eDry Cabinet (testing and thoughts)
I need to control the humidity for storage of printing of my filament as the room I print in is normally between 60-80%RH for much of the year. Like many I tried various combinations of plastic boxes & bags with desiccant and chucking sensitive filament in the oven for a few hours. Works OK I guess but it is really not idea. For me it is was kind of awkward, I still had popping and hissing on some roles and at the end of the day it is really not that cost effective either.
So I spoke with a local Sydney supplier of professional Dry Cabinets and after much discussion on what might work, Mathew from Photo Equipment Store let me test out a couple of models from eDry.
- First up with the eDry 243L Dry Cabinet Model D-206C. It held all my spools (about 40) but did not really get dry enough for me (about 30-40% RH) and was slow to bring it down to this level after opening the door. So back it went after a week or so.
- Second up I tried the eDry Ultra Low Humidity 128L Dry Cabinet Model SL-128CA (see pic). It can be programmed to any desired RH % and I set it 0% RH. This one works well not only in getting down to 0-1% RH but quickly restoring down to these levels after the door is open. I had no real way of testing how it would work in drying filament vs maintaining it, so I added some colour changing silica gel that was fully saturated (black) and watched as it slowly dried it out back to Orange. Not that I will need desiccant again, as these cabinets are solid state dehumidifiers! They are also quiet, and consume very little power (some 8w which beats putting spools in the oven!!). This tech is a keeper but a bit small for my needs.
- Next up will be the (on order) eDry Ultra Low Humidity 250L Dry Cabinet Model SL-206CA. It is being custom modified with with 5 x Print Ports and seals so I can print directly from the Cabinet (to my yet to be delivered MMU2s) as well as using it for storage. Unfortunately it will be another month or so before I get my hands on it as it is coming by sea from Taiwan to Sydney. I'll post an update when it arrives. The downside is these Ultra Dry Cabinets are an expensive up front purchase but work out to be under $50 per filament reel of storage space.
- Another option that might work for many is a their better value for money cabinet, the Model 3D-90CA which already includes 4 x Print from Dry Cabinet ports and apparently will get down to under 20%RH. I've not tested it as it was not available at the time, so I can not comment on the claims or how well it works.
I'm happy to answer any questions and thanks again to Mathew for letting me test (note: I'm not involved with his business or get any rewards, just wanted to give him a plug for letting me test the equipment out). I've had no issue printing humidity sensitive filament stored in the cabinet including Nylon, TPU, and Hytrel but it is also early days.
Thanks
Nathan
Note: Cross posted to the Simplify3D Forum
Re: eDry Cabinet (testing and thoughts)
Good idea. No sure of storing filament in the box. They should already be sealed.
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Chuck H
3D Printer Review Blog
Re: eDry Cabinet (testing and thoughts)
These are all opened and part used. I keep them in the box for identification.
Re: eDry Cabinet (testing and thoughts)
Dare I ask what the price is on one of these?
Normal people believe that if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. Engineers believe that if it ain’t broke, it doesn’t have enough features yet.
Re: eDry Cabinet (testing and thoughts)
They range from about US$500 up pending on size and the dehydration capability. The one I've shown in the pic is about $1k
RE: eDry Cabinet (testing and thoughts)
Thoughts after using these "eDry Ultra Low Humidity 250L Dry Cabinet Model SL-206CA" after 18mths:
- They are quiet, efficient, and work really well at keeping all my spools dry including ePA / ePA6 (Nylons) for good straight from Cabinet printing results (I still print from a modified food dehydrator but no longer need to "pre-dry" my Nylons)
- It not only keep filaments dry but will also dry out "Wet" filaments. In my testing in an 80% RH environment, PLA gained 0.53% in weight, PETG 0.40%, and ePA-CF 4.88%. These samples then took 48h for PLA, and 1 week for PETG to return to their "Dry" state in these Cabinets. ePA-CF took 11 weeks to get down to 0.14% which seems to be about the limit in these Cabinets. In Comparison, in Freezer Bags with Desiccant were much less effective and far slower. Here is a table below showing how long it took each filament type to become "wet", then how long it took for them to "dry"
- Expensive: This is the big downside. These cabinets are very expensive and I'd say also overkill for PLA and PETG in most environments where just using desiccant should work fine. They really do come into their own for hassle free storage with very Hydroscopic Filament like ePA.
