eSUN PLA+ review: Grab The Best Filament!

PLA (Polylactic Acid) is the most popular and widespread filament used in 3D printing. It’s affordable, easy to print, and, more importantly, safe (made from natural materials). PLA is also considered compostable and recyclable. eSUN has a wide range of PLA filaments with different characteristics and applications in more than 26 color options. In this review, we will have a closer look at four types of their materials.

PLA is made by the polymerization of lactic acid, obtained by bacterial fermentation of carbohydrates/sugars from plants such as corn, sugar cane, sugar beet, cassava, or potatoes. PLA becomes liquid at a melting point of 150 to 170° Celsius (302°-338° Fahrenheit). The material can be easily processed via injection molding, casting, thermoforming, and extrusion using FDM 3D printers.

There are tens of companies manufacturing PLA filaments, and eSun is considered among the best. Their premium PLA+ filament range is specially designed to have high toughness, no bubbles, no warping, and to avoid clogging.

eSUN 3D printer filaments: Hands-On Test – Is it Worth it?

Disclosure: I received these PLA filaments as part of a product review collaboration with eSUN. Product specs and quality may vary according to the manufacturer’s reliability, so I cannot guarantee that you will get products that perform the same as seen in my article.

eSUN is a Chinese corporation based in Shenzhen, established in 2002. The company has mastered the production technology of PLA, PCL, ABS, PETG, and other 3D printing materials to meet all customers’ requirements. eSUN offers a broad selection of PLA filaments with various colors, finishes, and properties.

Last year, in addition to the eBox dryer, they sent me six spools of PLA filaments: PLA+ (red, blue, and gold), ePLA-LW (White), eSilk-PLA (Rainbow), and WOOD (Natural). All filaments were packed in the same type of cardboard box. eSUN includes a product flyer with printing settings for each of their filament type. As it should be, the filaments were in airtight vacuum bags with small silica gel sachets inside.

They use plastic (transparent and black) bobbins of 200 x 62mm (diameter x width). The gross weight of 1KG filament, including the spool, is around 1260 grams. During my tests, I had no issue with spool tangling or unwinding. A tangle in the middle of a long print can endanger your project. As a reference, eSun gives each material a printability index (how easy to use), and all the PLA filaments I tested in this review had a rating of 9 out of 10.

1. eSUN PLA+ filament: Improved toughness, layer adherence, and 26 color options

eSun’s PLA Plus formula is much stronger, has better inter-layer bonding strength than standard PLA, and is FDA-approved Food Safe. Maybe the 8.5 kJ/m2 IZOD impact strength isn’t comparable with the ABS’s 40 kJ/m2, but still, it is a sufficiently resistant material for decorative products and some functional objects.

The first layer adhered well to the PEI sheet during my tests without additional glue. It is not brittle at all and even though I left it out for two weeks without hydration protection. eSun’s PLA Pro is by far the easiest-to-print filament I’ve tested. The overall layer adhesion under the macro lens looked good and consistent. There were nearly no stringing or other issues, even at the more difficult parts.

I printed three stackable storage boxes for testing the filaments, one of each color (blue, red, and yellow). I opted for a different hollow pattern (circle, diamond, hexagon, and lines) for each printed box, including the lid. It took close to 100 hours to print this storage tower, and I had no tangle or filament breakage problems. 

eSUN PLA+ technical specifications

2. eSUN eSilk-PLA Rainbow: Luster texture and smooth surface without layer patterns

I opted to review the eSilk-PLA due to its beautiful rainbow colors. It has a mixture of yellow, orange, red, green, and blue and its nuances.

Firstly, to test the eSUN eSilk-PLA, I printed a drone stand. I used 210℃/60℃ temperature settings. As you can see in the image below, it has a visible over-extrusion issue. Next, I printed some XYZ 20mm calibration cubes with different settings till I got the desired result. I also performed a five-hour, level 3 dehydrating program on the eSUN eBox dryer. The second printed object was a spiral vase, a nice decoration on a glass table. Printing the 150mm tall vase required 140 grams of filament (20% infill), in value of $4. I also printed a cool Valentine’s Day blooming flower with a heart in its center. The printed objects had a nice sheen and beautiful color shifting.

