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Protopasta Double Espresso Metallic Brown HTPLA 1.75mm 1kg Spool #HTPM1710-DEB
Available in store
CloseLike our other HTPLAs, Metallic Brown HTPLA can be "Heat Treated" to increase crystallinity for "Higher Temperature" resistance compared to amorphous PLA, ABS, and co-polyesters like PETG! Glitter Flake HTPLA prints translucent, but turns opaque when heat treated (or crystallized). With a more crystalline structure, heat treated Metallic Brown Espresso HTPLA parts can hold form to near melting, though temperatures where the material is practically useful vary greatly depending on geometry and load conditions!
For this improved performance, your prints should be baked in an oven until you see a change from translucent brown to opaque brown with reduced gloss. This visual change indicates the improved performance! We've seen the change take place in 5-10 minutes on thin walled parts but can take an hour or more. We've had good luck in a quality, at home convection oven at 110C (225F). Parts will get very "floppy" before becoming more firm, so please leave supports on your parts or support them and bake them on a flat, non-radiating surface (like glass, ceramic, or composite).
In our experience, good results were achieved using standard PLA parameters ranging from 195-225C nozzle with standard build surface preparation (blue tape, glue stick, or BuildTak). No heated bed required but up to 60C is okay. Beware, if the bed temperature is too high, your part base could actually heat treat while printing, increasing warping and decreasing adhesion. Some shrinkage will occur in the heat treating process, so dimension critical parts may need to be scaled appropriately (as much as 2.5% in our experience).