PLA Woodfill filament is a difficult filament to master. What tips can we give from Filamentz for this? Then read on now!
What is PLA Woodfill filament
In recent years there has been a rise in 3D printing of exotic filaments. PLA Woodfill is one of them. This filament is characterized by simply being a PLA filament on the base. The advantage of this is that it can also be processed at the temperatures of normal PLA filament. Yet they manage to make it look like wood. This is purely due to the fact that they have incorporated wood chips into it. This creates some impressive effects but also some points of interest. A typical PLA Woodfill consists of approximately 70% PLA filament and approximately 30% Woodfill components. However, this may differ per brand and per type of PLA Woodfill that is offered.
Which 3D printer do you need for PLA Woodfill
You do not need a special 3D printer to print PLA Woodfill filaments. However, there are some settings you should keep an eye on and some recommended items. First of all, it is recommended to use a 'hardened' steel nozzle to print PLA Woodfill. The wood chips can sometimes be corrosive to the print head, causing it to wear out faster. We recommend using an E3D Hardened Steel nozzle for this. Subsequently, it can also be useful to use a slightly larger print head than you are normally used to, as the wood chips can sometimes be somewhat coarse in size and can therefore cause blockages. The minimum print head size we recommend is 0.4 mm, but 0.6 mm or 0.8 mm is fine for processing PLA Woodfill.
Preventing 'stringing' with PLA Woodfill
A common problem when printing PLA filaments that contain wood is that there is a lot of 'stringing'. This means that the print purchase releases unwanted material due to the properties of PLA Woodfill . These loose pieces of material can be avoided with the right settings and sometimes a little patience. First of all, the print head temperature is important. A typical PLA Woodfill will give approximately a range of 190 - 220 degrees Celsius processing temperature. A good starting point is to start low, between 190 – 200 degrees Celsius at a normal layer height. Try to vary this to find a temperature where there are few loose particles and the 3D print still looks good. Another option to prevent 'stringing' of PLA Woodfill is to increase your retraction in the software of your 3D printer. Do this in steps of 0.1 mm and choose the correct value together with the temperature setting. Finally, if the settings are correct and there is still minimal stringing, you could consider using a hair dryer or other heat source to remove the threads. Care must be taken to ensure that the workpiece is not allowed to become too hot, otherwise it will deform.
Finishing PLA Woodfill filament
The most fun part of printing with PLA Woodfill filament is post-processing and finishing it to actually enhance the wood look. This can be done in several ways, but we describe the most common ones below. First of all, it is good to check the 3D printed model for errors. Loose pieces of material that can easily be removed with a heat source or a sharp knife. Then it is important to sand the 3D printed PLA Woodfill model as desired. Our advice is to start with a coarse grit (100 for example) and work up to approximately 500. Ensure that the model is smooth and there are no visible sanding marks. After this, the model must be stained. This is best done by taking a cloth and applying a little and finishing the model as desired with the stain. Finally, you can opt for a transparent layer of coating, so that it is protected from all weather influences and UV light.
Conclusion PLA Woodfill filament
Although PLA Woodfill is generally seen as a filament for the advanced user, great success can be achieved with a few simple settings and some patience. It is easy to process, excellent after-treatment and, with some patience, can also be used to create very beautiful visual models. PLA Woodfill is available in rolls of 1 kilo , which is more than sufficient for the most large and complex models.