Bambu Lab PLA Metal

Bambu Lab PLA Metal 1.75 mm Filament — Metallic Finish, Everyday PLA Printing

PLA Metal is Bambu Lab's aesthetic PLA: the surface texture and shine of machined or cast metal, achieved through the polymer formulation rather than by loading the filament with metal powder. That matters in practice — you get the upmarket look without the nozzle wear, jamming risk or fussy tuning that comes with genuinely metal-filled filaments. If you can print PLA Basic on your machine, you can print PLA Metal on the same profile.

It's a good fit for anything that gets looked at rather than loaded: display models and miniatures, prop and cosplay parts, desk accessories, enclosure faceplates, badges and signage, product mock-ups, and client-facing prototypes where a printed part needs to read as a finished object. Schools and makerspaces like it because it upgrades the look of student work with no change to the print process. Because the metallic effect is strongest on flat and gently curved faces, it rewards designs with broad surfaces and chamfers.

Key Features

The spool carries an RFID tag, so Bambu Lab printers running an AMS or AMS lite identify the material and colour and load the correct profile automatically. On non-Bambu printers it behaves like any quality 1.75 mm PLA — select a generic PLA profile and start from the temperatures below.

Print Settings

• Nozzle temperature: 190–230 °C — start at 210 °C and adjust in 5 °C steps
• Bed temperature: 35–45 °C on a Cool Plate, High Temperature Plate or Textured PEI Plate
• Print speed: up to 300 mm/s; slow outer walls to roughly 60–100 mm/s for the most even metallic sheen
• Cooling: part fan on (100% for most geometry, as with standard PLA)
• Nozzle: any size from 0.2 mm to 0.8 mm; a standard brass nozzle is fine — no hardened nozzle required
• Drying before printing: 55 °C for 8 hours if the spool has been open in humid weather
• Enclosure: not required — prints happily on open-frame machines

Specifications

Available Colours

Choose your colour from the dropdown above. All four share identical specifications and print settings — mix and match across a build without touching your profile.

Tips for Best Results

The metallic effect comes from how light catches the extruded surface, so print orientation and layer consistency matter more than they do with plain PLA. Keep outer-wall speed steady, avoid seam-heavy orientations on show faces (set seam position to "Aligned" or hide it on a rear edge), and consider a 0.16 mm or finer layer height on display pieces — the finer the layers, the more the finish reads as brushed metal rather than printed plastic. A Textured PEI Plate adds a pleasant matte grain to the bottom surface if that face will be visible.

Like all PLA, it absorbs moisture from the air — a real issue during a humid Australian summer or in coastal areas. Reseal the spool in its bag with desiccant between prints, and if you notice popping sounds, stringing or a dulled surface, dry it at 55 °C for 8 hours before reprinting. Store below 20% RH and keep spools out of hot cars and direct sun, since PLA softens well below the temperatures a parked vehicle reaches.