SunLu Silky PLA+ Filament – 1.75mm Dark Rainbow

When taking a good look at 3D Printing as a whole, we enjoy seeing there are so many kinds of 3D Makers. Some like to focus purely on decorations and aesthetic prints, while others prefer to focus on functional parts, and of course, many more like to blend aesthetics with functionality and enjoy the best of both worlds. We love to get as many different types of 3D Filaments as possible, especially unique filaments. This Dark Rainbow SunLu Silky PLA+ Filament has shimmering dark shades when compared to SunLu’s Light Rainbow Variant – both of which captivated our attention.

SunLu Silky PLA+ Filament offers exciting advantages and is as easy to print as standard PLA Filaments. You don’t have to be an advanced 3D Maker to take advantage of its awesome traits. Silky PLA+ is polymerised from the same basic materials as standard PLA but is enhanced with some polyester-like additives which give it a sheen like no other filament. These additives smoothen out the surfaces of prints, helping you hide layer lines and create an almost soft touch. This is ideal for printing pretty much anything! Silky PLA+ really shows its true benefits when printing toys and décor with a vibrant shine finish that stands out from normal prints. So, if you love the easy printing style and bright colours of PLA+, you can step up your game and start using awesome Silky Filaments like SunLu Silky PLA+.

Of course, as with any other filament brand, we encourage you to test out SunLu Silky PLA Filament for yourself. If you enjoy the colours, print quality and easy printing style of it, then take the next leap and test out other materials from the SunLu Filament Range. So far, we’ve enjoyed each and every variant that we have in stock, and we’re quite certain that you’re going to fall in love with SunLu just like we did when first sinking our teeth into their range of materials and colours.

Please Note: 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.

Helpful Tips for Printing with Sunlu Silky PLA+ Filament:

Although 3D Printing at first glance can seem extremely complicated, with a crazy amount of different polymers and plastics available, PLA is polymerised in such a way that even a beginner can enjoy awesome results without ever needing any training or formal education on the topic. This is why it is arguably the most popular filament in the world, and as long as you aren’t requiring the printed models or parts to be very strong, it can handle a wide range of applications from decorative art to functional door handles and similar types of objects.

However, even though it is very easy to print with compared to other polymers, there are still some handy tips to help you get to a good level of quality from your PLA Prints, and this is why we’ve taken the time to provide what we feel are the Top Three Tips for 3D Printing with PLA:

• PLA Printing Tips – First Layer Adhesion: When 3D Printing with PLA, or pretty much any other polymer for that matter, First-Layer-Adhesion is arguably the most important factor to get right, as it acts as the foundation for the entire print, allowing the print to be printed tall or wide (or both) without any major problems. However, this factor also happens to be one of the more difficult parts to get right for beginners, so we’re here to help you out with our three top tips for first-layer-adhesion, which can also be used on other polymers as well, and they are as follows:
  • The first step to a great first layer is to ensure that the bed,  the X-Axis and the Y-Axis on your machine are all perfectly aligned, and this can be achieved by ensuring that all four sides of your crossbars are angled at exactly 90° from the base, while simultaneously ensuring that the gantry is exactly perpendicular to both side bars too. This is relatively easy to identify with a simple right-angle tool, and dramatically improves your chances of levelling your bed perfectly, as the nozzle should now be the same Z-height at all points on or above the bed.
  • The second step is to drop the z-height down so that the nozzle is ALMOST touching the bed, with a tiny air-gap below the point that’s just barely visible. Then, take a piece of standard (2D) printer paper and slide it gently beneath the nozzle. If the paper slides through without causing any scraping or tugging, you need to drop the nozzle by the smallest amount possible on your machine, before sliding the paper and testing it again. Conversely, if the paper grips too hard, and you struggle to actually move the paper or even slide it under the nozzle initially, then the nozzle is too far down, and you want to raise the nozzle by the smallest increment possible, until you can slide the paper beneath the nozzle with some light “scratching” or grip between the nozzle and bed.
  • The third and final step is then to move the nozzle to different points on the bed, with a primary focus on the four corners and the middle of the bed. And once you’ve gotten that perfect grip on the paper in all of the points you’re checking, you will then have your bed levelled and are pretty much ready for printing!
• PLA Printing Tips – Becoming One with Your Slicer: Although it may not seem obvious at first, after starting with 3D Printing you will soon come to realize that a good print actually begins before the filament is even loaded. In fact, a good print really starts within the software that you use to slice the model, as the slicer is essentially a translator that turns a three-dimensional model into what is known as “G-Code” (No, not the Gangster-Code, the Geometric-Code), which the 3D Printer can then read as instructions on how to build the object. With this in mind, learning the in’s and out’s of whatever slicer software you’re using is fundamental, and the more you get to know the fine details in your software, the better you will be able to translate models into G-Code for awesome results. So, regardless of what Slicer you choose to use, whether it be Cura, Simplify3D or even lesser popular options like MatterControl, you need to master and become one with your slicer, so that nothing will hold you back from turning great designs into effective G-Code for your 3D Printer.
• PLA Printing Tips – Practice & Patience Leads to Perfection: Although there are certainly a lot of things you can do to help enjoy great success with 3D Printing, it’s important to realize that 3D Printing is not easy, and will require a fair amount of patience, practice and learning to get just right. So don’t be scared to experiment if you’re struggling (or if you’re not) so that you can learn even more about your particular 3D Printer, as well as 3D Printing in general, and while not every print will come out perfectly each and every time, remember that each failure is just another step towards success, and every success is another notch in your Maker’s toolbelt of experience.

