I decided to try something new and bought a glitter filament for the first time. When I was loading it into my printer, I noticed it was really brittle and kept snapping in my hands. I did eventually get it loaded, and my cutters are printing, but now I’m seeing a lot of stringing. It’s leaving thin strands in places it shouldn’t.
I tried adjusting my nozzle temperature (205, 215, 225), but it didn’t seem to change the stringing at all. I’ve had my printer for a few years and haven’t run into these issues before. The only change this time is the glitter filament.
So my questions are:
• Is brittleness and stringing typical with glitter filaments?
• And is there a specific setting I should adjust to help with the stringiness?
Howdy!
Sometimes the filament can be brittle from accidental moisture either absorbed through the air or through the packaging as sometimes those vacuum sealed bags aren’t perfect.
I would recommend trying to dry this filament around 45 degrees C if you have a filament dryer. (They’re typically around $25-$50, I personally own a Sunlu as my first dryer and it’s treated me well for a number of years.)
To answer your questions;
Glitter filaments are not necessarily more prone to brittleness, however more clear filaments can be. Clearer filaments like the Funfetti are fantastic when kept dry! However the clearer the filament the more likely it is to absorb moisture from the air and sometimes when too much moisture is absorbed it can begin to break like spaghetti.
The stringiness is also typically a side effect of wet filament. Which tells me this filament needs to be dried.
If you continue to experience problems after drying, please reach out to us via the chat on our website and I’d be more than happy to help you figure something out.
