Whether truly composite or simply an ingenious color job, marble filament yields impressive prints. Read on to learn about the best brands!
What Is Marble PLA?
If you like 3D printing busts, sculptures, or building models, printing with marble PLA is a great way to achieve a marble-like finish and appearance. Marble PLA is typically regular PLA mixed with fine marble powder, or in some cases, simply speckled with different colors to look like real marble. In comparison to standard filaments, less post-processing is required because marble PLA is made to look great right off the print bed.
Marble PLA is similar to wood PLA in that both are primarily plastic materials that are manipulated to attain the appearance of a natural material. As such, marble PLA is sometimes considered to be a composite filament because of the additional materials used in the filament composition.
Unlike most composite filaments, few people experience fast nozzle degradation. That’s because marble PLA isn’t that abrasive of a filament. However, if you’d rather be safe than sorry, you should consider using a durable nozzle like one made of hardened steel.
In this article, we’ll go over the top brands of marble PLA. For every brand, we’ll provide a description of the filament and some printing tips.
Amolen
Amolen is a leading manufacturer of unique filament types, including glow-in-the-dark and color-changing variants, among many others. Marble-colored PLA is one of their popular novelty PLA filaments, and like many of them, it is made from eco-friendly material sourced from the US.
According to the manufacturer, prints in their marble PLA boast a similar surface texture to real marble. They also report that the material doesn’t bubble, jam, or warp during printing. When we tested the material ourselves, we did, however, run into some bed adhesion problems, but these were easily resolved by applying additional adhesives.
- Available price/kg: ~$30
- Available sizes: 1.75 mm
- Available colors: Marble white
- Tolerance: +/- 0.03 mm
- Nozzle temperature: 190-220 ºC
- Bed temperature: 0-50 ºC
Eryone
Eryone is another popular filament manufacturer that makes filaments, resins, and even 3D printers. Eryone’s marble PLA is a mixture of pure PLA with ultrafine marble particles to yield a natural marble-like appearance.
Eryone states that their marble PLA is easy to print with and shouldn’t clog your hot end. The manufacturer recommends drying this filament before use and printing with a speed of 50-100 mm/s.
Despite Eryone’s claims, customer reviews suggest that this filament may be a little tricky. At Amazon, one reviewer noted how this filament tends to string a lot, and another customer mentioned that the filament has trouble sticking to the print bed. But don’t worry, we’ve got you covered: There are several easy ways to prevent stringing and quite a few tricks to improve print bed adhesion.
- Available price/kg: ~$25
- Available sizes: 1.75 mm
- Available colors: Marble white
- Tolerance: +/- 0.02 mm
- Nozzle temperature: 190-220 °C
- Bed temperature: 70 °C
CCTree
CCTree is an online retailer of 3D printing supplies, including Creality printers, different filaments, and more. Their filaments are typically 100% environmentally friendly and both RoHS and Reach compliant, which basically means they are free of hazardous substances. According to the manufacturer, their marble PLA comes from virgin (pure) PLA,
CCTree also suggests that their filament doesn’t cause nozzle clogs, sticks to the bed well, and has great durability and strength. This product has received mixed reviews online, however. One Amazon customer stated that the filament doesn’t extrude well, while another shared that they got great prints right from the get-go.
Multiple customers mentioned that the filament should be stored in a clean and dry environment to prevent it from becoming brittle, but this is a generally good idea for all filaments.
- Available price/kg: ~$33
- Available sizes: 1.75 mm
- Available colors: Marble white
- Tolerance: +/- 0.03 mm
- Nozzle temperature: 190-220 °C
- Bed temperature: Not specified
Ziro
Ziro is a filament company that makes a lot of different filaments, from regular PLA to carbon fiber and nylon. Ziro’s marble PLA, known as Z-Marble filament, is biodegradable, and from what Ziro says about it, tough. Z-Marble is available in three variations: marble white, straw, and a combination of blue and white.
The manufacturer indicates that Z-Marble releases no odor when used and doesn’t warp, either. One reviewer at Amazon observed how slick the filament is, causing the extruder gears to slip when pushing it, so maybe increase the extruder arm tension when printing. Ziro recommends using a 0.4-mm nozzle size for printing Z-Marble, and they also suggest using a print speed of 30-90 mm/s.
