by Properties
- Manufacturer: Proto-pasta
- Color: Steel-Filled Metal Composite
- Printability: Easy, if you have a hardened nozzle
- Enclosure: no
Summary
Proto-Pasta Steel-Filled Metal PLA has a high percentage of steel particles. This filament is similar to Proto-Pasta’s Iron PLA, but the color is a little different and the filament is nonmagnetic (whereas the Iron PLA) is. This filament sample came with a recommendation to use an 0.6mm Nozzle or larger. and to use a hardened nozzle. We printed these models using our 0.4 E3D Nozzle-X, which is hardened, but is smaller than the recommendation. We did not experience any clogs during the printing.
The most distinguishing feature of these proto pasta metal fills is the additional density. The steel particles add significant weight to the model, giving it the feeling that these are cast metal models rather than plastic. They also do a really good job of hiding the layer lines. If you’re looking for an exotic filament that really does seem exotic, then one of these metal fills is just the thing for you!
We printed four models, Pascal the Chameleon by Alsamen. as well as our usual “Yet Another Filament Sample Keycard Edition” and a Sir Layersalot at 60%. There was some extra filament, so we had enough to print an XYZ calibration cube as well. All of the models turned out very nice, though there was a lifted corner on the filament sample — this surprised us, as usually we don’t have any problems with corner lifts. Maybe our build plate wasn’t clean, or something else went wrong.
We do highly recommend this filament if you want something that looks like cast metal, and you do not want it to be attracted to magnets. If you are looking something that will attract magnets, then the iron filament would be the choice. If you simply don’t care, then it just comes down to the color.
Close-Ups
As you may notice, we had a few small dropouts on the bottom of the keycard sample. The top of the keycard looked fine:
Do you have a favorite metal-fill filament? If so, let us know! What kind of interesting things would you print in a metal-fill?