Silk PLA + Temp Towers + Print Speed question

[thingamajig]

This morning in Bambu Studio this wiki was suggested reading and since I have several Silk PLA filaments I was very interested. The tl;dr; is that silk filaments should be printed at a lower speed with a higher temperature.

I’ve had my X1C for about a week and with each new filament I try I run the 2 calibrations (flow rate and flow dynamics) in Bambu Studio. I then print with the system presets and I will make changes to infill, walls, brim, etc as I deem necessary but I do not change any of the speed numbers. So far I have printed a few things with PLA, PLA Silk, and PETG and I have been very happy with the results.

I print mainly Sunlu PLA Silk and according to the Sunlu’s website here are the specs:

Model : Silk
Diameter Format： 1.75mm
Print Temp.： 205-215℃
Tolerance： ±0.02mm
Print Speed： 50-100mm/s
Platform Temp： Depends on the platform: No need or 60-80℃
Tensile Strength： 6-11kgf
Melt Flow Rate： 7-9g/10min(190℃,2.16kg)

I’ve read mixed recommendations when it comes to temp towers. So I am not sure if I am wasting my time and material printing them because wouldn’t speed be a factor in how the temp tower looks?

And if Silk PLA performs better at a slower speed would I be better off lowering the max volumetric speed for the filament from 7.5 to 5.0? From my limited understanding, the max volumetric speed will apply to all speeds and not just one (ie. wall speed).

I would prefer to do as much tuning up front with my filaments so then I can just print. I am sure I will encounter ambient temperature or moisture issues down the road but I want to set myself up for success as much as possible.

[vladimir.minkov]

Yes Volumetric speed , will limit maximum speed for everything , you can inspect the actual speeds from the preview .

Don’t bother doing all calibrations up-front as you will see that sometimes that depends on filament batch, model and environment, and with the time you will start tunning specific fan speeds.

If the models are printing fine , just print , until a problem and then … waste time

The must calibrations are: flow rate , and dynamic flow(K/PA), do not use the automatic flow calibration with in the print at best is waste of 3 minutes time and space on the plate

I stopped doing temp tower, as in most cases default temp for the material is fine but in some cases i do . When temp of the nozzle changes more than a few degrees i do flow rate and and dynamic flow(K/PA) again . Also doing it with each new material batch i get as noticed that varies quite a bit

Other nice test to do for speed is Max flowrate and VFA( gives you the max print speed for the material) . I do it once per material from specific manufacture , but with time you kinda get what is best speed and max volumetric speed and stopped doing that as well . example is PETG is only printed at half of the maximum possible speed due to other reasons , similar to other materials ( either better adhesion , or to get shiny effect, opr to reduce warping and etc )

To have a nice tunning i would suggest get Orca Slicer it has all the calibrations more straight forward and better than Bambu Studio

Probably good test in advance is the overhang

Happy printing

EDIT: Volumetric speed limits max speed , but i found it better to control individual speeds as gets a bit more speed and you can control individually Outer wall /Infiill so for Example PETG can be printed to around 150mm/S inner wall, but the external laws needs to be printed to around 70 mm/S or less and sparse infill can be pushed close to 200mm/S . So i prefer to create a profile for the Material and usually two profiles fast and slow depending on the task type and end result . After VFA - test i suse the value for infills , and the walls are reduced by 20 % for the fast print . For the slow prints depends it comes with the problems i see adhesion , or shiny effect

[milosz.kwiat]

I am having some issues all
i have been printing the last week with silk both generic and bambu.

Every post i have read has indicated slow speeds for a great finish

My current values:
Low outer wall speed-40
Lower inner speed -80
lower top surface -60

overhangs - 40 20 10 10
bridge 50
gap infill 300

acceleration 5000
outer wall 3000

i have run my prints from 220 to 240 all will similar results
the fans are running 100% besides the first layer
i have also used a external cpu fan at the front door to have help with cooling due to the low speed

the volumetric was 7.5 cooling max threshold layer time 8

Here are some pics of the issues and its pretty much consistent on all the prints

Does anyone have. clue what i should change or try. Starting to get frustrated with this silk printing. I have not had any issues with regular pla both bambu and generic

thank in advance

[user_1898610504]

I’ve been printing dragons with Silk PLA with great success on my Bambu P1P.with brands such as Yousu, Kingroon, and eSun.
Initial Layer: 20 mm/s
Initial Layer infill 20mm/s
Outer Wall 30mm/s
Inner Wall 60mm/s
Sparse Infill 70mm/s (gyroid pattern)
Internal solid infill 60mm/s
Top surface 30mm/s
Overhang speeds 30mm/s (10%,25%), 20 (25%,50%) 15 (50%, 75%), 10 (75%,100%)
Bridge 30mm/s
Gap infill 60mm/s
Initial layer Temp 220C, Other layers 220C
Smooth PEI Plate Initial Layer 70C, Other Layers 60C
Cooling Min fan speed threshold 50%, Max fan speed threshold 50%
Fan speed for overhangs 100%
No cooling for the first 1 layer
Slow printing down for better layer cooling = Yes
Retraction Length 0.6mm
Retraction Speed 50mm/s
Layer Height limits Min 0.04mm Max 0.12mm

I’m printing with both 0.2mm and 0.4mm nozzles. I’m also using variable layer height with a 0.5 quality setting and 2 for smoothing.
I experienced stringing when my temps were higher at 230C and before I changed the retraction settings as noted above. Lowering the fan speed was crucial to good layer to layer adhesion.

[Mpflies2]

First time printing silk. Using eSun Rainbow Silk PLA. Used all of your settings to the letter. Getting those little protrusions seen in the photo on the right side. What setting changes are needed to correct that?

New to printing btw. Still learning. Thanks in advance!

(hopefully photo following up the comment. First time posting here and it won’t let me embed a photo in the post even though theres a photo upload icon on the reply box window)

[JonRaymond]

Once you level up to “Basic User” from “New User” you will be able to post images.

Welcome to the forum.

[Mpflies2]

<img src="https://imgur.com/LgqmY6F">

I couldn’t get that to post to save my life

[JonRaymond]

Those look like they could be seams. If you look at the render in the Preview tab in Bambu Studio, does the White “Seams” mimic what you see on the model?

[Mpflies2]

yes. When turning on seams, they are in the exact same spot. Anything to reduce it?

[JonRaymond]

Here is the Bambu wiki page for dealing with the different seam options.

Seam

There are some good youtube videos that further explain tips for hiding seams.

Getting Rid of Z-Seams on Bambu Labs 3D Printers?

[Mpflies2]

thanks for the quick replies! I’ll do another print to test. Thanks!