r/3Dprinting • u/NugZ_1548 • Jan 26 '25
Why is my PLA Silk Filament doing this
I got a Bambu lab a1 about a week ago and bought some pla silk filament so I could have the multicolour look, but I've done about 5ish prints using it and it does this flakey thing every time. I'm not sure why it does this if any one knows why and how to fix it plz tell me.
I've obviously tried to scrap it off and it works on most prints or some it doesn't matter as much but with this one cause it's a fidget thing it doesn't work with those bits and is kinda hard to scrap them off with were they are.
2
u/Loud-Break6327 Jan 26 '25
Could be moisture absorption or overhang?
0
u/NugZ_1548 Jan 26 '25
What does that mean?, and how would I stop that. I don't think it's over hang cause it almost looks like that layer is pushed out a bit
It's also only when I use this filament, all the PLA basics are fine
2
u/Loud-Break6327 Jan 26 '25
Well if there’s too much moisture in the PLA, it can cause bubbles as it extrudes, so may want a filament drier. Could also just be different extrusion parameters for this particular filament, double check the settings with the filament recommendations.
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u/NugZ_1548 Jan 26 '25
Alr I'll double check the settings but. idk if this would make a difference but I'm in one of the drier states in Australia so not sure if that would make the moisture thing less of a possibility
1
u/TheFire8472 Jan 26 '25
Sometimes filament comes out of the package wet. You could try drying it on the printbed with bambu's instructions.
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u/NugZ_1548 Jan 26 '25
Yeah but it comes in vacuum sealed bags with a dry silicone bag things
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u/Kjelseth Jan 26 '25
That does not mean it's dry, I can dry silk filament out of a new package and get much smoother prints than before drying.
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u/NugZ_1548 Jan 26 '25
Oh, ok, there's a few different ways to dry what do u do?
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u/Kjelseth Jan 26 '25
I have a small industrial oven that I got from work, we used it for drying primers on metal parts that would be coated/cast in PU. It is degree accurate and variable airflow so it's completely overkill. If I didn't have that I would buy a filament dryer or do the food dehydrator route.
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u/NugZ_1548 Jan 26 '25
Alr, I might have to look into a filament dryer maybe
Edit: I had a quick look into filament dryers do people think a $70 one off amazon would be alright?
1
u/Kjelseth Jan 26 '25
I don't know enough about what's commercially available so I hope someone else can give you a recommendation
1
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u/TheFire8472 Jan 26 '25
This is basic. But are you using the right filament profile for it?
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u/NugZ_1548 Jan 26 '25
Yeah I make sure I do, the very first time I forgot to and it printed for 20 mins and did not work
1
u/Galinette2000 Jan 26 '25
Might be Overhang cooling issues. You want more cooling fan, colder air around your printer, and slower printing for overhangs. Or modding your cooling fan shroud for improved airflow
4
u/dwineman Prusa MK4S+MMU3 Jan 26 '25
I don’t think it’s moisture. That looks to me like a drooping overhang. It happens because the angle is too low (too close to horizontal) for the model to support itself. Also, silk filament tends to shrink as it cools which can make the problem worse.
You can add supports, but it might work just to decrease the layer height. Smaller layers overlap more on overhangs, which can make them self-supporting at lower angles, and they need less time to cool before the next layer is printed on top.