So I’ve had the Flashforge Creator Pro 2 for a couple months now, and I’m still enjoying it. I’ve not really done much practical with it yet, but I’m still having fun with my prints. Plus, it’s a hobby, not a profession 🙂
Anyway, I wanted to take it to the next level and try a wood filament, specifically the SUNLU 3D Printer Wood PLA Filament.
First print – Mando helmet
The Mando helmet seems to be my replacement for the Benchy, it seems to to be my go to first print these days. So the PLA says a print temperature of 170-190°C, so I started with 180°C for my first print, with the below settings:
Then I put some disappearing purple glue on the build plate and started a print. Here’s the result:
The first thing I noticed was that the left side was ever so slighly off the build plate, so I’d probably use a raft if I printed it again, or more glue, but actually, overall, I’m happy with this.
Second print – Baby Groot waving
My next print was Baby Groot, waving, which seemed like the natural choice for a wood PLA print. I used the same settings as about, and here’s the result:
There is some bobbling, mostly on the legs, but nothing major, it will file/sand down easy enough, but I think if I was to print with this much detail again, I’d take the temperature up 5-10°C. That said, I think it adds a little something to Groot, as he looks a like more weathered.
Conclusion
In conclusion, I like this SUNLU 3D Printer Wood PLA Filament, but I wouldn’t really say it’s wood effect at all, it’s just a pale wood colour (at best), nothing more. Would I buy it again, probably not, but the true test will be how good a job it does when I print some Harry Potter wands for my daughter, because if they come out well, then I can see myself buying a lot more of it, but without a real purpose/need for this Wood PLA, I’d prefer to stick with a normal or silk PLA.
Please also note, this is a new hobby for me, and I haven’t ventured into the advanced settings yet, as for the most part, I find the basic controls are enough. But I know that will change in the near future.