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59 Karma

Review on Revolutionize Your Prints with Proto-Pasta Composite Brass HTPLA by Mike Carter

Revainrating 4 out of 5

Great filament, although can be tricky

I've printed over 14 kg (32 lbs) of PLA Magnetic Iron, which is probably more than any other filament I've ever printed or used . What I love about this yarn is the realistic look once the print has rusted. This is particularly useful as I work in the railway industry where many of the prints are for display purposes and the rusty look immediately catches people's attention - see attached photos of the reduced R36 switch post. Although this thread has its caveats. First off, I've found that a geared extruder is practically essential to successfully print this filament. I'm not saying you can't get good printing without it, but it just helps. Second, I have a Bowden setup and have had countless successful prints, but I need to increase the extruder flow rate by about 10% to avoid under-extrusion issues. Third, I have to print much slower (<35mm/s) than regular PLA, although that makes sense since there are literally iron particles in the filament. Fourth, I need to print my print at a higher level of the recommended temperature range of 235°C. Finally, as other people have said, nozzle clogs are a lot more common than usual with this filament. To prevent this I made the adjustments mentioned above, but I also found that reducing the retract distance to around 3mm (less might be good) was also very helpful. But don't think you can just load the filament, start printing and go all the way on the first use and have no problems which is why I'm giving it four stars.

Pros
  • 3D printing filament
Cons
  • Only available in white