Wood composite — Wood-filled PLA

Wood composite pellets are a PLA-based material filled with wood fiber (cellulose, sawdust, or wood flour). They produce prints with a natural wood texture and can be sanded, stained, or painted.

Why use wood composite

• Natural, warm aesthetic without painting
• Biodegradable and bio-sourced composition
• Lower density than standard PLA → lighter prints
• Can be sanded and finished like real wood

Suppliers

Supplier	Product	Notes
Smart Materials	Wood PLA pellets	Tested by a customer in Bulgaria. Good surface result.
KCL (Finland)	Formi 3D PLA10	Cellulose fiber filled PLA, 10% fill. Premium, Finnish manufacturer. Contact: kcl.fi
Formfutura	WoodFill / EasyWood	Contact Formfutura sales for B2B pricing.

Print settings

Start from the PLA virgin profile and adjust:

Parameter	Recommended value
Feeding zone	175–190°C
Melting zone	180–185°C
Nozzle zone	180–185°C
Bed temperature	50–60°C
Cooling	20–40%

Caution

Keep part cooling below 70%. Running the cooling fan at 100% while printing wood composite can cause the Nozzle Zone temperature sensor to drop out of range, triggering a thermal error and stopping the print. This has been confirmed by multiple customers.

Note

KCL Formi 3D (cellulose fiber PLA): confirmed working at 190 / 180 / 180°C gradient (higher feeding zone than melting/nozzle). Printing at 210°C caused inconsistent wall thickness — lower is better. At 100 mm³/s flow, inconsistency can appear with fiber materials — increase speed slightly to build more barrel pressure if needed.

Note

Wood PLA (Smart Materials): confirmed working with cooling on. If the extruder motor starts clicking, try lowering all zones to 185°C — this resolves the issue in most cases by reducing viscosity resistance at the fiber-filled material.

Note

Important: wood fiber increases friction in the extruder screw. Always add SmoothFlow when printing wood composite — it reduces the risk of motor skipping and feeding issues. Recommended dose: 1 g per 1 kg of pellets. Note: colored wood composite pellets from some suppliers may already contain lubricants — test first before adding SmoothFlow.

Common issues

Extruder motor skipping

Most common issue with wood composite on the G1.

Causes:

• Temperature too low → material too viscous, fiber increases resistance
• Pellet size too large (quality issue from supplier — some batches have irregular pellets)
• Insufficient lubrication

Fixes:

1. Increase temperature by 5–10°C at a time
2. Add SmoothFlow lubricant to the pellets before loading
3. If motor still skips → check if pellets are larger than usual (batch quality issue)

See also Extruder motor skipping for general motor skip diagnosis.

Moisture absorption

Wood fiber absorbs moisture more readily than pure PLA:

• Even an unopened bag may have absorbed some moisture during shipping
• Symptoms: inconsistent line width, slight bubbling, surface variation between prints
• Fix: dry at 55–60°C for 4–6 hours before printing — see Dryer best practices

Black contamination from previous material

If switching from a dark material to wood composite, dark streaks may appear in the first prints. Run a light purge before starting the wood print.

Surface finish

• Natural wood texture is visible on the surface — this is intentional and expected
• Sanding with 120–220 grit paper gives a smoother finish
• Staining with wood stain creates convincing wood appearance
• Clear coat or varnish seals the surface and adds durability

Extruder compatibility

Wood fiber is not abrasive in the same way as glass fiber. The standard hardened steel nozzle handles it well. However, avoid printing very dry, coarse wood-filled materials at high speed — the fiber can accumulate and cause a soft clog in the feeding zone.

Related notes

• SmoothFlow — lubricant essential for wood composite
• Extruder motor skipping — motor skip diagnosis
• Dryer best practices — drying wood composite
• Material change and purge — cleaning between materials
• rPLA recycled — another bio-sourced option