Unboxing SOVOL
This week we’re looking at a new high quality PLA Black and White filament made by Chinese manufacturer SOVOL. The initial first impression I had when I received the SOVOL 3D Printer Filament was mediocre. When Unboxing SOVOL PLA, they stuff two rolls of a budget PLA filament into a cardboard box with no extra packaging to protect it from any delivery mishaps. Luckily, all was good and neither of the filament spools had suffered any damage in their travels. So Let’s move forward with creating a budget PLA 3d model with this high quality filament from SOVOL.
PLA Spools
I have to say I absolutely love the way they manufacture the spools. While both spools are injection moulded, SOVOL included two neat features on theirs. Along the sides of each spool are not only markers that show how much filament you have left, that are measured out in metres. They have also included more holes along the rim of the spools for easy access to clip your filament into when not in use. Even more importantly, the quality of the spooling is nice and uniform.
How well does Sovol PLA print?
The high quality PLA Black and White filament SOVOL PLA is impressive. It prints extremely reliably in a wide temperature range with no issues.
To illustrate this, I ran temperature tests on prints ranging from 190 to 215 degrees Celsius and the quality never wavered. All the 3D prints that are shown here are from my Ender 3, the sweet spot we like to print with most PLA filaments is 205 – 210 degrees Celsius. We were happy with all the prints produced using the SOVOL PLA filament. We printed these models at 0.25 – 0.30mm layer heights with 2 perimeters, 20-30% infill, printed with a 0.80mm Nozzle and were all printed from 60 to 80+ mm/s.
Models
- Floppy Dragonfly by crashdebug – available on Thingiverse (thing:3147969)
- Gargoyle Sculpture by 3DWP – available on Thingiverse (thing:611322)
- White Abstract Twist Vase by ChrisTheViolaNerd – available on Thingiverse (thing:2489778)
- Large black Urn style vase by Kennet McCoy – Created with Vase Creator
- Small Knurled Black Vase – Unknown Author
Flow Rate Tests
The white vase I ran many flow rate tests to determine how well the filament can adapt to various flow rates in the print. As you can see in the model, from the foundation at a flow rate of 100% to just below the start mark at a flow rate of 60-65%. Everything in between (approximately 10% increments) printed well. Once it hit around 60-65%, we kept increasing it afterwards; the filament was always fantastic, you can see where it began to extrude. We even had it printing at over 120%, and yet it printed well.
No Strings attached
We were very impressed at the lack of stringing in the models and also was expecting a moderate amount on the wings of the Dragonfly, moreover because of the high quality, there was almost nothing I had to do with the prints besides removing them from the print bed. Equally with no stringing issues, we found that the final prints were void of unwanted bumps and zits.
Do I need a heated print bed or adhesives?
The short answer is No.
I print with a glass bed on my Ender 3, and I print almost only PLA and PLA blends, in addition to PETG and other exotic filaments. There were 6 different models that we printed with the SOVAL Black and the White PLA. We printed half using the Heated Bed at 40 degrees Celsius and the other half with no heated bed. In both cases, I used NO ADHESIVES.
Where can I purchase SOVOL 3D Printer Filament?
You can order direct from the company’s website. Here they carry a few different types listed on their website, for instance Blue PLA, in addition to ABS filament, and also accessories and a Direct Drive 3D printer called the SOVOL SV01. The company also says that they ship worldwide and the filament I received shipped specifically from China. Also, they have a U.S based warehouse too.
Would I buy this PLA Filament?
In a nutshell, this is definitely a product I would buy, and hopefully, they continue to develop more colours and materials. Of course the SV01 Direct Drive 3D printer looks promising, maybe down the road we will see a detailed review of their 3D Printer on inov3D. If you would like to read about other great filaments, continue on to our filament reviews.
My overall opinion on the Sovol PLA filament is that I am very satisfied with the results. There was no stringing, it handled varied temperatures well and the quality of the finished prints on my Ender 3 were excellent. The only concern I had was that the packaging could benefit from a bit of packing in the box, and that the filament did not include any desiccant within the bags. That said, there has been no issues with the filament having been brittle or any moisture in the plastic. I would highly recommend Sovol PLA filament and look forward to trying more of their products.
