STAINLESS STEEL PLA

Proto-pasta Stainless Steel PLA is a dense material that prints as easily as standard PLA but results in heavy prints that can be finished post-print to achieve amazing results. Perfect for jewelry, costumes, props, figurines, crafting, robots, and more! 

What is it made out of?
Proto-pasta Stainless Steel PLA is a compound of Natureworks 4043D PLA and finely ground, powderised stainless steel. In filament form, it is rather brittle, and should be handled with care to avoid breakage.

Is it stronger?
No. Proto-pasta Stainless Steel offers the aesthetic and density of metal, but because the stainless steel is finely powderised and encased in PLA, it is not stronger than standard PLA.

Is it conductive?
No. The stainless steel is too small and separated by the PLA to offer any noticeable amount of conductivity. You should try our Conductive PLA!

Finishing Techniques  
In an unfinished form, prints look like cast metal. They can be left that way, or finished through a variety of methods to achieve different results. Here are some of the methods we have tried so far:

• Wire Brushing: Simply rubbing back and forth with a stiff wire brush will give your print increased shine, but will not remove print lines.
• Rock Polisher: Small prints can be tumbled for 24+ hours with abrasive materials for a variety of finishes. We recommend steel shot.
• Wheel Polishing: The most brilliant results were achieved by lightly polishing prints using a polishing wheel (a wheel with layers of soft cloth, attached to a bench grinder, you can buy smaller wheels for drills) and Fabulustre Cut and Polish Compound (or similar polishing compound). Aside from the eye-catching shine, it is also possible to remove layer lines with this method.

You can purchase our Filament polishing kit here.

Spool Amount: Density vs. Length
3D printer filament is sold in grams /kg, even in the case of exotic materials with greater density. Our Stainless Steel PLA is quite dense compared to standard PLA. As a result, a 500 g spool of Stainless Steel PLA contains about 90 meters of filament, vs. nearly 200 meters on a 500 g spool of standard PLA.

Printer Settings
Proto-pasta Stainless Steel PLA prints well using standard PLA settings, however, it may have trouble getting through smaller nozzles. We have had good success printing at 215° C using a .5mm nozzle and direct-drive spring loaded pinch-roll style extrusion head.

Density:
2.4 g/cm3 (2400 kg/m3)

Parameters:
Bed Temp (if available, is not required): 50° C
Hot End Temp: 195 – 220° C

If you are new to exotic filaments, the team at Proto-Pasta have some great tips for you.

All information provided courtesy of Proto-Pasta