Are you looking to buy Polymaker LW-PLA in Australia?
PolyLite™ LW-PLA is a special foamed PLA filament designed to print with similar settings as regular PLA but with half the weight (0.6g/cm3). Its low density makes PolyLite™ LW-PLA an excellent choice for printing light weight parts including fuselages, wing parts and other lightweight components for RC planes. Due to the foaming technology, this LW-PLA also prints with a very matte surface finish which hides the layers for a wide range of aesthetic applications.
NOTE: DO NOT RESPOOL THIS FILAMENT.
Pre-foamed PLA filaments can be quite stiff and more brittle than regular PLA so it is recommended to take extra care and make sure your filament guide system is smooth and with minimal bends.”
Product Features:
Low Density with Stable Foaming - PolyLite™ LW-PLA is a lightweight PLA filament formulated with Polymaker's Stabilized Foaming™ technology to produce pre-foamed filament whose foam structure can survive the printing process and be inherited by the printed parts. PolyLite™ LW-PLA enables 3D printing of lightweight models with a consistent low density (0.6g/cm3), even when printing at low temperatures (~190˚C).
Unlike other LW-PLA filaments that actively foam during the printing process depending on temperature, PolyLite™ LW-PLA's stabilized foaming technology offers significant advantages. Compensating for the varying foaming rate that occurs with competitor LW-PLA usually requires significant tuning, but with Polymakers stabilized foaming PLA the density and extrusion width are consistent regardless of temperature. This not only reduces the difficulty in tuning Polymakers LW-PLA, but also gives more freedom to choose the right nozzle temperature for print quality without worrying about how it changes the material density.
Matte Finish - The Stabilized Foaming™ technology in PolyLite™ LW-PLA delivers an incredible matte surface finish which makes it a unique material choice for aesthetic applications such as architectural models, figurines, gaming dioramas, decoration or lifestyle parts.
Compatibility / Jam-Free™ - PolyLite™ LW-PLA is compatible with a wide range of 3D printers and is manufactured with Polymakers Jam-Free™ technology which leads to excellent printing quality with zero risk of nozzle jams caused by heat creep [1]. PolyLite™ LW-PLA works well with many common printing surfaces and a heated bed isn't strictly required but may be recommended with some build plate surfaces or geometries for better results (up to 60°C).
Uncompromised Quality - PolyLite™ LW-PLA filament is a PLA-blend made with the highest quality ingredients including Ingeo® from Natureworks. Natureworks is a world-leading biopolymers supplier based in the USA with a portfolio of high quality raw PLA materials produced from rapidly renewable plant resources. Combining Polymakers innovative R&D technologies, compounding and extrusion systems with Natureworks Ingeo® resins produces a reliable 3D printing filament to print beautiful and accurate models
Print Settings
- Nozzle Temperature: 190˚C – 210˚C
- Printing Speed: 30mm/s – 50mm/s
- Bed Temperature: 25˚C – 60˚C
- Bed Surface: Glass with glue, blue tape, BuilTak®
- Cooling Fan: ON
- The ideal retraction settings vary from printer to printer.
Direct Drive: Retraction distance of 3mm with retraction speed of 40mm/s
Bowden: Retraction distance of 6mm with retraction speed of 40-60mm/s - Like other foam PLA filaments, PolyLite™ LW-PLA can tend to have more stringing than regular PLA which is relatively easy to remove with tweezers or a scalpel. To reduce stringing during printing we recommend to adjust the retraction settings, lower the extrusion temperature and increase the print head travel speed.
- Pre-foamed PLA filaments can be quite stiff and more brittle than regular PLA so it is recommended to take extra care and make sure your filament guide system is smooth and with minimal bends.
Polymaker Polylite LW-PLA Properties
- Young’s Modulus: N/A
- Tensile Strength: 23.2 ± 0.4 Mpa
- Bending Strength: 52.9 ± 0.3 Mpa
- Impact Strength: 2.1 ± 0.2 kJ/m2
- Glass Transition Temperature: 62˚C
- Vicat Softening Temperature: 60˚C
- Melting Temperature: 151˚C
LW-PLA (light weight PLA) is a a cutting-edge category of PLA filaments specifically engineered for RC planes and other applications that require a lightweight and easy to print material. The low density is achieved through the use of a foam structure, which offers a unique balance of strength and weight for 3D printing. Combined with an attractive matte surface finish, PolyLite™ LW-PLA lends itself to a wide range of applications including:
- Aerodynamic RC plane wings
- RC-plane fuselages
- Cosplay props
- Weight critical parts in research applications
- Other lightweight components.
- Architectural models.
- Homewares.
There are two types of LW-PLA; active foaming and passive foaming. Active foaming occurs during the printing process and the foaming rate is controlled by the printer settings such as temperature and flow rate. However, this process can be challenging to achieve both lightweight results and high dimensional accuracy in the final product. It often necessitates the use of high temperatures, around 250 degrees, to achieve lightweight prints, but this can also lead to defects such as stringing and blobs. Passive foaming filaments, like PolyLite™ LW-PLA are manufactured as a pre-foamed filament whose foam structure can survive the printing process and be inherited by the printed parts. This results in a consistent low density regardless of temperature, giving you the flexibility to select the optimal temperature for your desired part quality without having to worry about the effect on density. This enables lightweight 3D printing even at lower temperatures of around 190 degrees. Typically, the lower the temperature, the higher the quality of the final print, making this LW-PLA an ideal solution for those looking for a balance of light weight and high-quality prints.
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