- Available price/kg: ~$22
- Available sizes: 1.75 mm, 3.00 mm (2.85 mm)
- Available colors: Marble white, blue and white, straw
- Tolerance: +/- 0.03 mm
- Nozzle temperature: 190-220 °C
- Bed temperature: 50-60 °C
Hatchbox
Hatchbox is a very well-known filament manufacturer that offers filament at an affordable price. Hatchbox’s marble PLA, known as Magic Stone, has a real marble, granite, or limestone look depending on which color you choose. There are five color options in total, each with different-colored speckles mixed with white PLA.
The manufacturer says that Magic Stone doesn’t tangle, clog, bubble, or warp when printed. However, a customer reviewed the filament and revealed that it doesn’t yield good layer-to-layer adhesion, making the prints weaker. Other reviewers found that this filament tends to string a lot, so try bumping up the retraction settings if you can.
- Available price/kg: ~$32
- Available sizes: 1.75 mm
- Available colors: Black, dark black, brown, green, granite
- Tolerance: +/- 0.03 mm
- Nozzle temperature: 180-210 °C
- Bed temperature: Not specified
eSun
eSun is a popular filament manufacturer that also makes resins, printers, and 3D pens. eMarble is eSun’s marble PLA brand, and according to some retailers, it’s biodegradable and FDA-approved food safe.
eSun reports that eMarble filament has a consistent diameter, low shrinkage, and is very tough. Cubic Technology recommends printing this filament with a print speed of 30-90 mm/s. One reviewer at Amazon mentioned they found this filament too glossy, and recommended coating prints in matte varnish to show off the print’s speckled aspect.
- Available price/kg: ~$30
- Available sizes: 1.75 mm
- Available colors: Marble white
- Tolerance: Not specified
- Nozzle temperature: 190-220 °C
- Bed temperature: 0-60 °C
Sunlu
Sunlu is another manufacturer of 3D printer supplies that makes filaments and 3D printing accessories. Sunlu’s marble PLA is a PLA filament that colored in such a way so as to mimic real marble.
According to the manufacturer, the filament is 100% bubble-free and causes minimal stringing and warping. Sunlu recommends printing this filament with a print speed of 50-100 mm/s. One customer review notes that this filament jams a lot in the hot end, and another found that Sunlu’s marble PLA sticks well to the print bed with some adhesive.
- Available price/kg: ~$30
- Available sizes: 1.75 mm
- Available colors: Marble white
- Tolerance: +/- 0.02 mm
- Nozzle temperature: 200-230 °C
- Bed temperature: 60-80 °C
MatterHackers
MatterHackers is a well-known filament 3D printing supply online store that sells a plethora of different filament brands, 3D printers, nozzles, and more. Their Marble Pro Series PLA is a textured and speckled white filament, but they also offer a Parthenon gray in their Marble Pro Series PETG. The raw materials for this filament are sourced from NatureWorks, specifically their 4043D Ingeo raw plastic.
MatterHackers states that their marble PLA filaments have great tensile and flexural strength and are easy to print. They also provide the external and internal spool dimensions for this filament so you can make sure this spool is compatible with your printer.
- Available price/kg: ~$42-$55
- Available sizes: 1.75, 2.85 mm
- Available colors: Marble white (Parthenon gray available in PETG)
- Tolerance: +/- 0.02 mm
- Nozzle temperature: 190-220 °C
- Bed temperature: Not specified
X3D
X3D is a 3D printing supplies online retailer that sells different filaments and Ultimaker printers. X3D’s marble PLA filament is known as X3D Pro Marble and Stone, and it’s biodegradable as well as devoid of any harmful additives (RoHS compliant). This filament comes in three different colors: marble white, marble blue, and stone.
X3D says their filament is impact resistant and has consistent quality from spool to spool. One of their video reviews shows the material in a few different models and promotes its smooth finish. Reviewers seem to agree: A few praised the filament’s ease of printing, and more commented on how smooth their prints came out.
- Available price/kg: $55
- Available sizes: 1.75 mm
- Available colors: White marble, blue marble, stone
- Tolerance: Not specified
- Nozzle temperature: 180-220 °C
- Bed temperature: Not specified
Source: https://all3dp.com/2/marble-pla-marble-filament-brands-compared/