Verbatim PLA

[ryaneb85]

Has anybody else tried the new range of Verbatim PLA? It's a bit pricier than the likes of eSun etc., but I've tried a few brands now, and I've got to say it's giving me the best results to date. I've only tried the silver/grey, but the layer visibility at 0.2mm is extremely good, and overhang and detail is crisp and sharp. It's my choice when I need a guaranteed quality print.

[jhaupt]

Wow, Verbatim is making filament, cool! I didn't know.

No I haven't tried, but I'm starting to get annoyed with eSun filament and coming to the conclusion that it's worth paying more for the absolute best quality material, whatever that happens to be ($50/Kg is about my limit). I was using Ultimachine before eSun and was happy with that.

Not to derail this post, but I also have a sample from Polymaker (wood) I've been meaning to try and I have high hopes for all their offerings. Plan to order some soon.

[Bratag]

What issues do you seem to have with eSun PLA? Just interested because it seems to print ok for me... all except the white , that has some quirks.

[ryaneb85]

I have tried a couple of colours of the PLA+ from eSun (supposedly lower print temperatures and tougher (?)), and while it's ok, it's definitely not my favourite. Can't comment on the normal PLA or PETG as I've never used it, but it seems to get good reviews here, so I think I'll definitely give the PETG a try. However, I am heading back to Europe soon and have heard excellent things about Colorfabb, so they are top of my 'to try' list at the moment.

I tried printing something silly over the last couple of days and just could not get it to print with the black PLA that came with the M2. I thought it was a setting issues, others advise it was a result of heat-soak, but even with multiple parts printing at the same time, it just would not print right. Swapped over to the Verbatim PLA and it printed perfectly first time, and better quality at 0.2mm than the other PLA at 0.1mm. So, it seems to be working well for me. But what with Verbatim being such a large and renowned company, I didn't really expect anything less. A 1kg roll cost me 60 Singapore dollars, so you could probably get it for less in the US.

[jsc]

You mentioned the MG PLA was your oldest roll. If it's been sitting out at 85% humidity, that would definitely explain your results. PLA soaks up water like a sponge, you need to keep any PLA in a dry environment or it will start to run badly.

[ryaneb85]

Yup, I mentioned that in my other post, but forgot to include it here, so can't say for certain that the quality of filament was the only driving factor. I suspect my other PLA rolls will be heading that way soon, so it's about time I invested in a container and some desiccant....

With that said, is there a reliable way to dry out saturated PLA?

[jsc]

You can bake it at a low temperature in the oven, but I've had mixed results with that. The problem is that the filament itself, and sometimes even the spools, will melt and distort. A large airtight container with a large amount of silica or calcium chloride ("DampRid") should, in theory, resuscitate damp filament.

[jhaupt]

Interesting stuff,

jsc, as for me, I print white almost exclusively. Lately I've been having layer bonding issues and can only seem to get a viable print with no bed fan at all. But I've had good eSun white PLA prints before so I'm not really convinced it's the filament, just looking for an easy fix