Purple PLA Filament

1 Kg (2.2 lbs) spool of Purple PLA 3D Printing filament. When printed, our Purple PLA will have a glossy, opaque finish (printed parts look very crisp).

PLA, aka Polylactic Acid, is a multipurpose material commonly used in 3D printing. PLA is a bioplastic, which means it is made from renewable natural resources such as corn starch and tapioca products. As a biodegradable material it is much better for the environment, especially compared to petrochemical-based alternatives (such as ABS). PLA is biodegradable and is the most environmentally friendly 3D printing material you can find. As 3D printing turns into the next industrial revolution, printing with environmentally friendly materials like PLA will become increasingly important. PLA naturally degrades when exposed to the environment. If PLA is placed in the ocean, it will fully degrade within 6 months to 2 years. Contrast that to conventional plastics which take 1000 years and you can see why PLA is such an environmental hero. At the same time PLA maintains incredible strength and holds up very well well used in normal household applications.

Our PLA is expertly formulated to give you the perfect filament for beginners and novices alike. We recommend that newbies stick to PLA while getting their feet wet because it truly is the most accessible and easy to work with material. PLA is a beautiful material because it has an excellent strength profile while printing without shrinkage. Additionally, PLA sticks to the bed very well. ABS is an excellent alternative but you do have to navigate the waters of shrinkage and bed adhesion to master ABS.

Our PLA is compatible with nearly all 3D printers, including RepRap derivatives and those from MakerBot (such as the Replicator and Replicator 2), Ultimaker, Bits from Bytes, Airwolf3D, Makergear, Printrbot, Bukobot, Type A Machines, Solidoodle, Leapfrog, and pretty much every other printer! If you have questions about a specific printer not listed, please contact us.

At Printer Playground, we tend to favor PLA as our default printing material due to its high strength and minimal warping.

Recommended Extrusion Temperatures: 185C-205C

Spool Dimensions (Aprox.): 200mm Total Diameter x 50mm Inner Hole Diameter x 65mm Height

Dimensional Accuracy: ±0.05mm

All filament comes sealed in a bag with desiccant. We recommend keeping it stored that way until you are ready to use it. Spools not in use should be kept in an airtight container.

Tips and Tricks for Printing in PLA Like a Pro

• Get the first layer right! Most prints succeed or fail based on the first layer. Be sure to level the print bed and to home the printer. Then print onto Kapton tape to help make sure your print sticks to the bed throughout the whole print. An alternative to printing on Kapton tape is to print with a heated bed and print straight onto glass. Heat the bed to 70C.
• If your first layer fails to stick to the bed then be sure you have a level bed, make sure the print head is close enough to the bed, and make sure you have run the extruder before beginning the print.
• Temperature is King - each time you try a new filament realize that you may need to experiment with the ideal print temperature for your machine. Each machine is a little different so start with our suggested range (185C-205C) and move up or down in 5 degree increments until your prints look perfect.
• If you are printing too hot, your print will look stringy or your extruder will look like it is leaking filament.
• If you are printing too cold you will notice that your filament is having trouble adhering to each layer and the surface will look very ruff.