I use Bambu matte PLA to print two of these last year and it looked great, I tried to print one using green Bambu PLA Silk+ and while it printed it has several artifacts making it unusable.
I did not change any settings, I just let the AMS Lite find the filament and pressed print. There are no air currents in my space duing the colder months. The ambient temp is from 23 to 27 C and the humidity drops to around 25% in November.
Maybe there are some tweaks to the settings for the silk that would help for this model?
I can’t say for sure about the issue you’re having but it sounds like all your filament is stored and used in open air?
Low ambient humidity for a couple of weeks won’t really dry filament that much. That’s a very slow process. Practically the best you can expect is just that it doesn’t pick up too much extra water. Water may or may not be a factor but since it printed well before with a possibly more forgiving filament, it might be water. Have you dried the filament before printing?
I actually store my filament in air tight containers with desiccant because the warmer months get fairly humid. This roll has been out for a few days. I printed some vase mode christmas trees and stuff like that with no problems, but that is a good thought. I will throw it in the dryer for a few hours.
I suspect, but am not sharp enough to know for sure, that there may be fan issues going on as well. For this model maybe I need raise or lower the fan speed, or change stuff for different layers. I am just not good enough at printing to have all the troubleshooting in my head at the same time.
I also thought about using variable layer heights. Not the end of the world of course, I just this neat model would look cool in silk. I have never worked with silk filament of any kind before.
Thank you for the idea. I should have started there to begin with.
No problem but I’m less sure that’s the problem but it’s all I could think of especially with the print having worked well before even with different filament.
Bambu’s Silk+ page emphasizes drying though.
About variable layer height, at least when I was messing with it, would use detail inside and outside the model to decide height resolution. The outer part of the model was very uniform but the inside had mountings and other detail that turned the model into a mess of layer thicknesses being adjusted all over the place. I haven’t looked at it since but there may have been improvements. It seems better suited to stuff that’s smooth inside and out but definitely should give it a try. What it was almost doing for me would have really improved the final prints.
My Bambu Silk needs drying and I live in a dry area. Store in sealed bags with desiccant. PLA Silk is prone to moisture issues I’ve learned. Even Bambu site advises to dry their Silk.
If nothing else has changed - no settings, etc id start here by drying. I’ve had similar look to my Silk PLA when not dried but also had the little moisture pockets. After air dry in a food dehydrator it works fine. Hope this is all it is.
The funny indented pattern doesn’t seem like moisture but the uneven shine to dull does but never know. Let’s see what happens after drying.
I dried it more, adjusted the fan speeds and temps from default based on what Gemini suggested. It was better, but still not usable up close. I am going to have to give up so I still have some green left. I bought green, red, gold, and white to make christmas stuff, but I had never used it before. My bad. Also, I did not dry it excessively to begin with. Another my bad. I think I will dry all of the silk+ for 8 hours each (which will take me a long time with my one dryer), and then just try some smaller moldes.
I appreciate both of you replying. I have been printing for several years now, but my brain is 50 years old and clogged with the residue of handfuls of prescription pills I have taken for years
