Question about filament drying and over-drying?
I am a new 3D printer user. I have printed 4 items in PETG and 6 items in PLA.
I read somewhere that if you dry a filament for too long, it can become brittle and loose quality. My home is near the ocean, and average humidity is 70 to 90%. So the first few times I printed PETG (different days), I took the spool out of my storage container (approx 25% RH) and put it in the filament dryer at 60°C for 3 hours. Then, after printing, I put the spool back in the storage box with desiccant.
Today it occurred to me: If every time I want to print PETG, I take the spool and put it in the dryer for 3 hours, will I ruin the filament before I finish using up the spool?
Thanks for any education.
Neal
RE: Question about filament drying and over-drying?
I am a new 3D printer user. I have printed 4 items in PETG and 6 items in PLA.
I read somewhere that if you dry a filament for too long, it can become brittle and loose quality. My home is near the ocean, and average humidity is 70 to 90%. So the first few times I printed PETG (different days), I took the spool out of my storage container (approx 25% RH) and put it in the filament dryer at 60°C for 3 hours. Then, after printing, I put the spool back in the storage box with desiccant.
Today it occurred to me: If every time I want to print PETG, I take the spool and put it in the dryer for 3 hours, will I ruin the filament before I finish using up the spool?
Thanks for any education.
Neal
If you keep the filament at 10-20% RH, you could probably go months or a year even without needing to dry it. Before putting in the dryer, do a test print first. If it shows obvious signs of being damp: popping or sizzling sounds, stringing, bubbly surface; only then put it in the dryer.
I too live within walking distance of the sea ... Starting with perfectly dry filament I can see moisture problems by the end of a long print.
You are very unlikely to overdry filament, long before problems arise you will finish a 1kg spool; you *might* have problems with some 5 - 10 kg spools if you only print small parts and dry every time.
I generally aim for 10%RH but don't always succeed - but it's not the RH that matters, it's the absolute quantity of water in the filament, if there's enough to cause bubbles and oozing of the nozzle when idle, or if you see 'zits' of filament left by the bed levelling procedure - dry it.
Cheerio,