The very first filament review of my 3D printing series, back in January 2021: the Silk Bronze Green PLA by Xingtong Zhi Lian (XTZL3D), a budget spool for under 20 euros that surprised me.
Unboxing and packaging
The filament arrives in a vacuum-sealed bag with a silica gel pack inside, which is exactly what you want to keep moisture out. I open it with a spatula so all the air comes out. My only complaint: the bag isn't resealable, which I would have loved for storage. The winding was good, not the best I've seen, but the texture of the filament on the spool looked really nice.
A quick disclaimer I gave in the video too: I was brand new to 3D printing at the time, so take this as the impression of someone just starting out.
My three-phase test
I like to split every filament review into three parts: benchmarks, toys and decorative prints, and useful objects.
The first benchmark didn't go well: full of stringing because the temperature was too high. Once I dialled in new settings, the next print came out beautifully smooth, and that silky green really shines. An overhang/bridge test came out nicely, just a little rough at the most extreme angle, and the CaliCat had well-defined corners with only a hint of stringing, probably my retraction settings.
Toys and showpieces
The Minion came out amazing, just a bit rough on top because I hadn't enabled ironing. Then I pushed it further with the Forbidden Watch Tower, printed in two pieces, which looked fantastic after cleaning up a little stringing. I also printed a herb grinder to see how sturdy the material was. It works, and it looks great.
Useful prints
For practical stuff, I printed a tool holder that sticks to the side of my Artillery Genius. It's sturdy and looks good. Last, a small articulated piranha, printed in one go with no supports at 0.2 mm layers, perfect to close a bag of chips or for the kids to play with.