Additional Resources for 3D Printing PLA:

Although we like to believe that we are masters of 3D Printing, after spending a good many years enveloped in the industry, we have to admit that even we learn something new from time to time, and as such we always recommend getting out there and doing your own research to develop your own opinion and grow your knowledge from multiple sources!

As such, in addition to the above PLA Printing Tips, we’ve also gathered an awesome collection of what we feel are great resources to start with when getting into 3D Printing, so be sure to check these out if you’re looking for more insights and information on PLA Printing, or if you’re just curious and eager to see more opinions on one of the many facets of this still-fresh industry:

• This is a relatively general Guide on PLA Printing by Simplify3D, world-renowned experts in 3D modelling and Computer Aided Design. It offers so great tips for troubleshooting minor problems, while giving some good general guidelines on how to “dial in” your 3D Printer one step at a time.
• The next awesome resource we have to share is the Awesome Rigid Ink PLA Guide, which offers a mountain-load of insights into the chemical and material composition of PLA, with a slew of great tips and tricks on how to get your PLA looking good (and behaving properly) for every print.
• Because first-layer-adhesion is one of the trickiest factors to get right for beginners (and also veterans sometimes), we feel that this 3D Printer Bed Levelling Guide is a good addition to this collection of resources. It does a great job at explaining why bed levelling is important, what you can expect from a well or poorly levelled bed, as well as some tips on how to make the entire process much easier.
• Finally, this is just a great General 3D Printing Quality Guide, that is designed to help users troubleshoot various quality-related problems, while giving some great tips on what to do when certain problems arise. If you’re struggling with an issue, this is a great place to find out what is actually going wrong, as well as how you can remedy it, with good explanations of why certain remedies work to fix certain problems.

Although it may not be a popular brand here in SA (yet!), many 3D Makers will recognise the name SunLu, as these fantastic 3D Filament Makers have been involved in 3D Printing since as far back as 2013, specialising in affordability & accessibility, but placing a strong focus on R&D & bringing new materials to the market for 3D Makers to enjoy.

From the classic PLA & ABS range through to the more exotic styles like PETG & TPU, as well as what we like to call Semi-Exotics like Marble & Twinkling Filament, SunLu has garnered a lot of experience in the world of 3D Filaments, & have one of the most comprehensive catalogues that the Hobbyist 3D Printing world has ever seen. This gives them a good spot amongst the leaders in 3D Filaments, & while they may not quite match the premium quality of Fillamentum & other high class brands, the affordability & range of options that SunLu offers is simply unbeatable even for the major players.

If you’re looking for a good brand to use for all kinds of different prints & applications, but don’t want to pay a premium, SunLu is the ideal brand that is ready to become your next new favourite. So get out there & start testing out the range that SunLu has to offer! With so many options available & a price that is low enough to simply take a chance with, there’s absolutely no reason why you shouldn’t give SunLu a chance & test this awesome brand out, to see if it’s a good fit for your 3D Printing fun.