TronXY White PLA, 16 Bucks Shipped!?

I got the pleasure of being sent a roll of TronXY White PLA for my Lithophane article that was recently published.  After using it for that, I liked it so much that I decided to do a full review on this particular roll.  I also branched out a bit and tried a few different models than I normally make.  I’m trying to keep it interesting folks.  This is a Skully free review!

TronXY White PLA Packaging

The spool arrived tightly vacuum sealed, in a simple box.  There were some graphics on the box, but nothing that stood out.  It also came with a plastic after sales card with some support information.  I was also assured that TronXY manufacturers all of their own filament.  This isn’t rebranded filament by some other company.  You can rest assured that the quality will be consistent over time.

Touch Me, Feel Me.. Smell Me?

The TronXY White smelled very strong out of the vacuum wrap.  It had no smell while printing though, just a strange idle smell.  It also felt more like a PLA+ than a typical PLA.  This filament also seemed to not want to crack or snap as easy in the hand compared to other brands that I have handled in the past.

Are All Whites Alike?

The answer to this question is an emphatic, NO.  There are all sorts of different ‘white’ filaments.  Although TronXY lists this as ‘Natural White’ on the label, it’s more like a pure white.  When it comes to printing a lithophane, you want a white filament that doesn’t have a bunch of color variations on the spool.  I am happy to report that I didn’t have any issues where that happened.  My spool of TronXY White PLA was a very consistent color throughout.  If you’re making lithos and prefer a more sepia toned result, you should steer clear of this.  There’s zero sepia tones with this filament.

Slicer Configuration for TronXY White

I’ve always printed my white filaments at lower temperatures that colored filament.  I found that failure to do so, will cause scorching issues.  You’ll start to get small brown or black bits deposited around you prints.  Nothing ruins an all white print like burned filament streaks and boogers.  Also, be aware when setting your initial Z gap.  Too close will drag the nozzle through the filament, and you’ll have the streaking booger issue I spoke of earlier.  Terrible stuff.

After some experimenting, I found that the TronXY White PLA printed the best at about 186C in my Tevo Tornado.  I am running the all-metal hotend from Micro Swiss in.  Chances are, you could probably drop it down to 180C in a PTFE lined hotend.  I kept the rest of my setting the same as my base PLA profile.  My retraction test came out absolutely flawless.

Let’s Get Printing!

I was inspired by some of the Inov3D team’s Weekly Prints, and decided that some new models were in order.  I settled on the Patrick model that William Saunders had printed.  My family loves Spongebox Square Pants!  I also did the somewhat regular Aztec Chief.  Those both came out great, except for me leaving my Z offset set for my PETG profile.  Patrick’s left foot decided to lift off the print bed a few millimeters.  The rest of the print stayed attached, so I left it run.  It didn’t turn out that bad, besides the curling on his foot.  The TronXY White held strong!

Switching it Up(Some)

I also like printing boats.  Not the plain-jane Benchys that everyone is used to, some new ones.  You may have seen the Jungle boat print I did for the 3D hero Wood filament review.  The designer of that boat has a LOT more designs, so I decided to start there.  Ultimately, I decided to try out Ben and Oli.  They turned out great.  There was some slight stringing on the inside, but I didn’t watch it print to see if it was temperature or retraction related.  I still believe that I could turn the hotend temp down just a bit more.  Not wanting to risk a filament jam, I left it as it was.

TronXY White PLA Final Thoughts

My favorite part about the TronXY White PLA was the price.  It’s $16 to your house in the USA with Amazon Prime. This is some of the best dollar to performance ratio that I have seen for filament.  When it’s under $20 shipped for a spool of filament, there’s always the possibilities of problems.  I experienced none while printing with the TronXY White PLA.  Also, I know for a fact that I’ve spent more money on other filaments and been left disappointed.  I can’t wait to try some of TronXY’s other filament offerings!

Be sure to click the text link above or the boxed filament picture near the top of the article to purchase from my Amazon affiliate.  It costs you nothing and helps me provide you with premium content!

Also, be sure to check out our article on one of the new slicers on the block, Pathio beta!

Don’t forget to check out the 3D printing filament deals page to see what kind of money you can save!

 

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