I got the chance to try out a spool of Eryone Silk Copper PLA filament. It was initially used for the LuBan article I wrote, but I decided that I wanted to try some other things with it as well. The filament prints so nice that I had to find some cool models for it.  I’ll be using my Skycube, Black Widow and Tornado to test this.
What’s in the box?
Before printing, the Eryone Silk Copper filament was very smooth to the touch. It is very similar in ‘feel’ to PETG. The roll was vacuum sealed with a desiccant packet. I will note however, that the bag seemed to be air tight but not tightly vacuumed. The packaging was minimal, which I appreciate. As I have stated on pretty much every filament review, I would rather have the money spent on the actual filament than the packaging materials.  The spool has nicely designed stickers that show some of the simpler slicer configuration settings.
Slicer Problems?
Initially, I had issues.  This didn’t seem to be a problem with the filament itself, but something to do with my Cura config.  After discovering an issue with Cura 3.6, I switched to Simplfy3D. With this change, the prints came out fantastic. I was amazed that such an issue could be caused by my slicer. While I have noticed some strange artifacts on some prints previously, it was never enough to make me think it was a slicer related issue. The shiny elements in the Eryone Silk Copper really highlight this issue in Cura.
I upped the printing temperature to 210c for this filament. The increase in temperature really made the filament shine and look like fresh Pennies!  I kept my retraction and print speeds the same as my base PLA profile.
Spitting Eryone Copper with the Skycube!
Using my vast assortment of printers, I was able to test this filament on a multitude of platforms with different setup. I printed the Moai head in chunks on my Aladdinbox Skycube. My son, Aidan, also used the Eryone Silk Copper to make the disc portion of a functional Tesla Turbine model for a school project. The print quality was good for this printer, but that’s not the filament’s fault.  I also printed the Left Facing Owl. The Owl came out great, with just some sloppiness on the overhangs. The Skycube is a cheaply designed printer, so you will get what you get when using it.
Using the Black Widow
It had been awhile since I had fired up my Tevo Black Widow, so I decided to use it as well. I printed this Sinosoidal Spiral Vase and this Evil Minion. The prints came out great, besides some of the artifacts from my bent lead screw. Yeah, I need to get this replaced.
Post Processing?
I didn’t spray clear coat or anything on these prints. They also weren’t sanded or anything sort of clean up. They came off the printer with this coloration. I am going to look into some sort of post processing technique to see if there’s a way to give it an ‘aged’ look.
The Copper Conclusion
Initially, this review was difficult for me to write. The Eryone Silk Copper functioned flawlessly when used with Simplfy3D, but I was bummed that the Cura prints looked so bad.  I’ve been a Cura fan for awhile, but trying to troubleshoot the cause of this issue really turned me off on this slicer. I will continue to play with my profile and see if I can figure out EXACTLY what is causing it.
If you want an interesting color, the Eryone Silk Copper is hard to beat! It’s great for all kinds of models!
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