I found the printed models brittle and easy to break, so this eSilk-PLA is more for decorative parts instead of functional ones. Also, to take advantage of the rainbow color, you need to print bigger models. I estimate that the color changes every 30-50 meters.

eSUN eSilk-PLA technical specifications

3. eSUN ePLA-LW filament: Active 220% foaming technology to achieve lightweight, low-density RC modeling parts

eSUN ePLA-LW (also known as LightWeight PLA) was specially developed for the RC modeling industry. The cool thing about this material is that you can adjust its density during printing by changing the nozzle temperature (190 – 270℃). The heat causes the generation of gas within the filament that then foams up with nanoscopic bubbles. The ePLA-LW has up to 220% foaming capability, which means that the result will be twice lighter than ordinary PLA. The raw filament has a density of 1.21 g/cm3, and when it comes out from the nozzle, you can expect it to become about 0.54 g/cm3.

The tiny rubber-powered Stratos Glider was easy to make using the LW-ePLA. Thanks to the foaming technology, the 210x160mm aircraft weighs just 11 grams. The next time I plan to print a bigger RC motor glider. The project requires about 80 grams of filament, Motor 1806-2300Kv, 10A ESC, two servos (DS-939MG or HK939MG), a 4CH PWM radio receiver, and a 2S-450mAh LIPO battery.

eSUN ePLA-LW technical specifications

4. eSUN Wood PLA filament: Wood-like appearance 

Wood-based filaments are typically a composite that combines a PLA base material with recycled wood particles to imitate real wood. The eSUN Wood filament is made from virgin materials, biodegradable and eco-friendly, non-toxic, and with low odor, with NO harm to the user and environment.

The eSUN Wood filaments are suitable for printing daily accessories, toys, sculptures, casings, cosplay, etc. Weighing almost twice less than conventional (0.7 vs. 1.2g/cm density), PLA filaments are suitable for weight-critical projects. 

Firstly I printed a succulent planter with ancient motifs. I was more than happy with the results. The planter came out clean with stock settings ( 210℃/50℃) and no fine-tuning, with slightly visible layers and no blobs or zits. Maybe it does not have a 100% wood look, but the yellowish color is pleasing to the eyes. The material is lighter than conventional PLA, and the 95.5×95.5x45mm container weighs only 35 grams. It was the first printed thing that was liked even by my wife, and she even asked to print a bigger flower pot.

My second print using eSUN PLA-Wood filament was the living hand (The Thing) from the popular Wednesday movie. I was impressed by the details -the wrinkles and seams real. Although it is a complex object to print, I did not encounter any problems except for some silk-like strings. It stuck well to the print sheet and only came off when the print was finished and the platform cooled down.

eSUN Wood PLA technical specifications

Pricing, availability, and options

eSun products, including these four PLA filaments, can be ordered directly from their official online shop, Amazon store, or Aliexpress store. Their eStore has warehouses in the US, Canada, the UK, and Europe.

• PLA+ 1.75mm|1Kg|26 color options – $23.99
• ePLA-LW – 1.75mm|1Kg|White\Black – $36.99
• Wood-PLA – 1.75mm|500g|Natural – $18.99
• eSilk PLA: 1.75mm|1Kg|Rainbow – $28.99

PLA vs. PLA+

PLA+ (also known as PLA Plus, PLA Pro, or PLA V2) are second-generation Polylactic Acid (PLA) filaments that are improved with additives to be less brittle and reduce moisture absorption. PLA+ should also have better layer adhesion, reduced risk of warping, and improved strength and durability compared to PLA of the first generation.

There’s no single formula for enhanced PLA. Manufacturers have their magic mixtures, which promise to be better than their contenders, of course. In essence, both PLA and PLA Plus are made from natural, renewable materials such as cornstarch, sugarcane, and potatoes, making them environmentally friendly and safe to be used.

Most PLA Pro filaments require a slightly higher temperature than traditional PLA. For example, eSun’s PLA prints at 190-210 ℃, while their PLA+ prints at 210-230 ℃. PLA+ filaments are also slightly more expensive than conventional PLAs.