Test of PLA Rainbow Silk filament from ROSA3D

Decorative filaments are a wide group of materials usually based on PLA. These include “rainbow” materials, which are a blend of several different colors. Polish producer of materials for 3D printing – ROSA3D has created an original material PLA Rainbow Silk, characterized by a satin finish. Prints made of rainbow materials gain a unique look through gentle gradient color transitions.

Rosa 3D is a Polish manufacturer of filaments for 3D printing in FDM / FFF technology. Although the ROSA3D brand was established only in 2018, it has already made a wide range of materials for various applications, including industrial, technical and decorative. The introduction of a wide range of filaments in such a short time was possible thanks to over 40 years of experience in the production of plastics. The company’s offer includes standard plastics such as PLA, ABS, ASA or PET-G, as well as special materials, such as biodegradable BioWOOD filament or the described decorative, multi-colored PLA Rainbow Silk material. The company also has a wide range of filaments with carbon fiber additives. These are both technical materials (PET-G + CF and PA + 15CF) as well as hobby decorative materials (PET-G and PLA in the CarbonLook series) with a small percentage of filling with short fibers, which can be easily printed by novice printers.

The manufacturer’s materials comply with the requirements of the ISO 9001: 2015 quality control system standard. The products can be easily identified thanks to the EAN codes placed on the spools. The company cares about ecology and the natural environment, which can be seen not only in the care for ecological filament packaging, but also it is confirmed by the Integrated Management System, including the ISO 14001: 2015 standard of environmental care. 

The PLA Rainbow Silk filament is made on the basis of conventional PLA, so working with it is easy and hassle-free, even for inexperienced users. PLA is one of the most popular plastics used in the 3D printing industry, made from corn starch or sugar cane. The material is available in a wide range of colors, but when there is a need to create something really special, it can also be obtained in a “rainbow” version, which includes many gradients between different colors.

3D printing from this material can be performed on any 3D printer, with the use of a 3D printing profile dedicated for conventional PLA. It does not require reduction of the 3D printing speed and is characterized by low shrinkage and no emission of unpleasant odor. Details 3D printed with PLA Rainbow Silk have a high quality finish and exact reproduction of details. 

Material can be successfully used in decorative applications, production of interior design elements: lamp covers or vases. It is also dedicated to 3D printing of toys, key rings, pendants and personalized gifts with high quality surface. 

Each 3D printed model made of PLA Rainbow Silk has exceptional and unique combination of colors, which can be easily manipulated by changing the size of the printout and the infill density. Due to the manufacturing characteristics of such material, each spool contains an original set of colors. PLA Rainbow Silk is sold in 0.8 kg packages for PLN 129 gross per spool. The material can be purchased at the manufacturer’s store.

Working with filament 

The material is delivered in classic cardboard packaging with the manufacturer’s logo. The box has a small viewfinder, through which you can easily check the color of the plastic inside without opening the box. Each spool is vacuum-packed in a plastic string bag with a moisture absorber. 

Each spool begins with a different shade of the material, depending on the given production series. This is a characteristic feature of rainbow filaments, related to to the specificity of manufacturing this type of material. The transparent spool allows you to easily check the spectrum of colors wound on it, which is very useful at the planning stage of a 3D print.

As part of the tests, we got two “color versions” – the traditional PLA Rainbow Silk containing “all the colors of the rainbow” sequentially and PLA Rainbow Ocean Silk, in which there are many shades of blue, from turquoise to navy blue. Both materials have a silky gloss, both immediately on the spool and after the finished 3D printing process.

The test printouts were performed on Zortrax Inventure and Creality Ender-3 MAX with larger build volume 3D printers. Materal is easy to handle, producer suggests 3D printing with parameters for conventional PLA, with slightly higher temperatures, ranging from 185 to 225 Celsius degrees. A heated bed is not required, however a bed temperature of 40-60 ° C may be used. Air supply of 50-100% and 3D printing speed: 60-80 mm/s are recommended. The material can be 3D printed in the open working chamber and does not require any additional settings, such as changing the extrusion speed.

Filament does not cause problems during 3D printing, neither stringing, nor shrinking or warping. PLA Rainbow from ROSA 3D is characterized by good layer adhesion, it doesn’t emit any unpleasant odors during the process. Prints made of this material are characterized by a silk surface finish with a high gloss, which gives the elements additional aesthetic value. 

Post-processing is easy and quick – support structures are facile to remove. The whole post-treatment process can be performed using only cutters. With large prints, you can see many gentle color transitions that make the models much more interesting.

Summary 

It cannot be denied that the “rainbow” filament is dedicated primarily to hobbyists and amateurs of 3D printing, who will first appreciate its unique properties. Anyone who is bored with 3D printing with ordinary and dull colors can successfully experiment with Rainbow Silk, where the end result can be quite random, depending on the size of the print, but also its degree of filling, layer height, and even the number of supports generated by the program. It is also worth noting that the best visual effects are obtained on large and long prints, where the tonal transitions between colors are multiple.

PLA Rainbow Silk may be especially appealing for commercial areas, where such interesting color effects can add value to the project. In the field of industry, colors always have the secondary value.