Silk PLA is easily one of the most popular filaments modern-day 3D printing enthusiasts use to create some of the most fabulous designs. From metallic surfaces to silky-looking, beautiful products, everything is doable in an easy way.
Thanks to the smooth finish, people love to print items like figurines, ornaments, jewelry, and a lot more. But if you’re someone who is looking to start a business with the goodness of Silk PLA, then you should know its positives and negatives.
In this article, we are going to discuss Silk PLA and its colorfastness. Does the color fade over time? And if you’re starting a business, is it something that you should choose for your business or personal endeavors?
Let’s find out.
Why Silk PLA?
The first major concern that most people have when it comes to Silk PLA is whether it is even worth using. When it comes to manufacturers, they usually add some kind of additives,including polyester and even pigments, to make this a winning success. This gives you a beautiful silk finish, no matter what you’re printing.
Thanks to its luxurious design and a beautiful look, people often sought out 3D printed objects that are done using the Silk PLA. Lastly, the surface of Silk PLA reflects in a way where you can see curves if not printed properly. Hence, this unique appearance is a double-edged sword, meaning it can be either productive for you or it can make the color fade over time.
Now that we’ve set aside the basics of Silk PLA, an even bigger question comes, what exactly is color fastness and why does it matter?
Colorfastness – A Property Often Associated with Silk PLA
Colorfastness is a term that is often associated with things like jewelry and even Silk PLA. This term basically explains to us how resistant a material color is to color fading and other things. When it comes to the clothing, clothes are exposed to sunlight, washing, and rubbing, to see whether they lose their color or not.
But since we’re talking about 3D printers here, color fastness incorporates the resistance of Silk PLA to things like UV, Moisture, chemicals,rubbing, scratching, and a lot more. Let’s take each of these things one by one to see if there is any notable damage to be done and whether you should avoid printing with Silk PLA or not.
Does Silk PLA’s Color Fade Over Time?
- Ultraviolet Radiation Exposure
Silk PLA is just a modified version of the regular PLA. In the end, it is still PLA and shares many properties of the regular PLA, including poor UV resistance. Looking at the regular PLA, it does degrade with time if exposed to sunlight for long enough.
In scientific terms, the UV light will ultimately break down the Silk PLA’s pigment molecules that will give birth to problems like dull color, yellowing, and even surface cracking if the UV light is too much.
However, one thing you should know is that if you’re printing with Silk PLA, you must do it for indoor purposes and make it stay away from outdoors. That way, your Silk PLA will retain its color for the longest possible time.
- Heat
Both PLA and Silk PLA have poor temperature resistance. That is why you must print them at a very specific temperature. That temperature is often given to you. Consider the example of Silk PLA by Chitu Systems. On their website, they have already given us a complete guide on how you can print in a specific temperature set.
But in general, Silk PLA can start to wrap at around 60°C, whichh is still an extreme temperature for a product that you print on a 3D printer. Oftentimes, the heat trapped in a car can lead to pigments getting degraded, making your whole 3D printed object suffer.
To clear things up, some Silk PLA products might be more heat-sensitive to others, so in the end, it is still better to be careful than to lose your progress.
- Moisture and Humidity
Hygroscopic is a term that you will often hear when it comes to 3D printing in general. Most filaments are hygroscopic and PLA in general is a huge one. Being hygroscopic means that it can trap moisture inside while also making your object suffer to an extreme degree.
When moisture affects a 3D printed object, it often comes in the shape of dullness of color, initiation of microcracks, and even bacterial growth that is just not good for it.
This is one of the reasons why you should always have a 3D printer filament box so your products can stay less moisturized. Even after printing a product, you also need to ensure that your product isn’t being exposed to too much moisture.
- Chemical Exposure
Lastly, we have chemical exposure. Small things like oil, cleaners, even touching with too much sweaty hands, all of these things can ultimately make the color of your 3D printed object fade. This is especially the case with Silk PLA because if you expose it to any chemical, you can see that the gloss will start to wear off after a time.
One thing you should definitely avoid is exposing your Silk PLA to alcohol wipes, since that will dull the color very fast.
Final Verdict
Silk PLA in general is quite fun to print with. However, with all that cuteness comes a level of danger that most people aren’t even ready to experience. This is why you should protect your Silk PLA from any of these exposures. Moreover, if you’re looking for 3D printer accessories, you should check out Chitu Systems.