- Tinting: The cabinets also came with clear glass, so I added some tinting to cut down on the UV.
RE: eDry Cabinet (testing and thoughts)
If anyone is interested, KB3D does group buys for these and one going on now, as of this writing:
This is a good buy, and the more people that sign up, the cheaper it is. So less that half-price. But the negative, it won't ship until November or Dec.
RE: eDry Cabinet (testing and thoughts)
My custom home built drying cabinet / cupboard / desk worked out to be a shocking ~£400 (~$500) without an active drying solution! But it keeps the filament types I use regularly nice and dry at ~20% using just desiccant. It's got a 80mm fan to stir the air after the door has been opened which I don't have to do often as each filament is already feed though the PTFE tubes and ready to load into the printer.
https://forum.prusa3d.com/forum/postid/708597/
RE:
These electronic dry cabinets are NOT the same as filament dry containers or dehydrators. The cheap filament dryers, like the ones from SUNLU or Solvol or Creality just have a small heater and sometimes a fan to remove the moisture from filament. These mostly work, but sometimes heating the filament damages the filament over time. These dry cabinets aren't this at all. They dehumidify the air in the cabinet so you can store filaments in a dry environment, and they use very little power, typically under 10W. If you put a wet roll of filament in these, they will dry it out, but it may take weeks. Again. they are for actual storage, not actual drying.
Also keep in mind there are two types of dry cabinets. One type is designed for storing camera equipment and other electronics so it doesn't become moldy. These are cheaper and generally can keep the humidity between 35% and 50%. Cameras are stored at 35% to 45%. These are NOT for filament storage. The ones for filament can usually keep the humidity under 10%. They are usually more expensive. One for cameras might be $300, ones for filament maybe $1200. If you want one for filament, make sure it can drop humidity to under 20%. The one at the KB-3D Group Buy is for filament. If it doesn't mention filament, then it's probably to store cameras. NONE of these dry cabinets use any type of desiccant that you must change. EDRY makes the filament storage types. Ruggard makes the kind to store cameras.
RE:
@jmone
1. How do you like your filament dryer
2. Did e-dry modify with the 5 printing ports?
RE: eDry Cabinet (testing and thoughts)
The e-dry cabinets just work, are quiet and don't require any maintenance or consumables apart from power. They also don't seem to draw much power as they are sealed really well and the motor tends to only come on after opening the door. My batch seemed to have an issue with a bearing on the fan in the motor unit as both got rattly after a couple of years (but these were replaced by the reseller here in Australia who gave me temp motors while waiting for replacement units from Taiwan).
I had mine fitted with the 5 printing ports but ended up not using them due to where my printer is and the size of my cabinets (I instead used a food dehydrator that I modified with 5 ports when actually printing).
I've got both my cabinets set at 0% but really should sort my filaments between one set as 0% (Nylons etc), and say 10 or 20% for PLA as I find that PLA can get a bit brittle when it is this dry.
If (like me), you don't mind the price, live in a humid environment, and print with filament like Nylon I would highly recommend them. If you just print with PLA then I would not bother with anything.
RE: eDry Cabinet (testing and thoughts)
I bought one from the group buy at KB-3D, but won't receive it until November/December. I live in Phoenix AZ and the AVERAGE daily morning humidity is 47%, the AVERAGE evening humidity is 23%, and the AVERAGE daily humidity is 37%, according to the weather service. These humidity levels are well above nylon levels needed, but also way above PLA, so you don't need to be in Florida or Texas to need one of these.
This thread was about e-Dry cabinets, which are great but also very expensive. The KB-3D cabinet was $500 but the normal price was $1300+. I have also discovered another company, Production Automation Corporation (PAC) located in Minnesota that sells filament dry cabinets cheaper, the StatPro brand, starting just above $200. I do not know if they are good, but they are cheaper.
