eSun ePLA+ High Speed Filament – 1.75mm Silver 1kg

PLA filaments are so popular in the Maker world that many never print with any other type. The range of PLA+ colours and interesting easy-to-print adaptations scratch almost every making itch for everyday printing. But few brands have really unlocked the full potential of this common plastic material. Especially when printing at high speeds, normal PLA might struggle to keep up. That’s why eSun has specialised their PLA+ High Speed Filament for ultra-flow and smoothness.

PLA+ is always a great choice for aesthetic and decorative prints, and eSun’s new PLA+ High Speed Filament lets you turn out prints at whopping speeds. Print up to 350mm/s with amazing smoothness on every layer. With eSun’s specialised High Speed Filament, the printing performance is improved thanks to the high flow speed. Enjoy rapid prototyping and beautiful models.

Advantages of PLA+

eSUN PLA+ is considered by many as the new standard for PLA printing, and despite being slightly more expensive than typical PLA, it offers far more value for money. It is not only easier to work with, but also produces better, smoother and less spider-webbed prints – while also being more flame resistant as well.

In terms of the value that PLA+ brings to printing, it offers a wide variety of benefits, the first of which you will notice is far greater layer adhesion. This is due to the higher flow temperature, which will also help to produce less spider-webbing in gaps and less stringing along surfaces. Additionally, PLA+ has a lower distortion temperature, which means it is allowed a longer time to settle before it actually cools. This can be particularly beneficial for 3D printers without enclosures, and helps to ensure that each of the layers are printed before the previous layer starts warping or distorting – further improving on layer adhesion.

While there are many other less predominant benefits, such being less brittle than PLA in filament form, the final key feature we will discuss is PLA+’s print finish quality. Owing to the enhanced layer adhesion, lower Melt Flow Index and higher stable print temperatures, PLA+ produces smoother, cleaner and more durable results. Whereas typical PLA is often brittle and can shatter quite easily, PLA+ has enough elongation and bending strength to resist falls, impacts and breaks from stretching. With these benefits in mind, it’s easy to see why so many Makers are choosing PLA+ as their favourite 3D printer filament.

Available in a wide range of translucencies and colour saturations, PLA+ is a great plastic for 3D printing almost any object that will not be exposed to heat. With all of the benefits mentioned above, as well as higher printing speeds and lower layer heights, there is good reason why it’s one of the most popular and commonly available 3D printer materials throughout the world. 

Typical Applications for eSun ePLA+ High Speed 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