At first I wasn't sure this grey-looking spool would really give a marble effect. It does. In February 2021 the Marble Black PLA by Xingtong Zhi Lian (XTZL3D) became the filament I simply couldn't take off my printer.
Benchmarks: flawless at 200 degrees
A quick shout-out first: in this period I was collaborating with my friend Giuseppe's Instagram page, 3D Print All, which covers technical filaments, electronics and deals.
For the benchmarks I fell in love with "Bend the Benchy", a model that really shows a filament's quality. It's probably one of the best Benchys I've ever printed. I found the sweet spot at 200 °C, flow at 100%, and never touched either again. The CaliCat came out practically flawless, and the best part: stringing just wasn't a thing on any print. The articulated piranha also worked well, which tells me the layers bond properly.
Tabletops that look like stone
This is my favourite part. An Albert Einstein bust came out as one of my best prints ever, with no special settings, 0.2 mm layers and a slightly slower speed, printed overnight. With a marble filament I obviously had to print a Moai statue, and it really looks carved in stone on the shelf.
I kept printing one model after another trying to find a flaw: a small Statue of Liberty (not much detail at that size, but recognisable), a rocket in spiralised vase mode with 0.8 extrusion width (a bit rough at the tip, probably my extrusion setting, but solid overall), some small vases, and yes, a Bernie Sanders that now sits on my printer's Z axis. I couldn't resist.
Useful stuff
I printed a hook for the DJI Mavic Mini controller so you can attach a neck strap. It was for a motorcyclist friend who rides with his drone, and the marble black looks great on the controller. Then a whistle "to keep order in my family" (just kidding, my wife would kick me out), and while filming I was printing a phone stand with no stringing at all.
I never had adhesion problems or layers detaching. Even with the black pigment inside, it behaves like a really good PLA and obeys every setting in Cura. With other filaments I'd struggled with adhesion and temperatures; with this one it usually worked first try.