Overture PLA Glow in the Dark Orange
Pros/Cons-
Pros:
-Very reactive glow
-Strong glow
-Reasonably Priced
-Strong
-Variety of glowing colors
Cons:
-Can only seem to find them for online ordering
-Sensitive to a variety of printer and ambient variables
-Sulfur heavy can lead to clogs
-May need specific printer set up to get full printing capability out of
-Filament is very UV reactive and the color will fade over weeks if left in the sun
Review-
Where to start with the Orange Glow in the dark filament. This filament is one that I was not intending on reviewing so soon, but due to an order that I received, I had the opportunity to work with it sooner than expected. For those of you who have read my review on the Duramic 3D Glow in the dark you may already know what happened. I bought this PLA originally as a stand in to the Duramic 3D filament due to consistent issues with print quality and bed adhesion. Here’s what happened when I made the switch.
As soon as I received the PLA from my amazon order, I immediately loaded it into my AnkerMake M5C and printed an infinity fidget cube and it printed without any issue. As soon as I went to print it again though, I started to have the same issues as the Duramic 3D filament. I was perplexed at what was happening or causing these issues where floating parts would spaghetti fail, sling layers or have bed adhesion failures. I attempted to use the settings on the filament spool from Overture and the same issue happened. The only thing I was able to think of was a possibility of the filament being more sensitive to being dry.
I placed the filament in my comgrow dryer and lone behold, the same exact thing happened. At this point, I didn’t have time to go and adjust settings more carefully and based upon all the other prints I have done, the nozzle and feed hardware seems to be working as expected. So what to do next? I went out and picked up a BambuLabs P1S(Long term review in progress) and loaded the AMS system that came with my combo with the PLA and lone behold, with generic PLA settings right out of the box, the Overture PLA printed with no issues. I was able to print the infinity cube with no problems. I was even able to go forward with some custom print orders and moving pieces!
So I guess that brings us to the end of the print, so what did the end result look like? The filament has a smooth finish, and, when it isn’t glowing, a soft pastel orange color. Similar to the Duramic 3D, once the glow in the dark elements were charged, this PLA glows BRIGHT! I was able to see the Orange glow in a dim room and with all the lights off, it is a clearly visible filament. As with all PLA, be cautious about UV damage as it will make the finished product more brittle and lose color.The only real knock I have is that with both glow in the dark filaments I have printed with so far, supports are surprisingly strong and difficult to remove nicely without some elbow grease and side cutters.
In conclusion, this is a great filament for anyone who would like to have an orange glowing print, but you will find printing with this filament a challenge if you are using a bed slinger style open air printer or want something with steep overhangs to just come off the build plate and be show ready without some elbow grease. If you have an enclosed printer and preferably coreX/Y, you can expect consistent prints even with free floating or moving parts.
Files Used:
Yet Another Fidget Infinity Cube v2
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