RE: eDry Cabinet (testing and thoughts)
Thanks for the info. Based on your information I’m in for one. I just need to find the most cost effective one that will hold at least 20, preferably 30 or more standard spools.
RE: eDry Cabinet (testing and thoughts)
Thanks for the info! I checked the KB-3D website and did not see a currently available dehumidifier cabinet. Which one did you get?
I’d like to get the eDry Ultra Low Humidity 250L Dry Cabinet Model SL-206CA, but I don’t see any distributors in the US.
So I’m looking at PAC StatPro cabinets which you mentioned.
RE:
So the 3D printing company KB3D did what they call a group buy. When I first mentioned it, it was going on. It's now closed. They have done it 3 or 4 times. If a certain number of people commit to buying it, they get the price. If not, everyone gets their money back. The GROUP BUYS are here:
https://kb-3d.com/store/32-kb3d-group-buys
They had to sell 24 of them and they sold 64, so they were pretty popular.
The PAC cabinets are here: https://www.gotopac.com/products/storage/cabinets/dry-storage/3d-printer-filament-cabinets.html
Their biggest one holds about 25 spools for about $700.
Another company that makes them is Ruggard, but these are for Camera storage, and NOT for filament storage. They only can maintain about 35% humidity. Good for camera storage, not good for filament.
I don't know why these are so hard to find or so expensive. They are quite simple in operation.
RE: eDry Cabinet (testing and thoughts)
So finally got the PAC cabinet above. It can hold about 4 spools. Anyway, indoor humidity here in AZ reads 37.5% today and inside the cabinet, 7.4% and this is after 12 hours, so its working quite good.
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@jmone Those edry cabinets are awesome. I checked pricing w/ edry for the SL-250CA (Same as Model SL-206CA according to their website). Each SL-250CA would cost me approx $2,500 USD incl shipping from Taiwan to the USA w/ the freight part being $1340 USD:
SL-250CA USD$1060
Wooden box&heat treatment USD$110
Freight USD$1340TOTAL
Total USD$2510
I calculated I could get 64 rolls of filament (unboxed) standing upright in one of those going two rows deep; however the cost of the cabinet is on the high side for me at this time.
It would be interesting to see if initially starting w/ heated drying would speed up the drying of the nylon before placing it in the edry dessicator cabinet when dealing with such water saturated nylon.
RE: eDry Cabinet (testing and thoughts)
Those eDry ones are good, but expensive. If you want those, keep checking for the KB3D Group buys. The Production Automation Corporation (PAC) ones are much cheaper. They are also made in Taiwan but they are a US company and have a California warehouse. I paid like $13 to ship the small one. Its was like under $220 including shipping, but yes, only four spools. The biggest PAC one holds about 12 spools.
I was part of the last KB3D group buy and got the eDry SD-90CA for $499 plus about $90 shipping, but won't get it until December. Its 90 liters. If you need a bigger one, you will pay dearly for it.
From what I have seen, the eDry ones and the PAC ones are both made in Taiwan, and I would be surprised if they weren't made at the same factory. They look VERY similar. If you REALLY want a bigger one than PAC sells, I would call them up to see if they can get a bigger one. It might be MUCH cheaper and shipping is from CA.
From what I have read, these cabinets will NOT dry wet filament, or it will take VERY LONG. So use heat, then after it is dry, but it in the cabinet. You could try adding a fan to the cabinets to speed the process. They don't really have one.
RE:
I did a big multi month test of how quickly a sample of PLA / PETG / ePA-CF filament will get fully saturated (in a 80% RH Box) and the how quickly and how close it will get back to it's original weight using:
- Dehydrator
- Vacuum Chamber
- Desiccant in a bag
- Dry Cabinet
Here is the summary table:
RE: eDry Cabinet (testing and thoughts)
OK did some digging. On the bottom of the instructions for my PAC cabinet, it says "Taiwan Dry Tech Corp." We to their web site and it leads to Eurekadrytech https://www.eurekadrytech.com/ which is, wait for it, eDry. So the PAC cabinets are rebranded eDry cabinets. I have never seen any other companies that make these.