing, which is something you must take into consideration. Let’s talk about the Silk PLA that Chitu Systems offers. They have a wide variety of multi-color and even single-color filaments that you can use.
But when you look at their website, you can see that the nozzle temperature printed on their Silk PLA must be between 200 to 230 degrees Celsius. This makes things interesting because you have a guideline on which temperature to set.
A lot of people don’t follow this guideline, and they end up having problems, including:
Poor layer adhesion.
Cracked prints.
Uneven shine or dull overall print.
This happens because your temperature is too cold. On the other hand, using a higher temperature can lead to issues such as oozing, stringing, blobs, or deformed 3D prints. The solution here is always to follow the 3D printer manufacturer’s guidelines to avoid these issues.
2. Wrong Printing Speed or Printing Too Fast
Printing speed is crucial when it comes to achieving the desired results. However, if you’re printing too fast to save time, things can get messy quite quickly. Like the standard PLA, which prints at a relatively high speed, the issue with Silk PLA is that it contains additives that make it difficult to print the filament at a faster rate, resulting in problems such as poor surface quality, poor layer adhesion, and more.
In general, Silk PLA requires a bit more time to melt and then print the correct layer. If it doesn’t, then the glossy finish won’t look as smooth, and you will notice that the overall print quality looks rough.
So, what’s the solution here? You can print a bit slower. As we mentioned earlier, the example of Silk PLA on Chitu Systems’ official website demonstrates that the print speed should be between 40 and 100 mm/s. If you’re using Bambu Lab A1, you may achieve the best results by printing at speeds between 40 and 50 mm/s.
However, some printers can even reach speeds of up to 60 mm/s. When there are small features that must be printed, you should go slower to ensure the best possible prints. In addition to the printing speed, you must ensure that your acceleration and jerk settings in the slicer are proper.
3. Improper Cooling
Cooling is one of the most critical aspects of 3D printing in general, but with Silk PLA, you must be even more careful due to the additives that are mixed into it. Silk PLA, in general, retains heat much longer than standard PLA, and this can lead to numerous issues if you don’t have the proper cooling technique.
With improper cooling, the issue you may encounter is a mushy surface, which can compromise the overall appeal of your 3D print. Moreover, the glossy surface also suffers heavily due to this, as it now yields a more uneven surface.
But what’s the solution here? First of all, while having a 3D printer enclosure isn’t essential, if there’s an issue with your room temperature, you can always use an enclosure to mitigate the problem. Firstly, set the fan speed to 100% after reaching the later layers and ensure the cooling fan is positioned in the print area.
Overall, the cooling temperature and speed are crucial when it comes to Silk PLA.
Conclusion
Now that you know why your Silk PLA is causing a lot of problems with its print, consider buying the right 3D printer accessories for yourself. That’s where Chitu Systems comes in with its fantastic catalog of 3D printing products. You can check their website to level up your 3D printing game.
Do Read: Boom With Purpose: Why Explosive Tools Still Matter in 21st Century Projects
