Atomic Filament is my go to 3D Printing filament for all my PLA and PETG needs. Not only do they have a wide pallet of colors to choose from. Such as ABS, Silky Effect PLA, 3.5KG Jumbo Rolls and Exotic 3D printing filaments are available. I first came across Atomic filament from a 3DPrintingNerd giveaway, where I won a roll, and decided upon the UV Reactive Neon Orange. I have since bought several colors of PLA and PETG, all of which hold consistent results..
Properties of Atomic PLA Filament
Atomic PLA seems to be closer to other vendors PLA+ in terms of durability and setup. Recommended print temperatures are 195-230C, and a print bed temperature at 60-70C. I experienced some issues with moisture wicking, as it is PLA. After all, I live in humid southeast Texas, and would have expected it on more than just 2 rolls of filament out of the 20+ I have printed with over the last year.
Atomic Filament Packaging And Spool
Atomic Filament comes vacuum sealed in a bag with a silicone desiccant pack to absorb any moisture it may come in contact with. I will typically order 3-4 spools at a time and they will all come in the same box, individually sealed. As a bonus, there is always a bag or two of gummy bears included in the bottom!. The spool is a little different too, with their logo proudly cut out and embossed all over. The filament comes taped to the edge as well, so there is no need to worry about it getting unraveled in shipping.
Dialing in Atomic PLA
My setup process to get the material was pretty lengthy, and had to find the correct retraction and temperatures for this filament. Especially the second time setting up when I upgraded the hotend to a Slice Engineering Mosquito which you can find on their website. My first character print after the upgrades, Charizard, was a pretty good torture test, with lots of overhangs and some intricate details. The first try had a lot of stringing issues.
As a result, I decided to re-tune the printer and get my settings for Atomic PLA dialed in again. Using the G-code generators found on Teaching Tech, I dialed in the retraction settings to match the new setup, and then moved onto the temp settings. Consequently, I have my slicer set to 220C on the hotend and 3.5mm retraction for the best results after testing for bridging and stringing.
| Retraction Test | Temp Tower | Calibration Cube | Charizard |
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- Retraction Tower
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- Temp Tower and Retraction Tower
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- Calibration Cube
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- So. Much. Stringing.
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- Finish quality really poor
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- Much better surface quality, still has some bridging issues
Atomic PLA Print Quality
The UV Reactive Neon Orange PLA eventually became my choice for accent color on my CR6-SE as well. The orange stands out really well against the black frame and hardware. I printed out an endstop cover, some v-rail covers, hex inlays, and finally tension knob covers. The UV filament also looks great as a remix’d antler mount, which was a pretty tricky print to get right, both for the size and the complexity of the 3D print. The UV also comes out really cool if you happen to have a black-light or other UV light source.
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- This Antler mount was fairly intricate and printed well
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- Atomic’s Clear PLA is opaque, but no yellowing as advertized. Pictured here is a drilling fixture I desined
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- This pool sprayer I designed has been installed for over a year and shows no signs of wear, even in the water and Texas sun
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- UV Orange accents on my CR6-SE
Benchy Glows under a UV lightsource!
Atomic PETG Filament
I recently started printing with Atomic Filament’s Ruby Red Translucent PETG PRO and found that it is definitely a more challenging material to 3D print with. Once the settings are optimized, it prints very well on my CR6-SE 3D Printer. The biggest issue I faced was bed adhesion, but with a spritz of hairspray on the glass, and added a brim to the 3D model, the results have been satisfactory. I have not seen the stringing that I had seen on a few other brands I’ve used.
Caster Replacement 3D Print
The Caster replacement I designed in Fusion360 had 0 stringing or adhesion issues. Better yet, it has held up almost a full year now on a concrete floor.
Tail light
Here is a tail light I designed and printed a few different iterations of. This iteration needed to be a little more opaque, and I decided to remove the surface texturing from the final piece.
Fan Duct
I designed and 3D printed a part cooling fan duct in PETG PRO to help with part cooling after my hotend upgrade
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- Caster Replacement
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- Caster Replacement
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- Tail Light
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- Fan Duct
Where to Buy Atomic PLA And PETG Filament
Price point for Atomic’s PLA is a little over some of the other brands available at $32/roll shipped. They do often run promotions for 4 or more rolls, and shipping is always free starting at $50, so buying two rolls gets you there. That being said, with the quality and consistency that I have experienced in the materials, I will pay the extra $5-10 per roll for Atomic PLA Filament and Atomic PETG Filament. Head over to Atomic’s website and get yourself a few rolls.
Final Thoughts on Atomic Filament
The filaments themselves have all had very vibrant colors, which have kept true after printing. Even on heavy usage parts and those exposed to sunlight for long periods of time, the material does not fade. Initial printing of the filament was a bit of a chore to get all settings correct and it tends to be a little hotter than what I have experienced in other brand’s PLA. Once dialed in, both the PLA and PETG filament prints are perfect, with very little stringing or surface blobs.
The 3D print quality is always very consistent as well. I can change a roll to another color and not worry about my slicer settings, or can let my 3D printer sit for a few weeks and go right back to slice and print, no adjustments needed. In the future, I plan to test Atomic’s Carbon Fiber extreme filaments and see how they perform as well.
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