Silk PLA prints in different shades
Hi, can someone tell me what I can do about my Silk PLA+ (Sunlu) printing different shades in certain areas? Or what might be causing this? It seems to be related to the areas where it also prints the letter punches, but not everywhere... maybe it's the different printing speeds? I haven't had this issue with other filaments so far, and I haven't found any solutions online either... I hope you can help =) Best regards, Emma
Best Answer by hkruse:
You don't really need to print everything at a slow speed, only the "External perimeters" and, perhaps, the top surface ("Top solid infill"). I usually set these values to 30 or 35 when printing Silk PLA. (In Print Settings -> Speed). If your designs have flat top surfaces then you also might want to change the "Top fill pattern" to "Concentric", so there is no difference in print direction between the center part of the top surface and the perimeters.
With Silk PLA slight surface defects (banding, ringing etc.) tend to be more visible than with regular PLA, because the reflections amplify the effect. You may want to try switching back from Arachne to Classic (Layers and Perimeters -> Perimeter Generator). This can sometimes help with surface defects that are caused by changes in the interior structure of the object.
RE: Silk PLA prints in different shades
Could be speed but it could also be printing direction. If after slicing you examine the preview you can change what data it is showing. One of those is speed. You can check the speed easily that way. You can also use a combination of the side and bottom sliders to step through the gcode and it will visulise the nozzle movement so you can also check the printing direction that way.
RE: Silk PLA prints in different shades
Hi, I've meanwhile found out that if I set the value "Print slower when layer print time is less than" (under Filament > Cooling) significantly higher, the problem is mostly resolved. Additionally, the print now also shines much more (it prints much slower overall). However, there are still color differences at the very bottom and very top. The color there is overall more matte... Is it possible to adjust the print (slightly) so that it prints everything at the same speed? I haven't figured out exactly how to adjust that yet... when I once set everything to the same value for speed, the different rings also appeared (see pictures above)... Best regards, Emma
RE: Silk PLA prints in different shades
You don't really need to print everything at a slow speed, only the "External perimeters" and, perhaps, the top surface ("Top solid infill"). I usually set these values to 30 or 35 when printing Silk PLA. (In Print Settings -> Speed). If your designs have flat top surfaces then you also might want to change the "Top fill pattern" to "Concentric", so there is no difference in print direction between the center part of the top surface and the perimeters.
With Silk PLA slight surface defects (banding, ringing etc.) tend to be more visible than with regular PLA, because the reflections amplify the effect. You may want to try switching back from Arachne to Classic (Layers and Perimeters -> Perimeter Generator). This can sometimes help with surface defects that are caused by changes in the interior structure of the object.
RE: Silk PLA prints in different shades
Great, I'll give that a try in the next few days! I'll report back with the results. Thanks! =)
RE:
I finally got around to implementing and testing the suggestions. I am more than thrilled with the result. Actually, it's quite simple with the Outer Contours. Of course, it's very helpful when you also get the tip for the right speed! Many, many thanks! What I changed from the default settings: 33 speed for outer and upper contours (also as a precaution for the general contours and thin contours), and I turned off Dynamic Speed. For the upper and lower gray parts, I used Archimedean arcs. It worked better for this than Concentric. Now it's also fun to print with Silk PLA. Was starting to despair =)
