Filament Report - SUNLU PLA Meta
Filament Report - SUNLU PLA Meta
General Experience
SUNLU promotes its PLA Meta (View on amazon) as featuring unusual properties such as low viscosity, minimal stringing, and enabling low-temperature printing to conserve energy. In practice, most prints indeed show no stringing at any temperature, even with minimal retraction settings. The filament’s excellent flow from the nozzle enhances bed adhesion and prevents the filament from becoming “stiff,” which could otherwise impact adhesion to both the bed and previously deposited layers. Additionally, the filament’s tendency to slump and smooth out conceals layer lines, unlike filaments that maintain a rounded shape. The primary downside to this low viscosity is nozzle oozing during idle periods, suggesting the need to lower the nozzle’s standby temperature to around 170°C.
Surface Finish/Appearance
This filament line comes in fashionable “macaron” colors, characterized by solid, opaque hues with a creamy off-white base. The green variant, subject to lighting and camera angle, sometimes appears teal-bluish. Its prints are notably opaque with a glossy surface finish. However, the filament’s fluidity can compromise the clarity of detailed features, such as inset lettering.
Settings
Temperature
The spool label suggests a typical printing temperature range of 180-220°C, while SUNLU’s website advises an unusually low range of 185-195°C.
The temperature tower test reveals nearly perfect results across all temperatures, with minimal stringing and outstanding bridging capabilities. However, detailed features like inset text were poorly defined, indicative of the filament’s excessive fluidity. Poor interlayer adhesion was evident at 180°C, and minor imperfections were noted at temperatures of 210°C and above. Given these observations and a desire for strong parts, we opted for 210°C, aligning with other PLA filaments and ensuring high print strength. Despite SUNLU’s recommendation, we avoided the lowest advised temperature due to concerns about interlayer adhesion.
Retraction
A retraction distance test conducted at 210°C yielded exceptionally good results, showing no stringing even at a minimal 1mm retraction setting. This encouraged continued use of the 210°C setting.
Parts printed with 1mm retraction displayed light stringing, which decreased with 2mm retraction and was entirely absent at 3mm.
Fan
We maintained Cura’s default fan settings due to the Ender 3 V2 Neo’s limited cooling capabilities and the necessity for PLA cooling. This decision was validated by the absence of significant stringing in small-layer retraction test parts.
Test Prints
The nano all-in-one 3D printer test showed unexpected stringing and evidence of filament pulling off before solidifying, suggesting a need for lower printing temperatures for such intricate parts.
Despite these issues, overhang and bridging tests generally exhibited excellent performance, with adjustments to 200°C and a 2mm retraction setting improving results, particularly for a Benchy print which turned out exceptionally well, despite minor anomalies.
The Cali Cat print demonstrated the filament’s glossy finish and precision in detail rendering, with minimal stringing observed.
Various Christmas-themed prints, including the Ice Christmas Tree and a Swirly Holiday Tree, showcased the filament’s suitability for festive decorations, yielding glossy, smooth finishes and adhering well to the print bed even for large, intricate designs.
Overall, while minor issues like stringing in complex parts required adjustments, SUNLU PLA Meta generally excelled in producing high-quality prints with its glossy finish and strong bed adhesion. The filament’s performance in detailed and decorative items highlights its versatility and capability to handle both detailed models like the Cali Cat and larger, more intricate designs such as holiday-themed trees. Its ease of use, combined with the ability to fine-tune settings for optimal results, makes it a strong candidate for a wide range of 3D printing projects, from functional parts to festive decor.