Copymaster 3D 300 - The Filament role call. V4.0 Final

Intro

Here are my general findings about various filaments that I have used in the Copymaster 3D 300. There are plenty of reviews out there, some of them are quite good, this is an unbiased view on each of the ones I have used and quite possibly more of a reminder for me than anything else.  

This was a regularly updated blog entry which was last updated 25/01/2021

Settings have been added for reference to see what I had to do to make them work. Generally it is not a lot but you will see variations in quality control showing up through these figures. Images are there for examples. I haven't done benchmark tests between the different filaments as I am always modifying my machines and how I print so it wouldn't be fare. I'll leave that to Youtube influencers and the like.

As this page was getting a bit confusing, I have now limited this one to filaments used on the Copymaster 3D 300 sliced in Cura. Head here for the Prusa i3 Mk3s based reviews.


PLA

3D Jake

Date: 2020
Weight of new roll: 1.254kg
Diameter as measured: 1.70mm
Flow rate:120%
Nozzle temp: 200℃
Bed Temp: 50℃
Fan: 100%
Speed: 50mm/s

Quick note: I only got these rolls during my faceshiled printing days of 2020. It measured up a bit on the skinny side which seems to be pretty common with low cost filaments. That aside it was printed on the basic sliced settings without causing major issues. 

Amz3D

Date: 2019
Weight of new roll: -
Diameter as measured: 1.70mm
Flow rate:95%
Nozzle temp: 200℃
Bed Temp: 45℃
Fan: 100%
Speed: 50mm/s
Quick note: Prints well, Gold looks like custard though.
I have used the white and gold which quality wise are on par with the others. Measures quite thin and I had under extrusion issues when I changed to it so had to bump up my flow rate even after changing the nominal diameter down. I would not recommend the gold purely for aesthetic reasons. The quality of prints has been as good as any.  

Creality

Date: 2019
Weight of new roll: -
Diameter as measured: 1.70mm
Flow rate:120%
Nozzle temp: 210℃
Bed Temp: 50℃
Fan: 100%
Speed: 50mm/s
Quick note: Temperatures and flow rates are just what this current print file is set to which I am sticking everything through whilst printing face shield frames. Measurement was consistently 0.05mm under size which is disappointing but is wound nicely on the spool like Sunlu which I always take as a good sign normally... But then I had a big blockage on this roll caused by a tangle. Once settled in however; it printed okay. 
Even with a slight flow increase it still looked a bit under extruded to me.  I tried bumping the temp up to 230 but that just made more stringing. I probably won't buy this filament again.

Prusa basic

Date: 2019
Weight of new roll: -
Diameter as measured: 1.725mm
Flow rate:120%
Nozzle temp: 230℃
Bed Temp: 60℃
Fan: 100%
Speed: 50mm/s

Quick note: settings were just the base settings for the face shields I was printing.
I printed one large batch of 16 face shields and lower supports (that big build plate getting some use!) and it used about 95% of the roll. Came out looking pretty good. Comparable to all of the other good PLA brands I have bought. Colour is pretty nice too with a slightly glittery finish. 

Sunlu

Date: 2019
Weight of new roll: -
Diameter as measured: 1.74-1.72mm
Flow rate:86%
Nozzle temp: 200℃
Bed Temp: 45℃
Fan: 100%
Speed: 50mm/s
Quick note: Prints nicely. tidily spooled
First purchase for me and has felt like the best quality so far. It is well priced and the little effort taken to spool the filament tidily helps me feel that jamming will not be an issue. Everything I have printed has come out nicely. price point can be very low some times so a good brand to look for.  
Sunlu filaments generally are found on eBay and as such is wide open for counterfeit items. I don't think I have had the same packaging once in any of my order and the print quality has varied widely with it. At its best, it is as good as any other filament, at worst it is a paint in the ass to use.

Technology Outlet

Date: 2018
Weight of new roll: -
Diameter as measured: 1.72mm
Flow rate:86%
Nozzle temp: 200℃
Bed Temp: 45℃
Fan: 100%
Speed: 50mm/s
Quick note: Good print quality, came with the printer and works great.
Prints semi translucent in a pleasant red colour. Everything has come out consistently. The shop is well priced so I would certainly buy more from them in the future. This example is an early print with some off settings but still came out acceptably.

Tronxy

Date: 2019
Weight of new roll: -
Diameter as measured: 1.70mm
Flow rate:95%
Nozzle temp: 200℃
Bed Temp: 45℃
Fan: 100%
Speed: 50mm/s
Quick note: Good print quality with slow colour transition and questionable cleanliness.
Purchased for me in a colour change roll. The print quality has been good. In fact a unicorn bust print particularly impressed me with this PLA. The colour change is over a long distance so if you want a few colours in one print you will need to print large items, in batches or use a lot of infill. I had printed 3 items and was still on the first colour!
One negative here is that the roll had some black dirt on it which rains down off the spool as it turns onto the printing bed. I haven't had a problem with a print yet but I expect to.

PET-g

As a rule, PET-g does not work on the Copymaster 3D printers. It cant get hot enough to extrude cleanly and the cooling is insufficient to stop the whole print ending in a furry mess. I have had some limited success with it though so here is what I have managed:

Prusa PPE

Date: 2020
Still noticeably uneven but just about adhering on the high end
Weight of new roll: - 1.214kg
Diameter as measured: -1.72mm
Flow rate:-120%
Nozzle temp: - 235℃
Bed Temp: - 60℃
Fan: 75%
Speed: 35mm/s
Quick note: This is specifically the PPE variant of their PETg. The price is better and Prusa are able to spit this stuff out fast to help support people printing face shields for key workers. The knock on for the price is a lower tolerance for the diameter of the filament and spool tidiness. As with the SUNLU it does not print easily on the Copymaster 3D. This first layer has been going down more tidily but this could be more reflective of extensive bed leveling improvements than the filament itself.

SUNLU

SUNLU PET-G (left) PLA (right) CM3D
Black:
Date: 2019
Weight of new roll: -
Diameter as measured: 1.72mm
Flow rate:125%
Nozzle temp: 220℃
Bed Temp: 60℃
Fan: 100%
White:
Date: 2020
Weight of new roll: -
Diameter as measured: 1.75mm
Flow rate:112%
Nozzle temp: 235℃
Bed Temp: 60℃
Fan: 75%
Speed: 35mm/s
Not going well then

Quick Note:  The black is reflective of the smaller items I was printing and will no doubt creep up in temp when I come back to it. For this the print quality is a little messier than PLA with good bed adhesion to bake up for that a little. Small simple items print a piece of cake where stringing is internally contained for the most part. When things get a bit bigger with large gaps however, things get very messy very quickly. 
 I have had all kinds of trouble with the white which has terrible stringing and adhesion issues. I have read that some batches of SUNLU PETg need to be printed at 245 80 which the Copymaster 3D  not capable of. A marked improvement was made by slowing down printing. Sunlu filaments generally are found on eBay and as such is wide open for counterfeit items. I don't think I have had the same packaging once in any of my order and the print quality has varied widely with it. At its best, it is as good as any other filament, at worst it is a paint in the ass to use.

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