Quality FDM filament, any suggestions of best makes please

[Hayfield1]

In Templot we are now turning to FDM printing for far more detail work and Martin Wynn has come to the conclusion that PLA+ is most suited for our purposes as it combines strength and flexibility

An example is last year we found we could print chairs in 7mm scale and above, in fact we can print track bases with chairs (We call the method COT).

For whatever reason I have been using Esun PLA+ without too many issues, Martin Wynn suggested I try Sunlu PLA+, so brought a reel a few months ago

Recently we have been trying to print 4mm scale COT track bases, well using Sunlu the prints come out exceedingly well but other makes of filament we use are in short unacceptable/step too far

Anyway we now are coming to the conclusion that as well as the type of filament being important, seemingly so is the brand.

Any suggestions/recommendations please

John

 

[Paul_H]

I've been using Esun PLA+ recently without problem. Chris Rennie of Loco Remote uses this too and his results look as good as FDM gets. I also really liked Bambu Labs PLA matte.
The only problem filament I've had trouble with was Sunlu PLA+ which was terrible when trying to print with a 0.2 nozzle and also has been the only reel I've used that started tangling up in normal use.

I've found that a very major factor in successful FDM printing is ensuring the filament is properly dry. A dryer is a pretty important investment to get the best from any filament. Being dry out of the sealed pack can't even be relied on.

 

[John_B]

Following Martin's recommendation I tried Sunlu PLA+ and it worked well with the small amount of 7mm COT track I've printed. I did just the usual basic tuning on my Qidi Q1 Pro using Orca Slicer, so could probably do even better. It's the only brand of PLA+ I've tried so far.

It's been between 7 and 10 degrees C in my 3D printer room all winter, with high humidity, and I've been using up my old stock of PLA, including a roll of Geeetech light green that I never managed to get a decent print from, even though every other colour of Geeetech I've tried has been pretty good. I've been feeding it from my new Sovol filament dryer with the heater running, and the results have been far better than I've ever achieved before, and perfectly adequate for what I'm printing at the moment, which doesn't include COT track! The dryer doesn't cost much to run. I can see how using a dryer could make a general improvement with printing, and at other times of the year, especially in a 200 year old West Wales house. When I get back to trying COT track I'll try to do a comparison.

 

[Hayfield1]

I have been using Esun PLA plus for Templot COT track in 7mm, until I started using Sunlu, admittedly now with a dryer, but I have Esun in the same dryer and the detail and continuity is so much better with Sunlu