Drying filament ?  

Re: Drying filament ?

To date, I've been keeping filament in large ziplock bags with desiccant packs.

Re: Drying filament ?

Hi John,

Yep this is what I do allready. But is it enough for moisture pumping filament like nylon/PC ?

Re: Drying filament ?

Hi John,

Yep this is what I do allready. But is it enough for moisture pumping filament like nylon/PC ?

I don't know the answer to that. Some have suggested that if filament does get too moist, you can place it in the oven at low temperatures, but I don't know how well that works, nor the specifics of time or temperature (which I would guess would vary based on material).

Re: Drying filament ?

I store mine in individual plastic boxes (kitchenware air tight ones) with a handful of the Silica Gel pouches in with them.

Some people dry it using their oven as John said, others have used food dehydrators while others pack it Silica Gel or dry (uncooked!) rice for a week...

There is a commercially available drier as well: http://www.printdry.com/

Re: Drying filament ?

Could try a dehumidifier. That will need to be put in a small box though somehow or you will be drying the whole room out. That will be the best metiod of extracting the moisture. I dont think its the most practical though.

Re: Drying filament ?

I've seen the dryer, I consider it a bit overkill for occasional needs, and I know there are option to do one by reusing food dryer, the base is exactly the same.

I've already tried the oven method, but it wasn't very encouraging, The spool itself got deformed and the filament (PLA) began to deform. I think it's very hard to get proper low temperature in kitchen oven and I wasn't very scrupulous on the temperature I set. I'll maybe try it again but with way more cautious.

There are a lot of options that can be found on the net, but it's hard to evaluate if it's really that pertinent, that's why I'm asking field experience from you guys 🙂

Re: Drying filament ?

Wow that printdry is pretty cool. But I guess any dehydrator would work with a mod to the inside.... Even go for different colours and sizes cough http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/XXL-12-Tray-Food-Dehydrator-Dryer-Preserver-32cm-Temp-Adjust-Dishwasher-Safe-/301604185995?hash=item463902a78b:g:dYwAAOSwLzdWSyIs

Re: Drying filament ?

My question would be how do you know you need to dry your filament??

Re: Drying filament ?

Wow that printdry is pretty cool. But I guess any dehydrator would work with a mod to the inside.... Even go for different colours and sizes cough http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/XXL-12-Tray-Food-Dehydrator-Dryer-Preserver-32cm-Temp-Adjust-Dishwasher-Safe-/301604185995?hash=item463902a78b:g:dYwAAOSwLzdWSyIs

Yes, that what I was refering, you even have some version with tray allready having the right dimension, designed for yogurt like this one: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/PRO-KITCHEN-FOOD-DEHYDRATOR-YOGURT-MAKER-VEGETABLE-FRUIT-DRYER-FREE-UK-P-P/272265768624?_trksid=p2047675.c100005.m1851&_trkparms=aid%3D222007%26algo%3DSIC.MBE%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D38837%26meid%3Dc6c34f4238f74980ad4ec64af0393b8f%26pid%3D100005%26rk%3D3%26rkt%3D6%26sd%3D301604185995

Does anybody here use this kind of device ?

I've heard that PC is so keen to get moisture that it's recommanded to dry it before any print. Is that real ? I do not dare to unseal it yet 🙂

Re: Drying filament ?

The trays on the inside just lift out so you can use as many or as little as you like. For instance on the printdryer they have removed them all, places a filament spool, then the middle support and then another filament spool. Its not a specific filament dryer. Ill get one on pay day and check it out. If not just for filament but some biltong too.

But do I actually need to dry the filament? Its kept in a box in a dry room at room temp. Not in my garage or damp warehouse.

Re: Drying filament ?

My question would be how do you know you need to dry your filament??

You can usually tell by how it prints. If a spool started off printing fine but over time gets steadily worse then it can often be a sign that it's got to damp. To quote from http://3dprintingforbeginners.com/how-to-store-3d-printing-filament/

The effects of attracting water may result in one or more of the following problems: increased brittleness, diameter augmentation (potential problems with Bowden-tube printers), filament bubbling or hissing steam once reaching the hot-end, filament degradation, breaking filament, etc. which will all lead to increased complications during printing. You also need to factor in the fact that 3D printing filament which has absorbed water will need a higher temperature for extruding correctly.

Re: Drying filament ?

Yeah, and you can also get steam coming back up the PTFE tube and corroding the brass filament drive gear...

I put a picture of that happening to me on here some time ago.

Peter

Re: Drying filament ?

Peter and 3Delight thank you.

Could you tell the filament was bad before finding the problem? I am wondering if I should always dehydrate for 20 mins before using a filament.

Re: Drying filament ?

I didn't know, but suspected it may be damp, as I don't keep filament in boxes.

Most of the time, you just get away with it with PLA and don't notice any difference.

It really is best if you can use up one spool before starting another, but for me, that is just not possible.

Peter

Re: Drying filament ?

It's not always easy to spot and depends on the material, I had a spool of Prusa PLA sitting on the printer for 10 months before learning about the issues and it still prints as well as the day we got it!! So I think even different Brands of the same filament can react differently. It's mainly noticeable once you start printing with it, for example nylon can hiss and bubble as it's coming out the nozzle if it's damp as the water is literally boiling away!

I think it's another one of those things that comes with experience...

Re: Drying filament ?

Because I'm not particularly keen on putting my spools in the oven I need for my favourite foods, I just try to prevent as much as I can: two 22l plastic boxes (one for ABS, one for PLA), each containing 2 KG worth of color-changing siliga gel beads in cotton bags. (bags of beads are surprisingly cheaper when buying such larger quantities) The lids stay on the boxes at all times (kept shut with printed clips and other boxes stacked on top of them) unless I want to swap a spool.

To go all out with a method like mine, I guess one could put the spools on a rod inside the box and feed the filament to the printer through a passage like this one: http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:1461750/#files

Re: Drying filament ?

How on gods earth did they drill holes in those containers without cracking them. I bow to those people.

Is it not the silaca gel balls that are being banned or is that some other plastic balls?

Re: Drying filament ?

If it's the Europe wide ban you are talking about then no it's not these, that is a ban on Micro-beds that are added to cosmetics, cleaning products, etc. As the name suggests they are very very small and highly toxic to aquatic life!

Re: Drying filament ?

Hi fellow printers,

I had the same problem with PLA the spool that did get delivered with the printer "corrupted" really fast. I have like 70 % humidity in the air here and it is quite a challenge i assume. I now build one of these babies here: http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:814597 and i sealed it with silicone. Now i can get to 10 % moisture inside the box 🙂 This will be even better when i pt in my new design of silica boxes, specially made for the LOCK box measurements 🙂

I will post the link to thingiverse here when i finish the design 🙂