FilaCube PLA 2 Cheat Sheet and Tips
FilaCube PLA 2 3D Filament Cheat Sheet
You might notice that FilaCube PLA 2 filament is softer and more flexible than other brands. FilaCube PLA 2 filament is unique as it is engineered to achieve the best printing results. This also means that you might need to tune your printer settings first!
1. Nozzle temp: recommended temp is 210°C or 215°C. To reach the best print temp for your printer, please print a temp tower. Low temp might cause nozzle jamming.
2. Bed temp: PLA 2 doesn't need a heated bed. If a heated bed is used, bed temp should be lower than 50°C. High temp might cause binding and warping issues.
3. Print bed: a clean and leveled bed is essential for a successful print. Please note that most beds are not perfectly flat as they are warped or bent more or less. Beds that are heated unevenly underneath will worsen the issue. Blue tape, hairspray or a glue stick can compensate for the leveling flaws. Please note that hairspray is flammable.
4. Retraction: retraction needs to be enabled! Start with a retraction distance of 5mm and a speed of 25mm/s and tune it. In Cura, the retraction speed should be 25mm/s or lower. Wipe might also need to be enabled. If you are experiencing stringing, blobs, zits, etc., tune retraction, coasting, and wipe settings.
5. Printing the first layer: to achieve a successful first layer, cooling fan should be 30% or lower, print speed 35-50% of normal speed, and layer height 90% of normal layer height (to ensure that the melted filament has enough time to bind to the bed). Please observe the print of the first layer. If binding is observed to be poor in some areas, check that the areas are clean and that the bed is leveled. One or two coats of hairspray is highly recommended if you are having a first layer binding issue.
6. Cooling fan For the first layer, cooling fan should be 30% or lower. From the second layer, 100% of cooling fan should be used.
7. Storage and Reviving The performance of PLA 2 filament should not be affected for several months after the vacuum package is open. For better printing quality, we recommend storing your filament in a vacuum sealed bag with desiccant. If the filament is damp and brittle, you can dehydrate or revive it in an oven at 60°C - 80°C (140°F - 176°F) for about one or two hours.
8. Crossing/tangling All FilaCube filament rolls are wounded by machines. Machines will not create crossing/tangling issues. When a new spool is opened, the free end of the filament is secured on the spool. Filament crossing/tangling occurs when the free end is not properly secured or uncoiled filament spills over the edge of the flange. 3D printer users should always secure the loose end of the filament to prevent filament crossing/tangling.
9. More questions? If you have any questions regarding FilaCube filaments, please contact support@FilaCube.com and we will usually reply within 24 hours.
10. Win a free roll if you send support@FilaCube your tricks on printing FilaCube filament and we think it should be added to this list.
Recommendations from SuperheroDIY.
1. Nozzle temp - I do 220°C for the first layer, then reduce to 210°C for the subsequent layers.
2. Bed temp - I find that 60°C for the first layer, then reducing to 50°C results in good adhesion without warping/pulling up. This is in reverse of typical practice, as you rarely want to lower your bed temperature from the first layer (due to the same issue), but PLA 2 is different. Ensuring you have a good, well-adhered first layer, then cooling off a bit ensures your print stays on the bed for the duration of the print.
3. Print bed - Use rubbing alcohol to clean the print bed for each print. Sometimes a mixture of PVA glue and water on a smooth print surface helps bed adhesion for multiple parts with a small surface area (especially where it meets the bed).
4. Retraction - Using the right temperature helps retraction, but it definitely does need to be enabled. If there is stringing, a heat gun or hair dryer can help remove strings from a printed part.
More Tips for FilaCube PLA 2 Filament
Warping issue with FilaCube PLA 2 Filament.
In January 2019, a customer reported a warping issue when he printed big parts with FilaCube PLA 2 black filament. We asked the bed temperature he used. He said 70 degree Celsius. We suggested him to lower bed temperature to 60 degree Celsius or further lower. Then the warping issue was gone. Usually PLA 2 filaments don't need a heated bed. For PEI bed, 60 degree Celsius will make it easier to take off the prints.
Colorants in filament can cause variations
Customer: I purchased a black 1kg spool of your PLA 2 1.75 mm. I have several different colors of your filament that print great. But the black spool I purchased is not printing well at all.
The filament will do a few layers well then just do a terrible layer then print some good layers and soforth. I swapped out the filament for the Filacube PLA 2 Greenery and printed a few benchies no problem. I also tried swapping the FilaCube PLA 2 Engineering Gray and had successful prints. I can only conclude that the Black PLA 2 is a bad batch. Have you heard of others having issues with this color?
FilaCube Support: What is the print temperature you used? For black, you might need higher temperature.
Customer: I've been using 215°C.
FilaCube Support: Every printer is different. Some customers had jamming issues, and the issues were resolved by increasing printing temperature. Could you raise to 220 and try again? Also enable retraction.
Customer: I should have thought of that myself. Thanks for the reply, all I needed was a small temp increase. Didn't realize color could cause variations.
FilaCube Support: Colorants do have impact in the performance of filaments. We can notice differences in production. So there would be some differences on printers as well. It's not a huge difference though.
Stringing issue on Ender 3 with Cura as the slicer
One customer had one Ender 3 and used Cura as the slicer. He got a stringing issue and then complained "Stringing Stringing Stringing" on a website. We contacted the customer and helped him fix the issue. The fix was very simple. The stringing issue occurred when the retraction speed was set 60 mm/s on Cura. We suggested the customer to try retraction speed 25 mm/s on Cura. The stringing issue was reduced significantly. Then the customer further found the best settings were retraction distance 6.5 mm at retraction speed 20 mm/s on his printer. Why did this trick work? After studying the G-code created by Cura, it was found that Cura applies 'wiping nozzle' when retraction speed is low. This is a good example that we help our customers fix the issues they encountered. If you have an issue with printing with FilaCube filaments, please contact Support@FilaCube.com and our support team will try their best to help.
How to Print FilaCube 2.85mm PLA 2 filaments on a 3d Printer that uses 3mm filaments?
The nominal diameter of FilaCube 2.85mm filaments is 2.85mm, rather than 3.0mm. If there is a sensor set for 3mm, you can turn off the sensor or set the sensor to take 2.85mm filaments. If the prints are under-extrusion, you can increase the flow rate to 110% or 135%. You might need to try different flow rate for best results with your 3D printer.