Exploring Marswork PLA Silk

In the 13+ years I have been using and writing about 3D printing, I have rarely felt the need to use SILK PLA.  Most of our designs are utilitarian and industrial in nature that don't benefit all that much by adding bling. We'd had a few spools of Silk but used them very sparingly and never as our primary choice in colors.

But, we do create and print some objects for the holidays that definitely could be enhanced by all that Silk PLA brings to the table if, and only if, we could do so reliably with little additional effort.

Our first thought, of course, revolved around Christmas.  Everybody expects bling at Christmas! 

So, we picked up some Red, Green, Silver and Gold from Amazon to test. 

And, because we'd had such good luck with Marswork filaments, along with the added benefits of the Quick-Swap spool system,  the obvious choice for exploring Silk PLA had to be Marswork's line.

Upon receiving them we immediately printed some test colorimeter swatches with ironed top surfaces.

Wow!  They are STUNNING!  There is a reason for the "Silk" description!

First Marswork Silk PLA Samples

The only concessions needed to make in our print settings had to do with the bed type we like to use.  We use a Frostbite bed using the Coolplate Supertack settings for normal PLA.  And, we use Bambu Labs profiles for all Marswork PLA.  But, Bambu Labs' Silk PLA definitions gave us warnings about using Coolplate Supertack.  The work around was simply to use Generic Silk settings and a custom 50 degree setting for the Supertack plate in the filament's profile.  It printed perfectly with no warping at all.

Seeing the result, and especially the brightness of the gold, gave us an immediate idea for a first test print.  (There are actually three 'gold' offerings from Marswork in the Silk PLA line.)

One of the favorite items we have designed and printed over the years is a customized heart shaped candy box with a top, having a variety of available patterns, that we normally print in red with white trim.  

Heart Shaped Gift Box

 

As luck would have it, we were invited to a favorite aunt's 95th birthday So, we decided to print her a custom heart box using the Candy Red and Gold Silk PLA.  (Her name and a message is inside.)  

This is the result.

Marswork Silk PLA Heart Box

 She loved it and it was big hit with all the other guests.  One even asked how we added the metal trim!

It behaved surprisingly well during the print run.  There were no issues with warping or stringing.  So, from our perspective, it is going to be well worth our efforts to design custom holiday gifts using silk PLA.  I'm really looking forward to what we are able to deliver thanks to the bling Marswork is capable of producing that is so easy to print. 

We ordered the Dark Gold and will be ordering the Rose Gold as well. just to see the additional possibilities.