Filament Dehumidifier Cabinet for 3D Printing Filament
Eureka Dry Tech manufactures humidity & moisture controlled dry cabinet and dry box products. These products are suitable for storage of various types of 3D printing filament materials, especially hygroscopic filament polymers like nylon and PVA.
Eureka Dry Tech’s ADL-3D77 Filament Dry Box is the perfect moisture control solution for 3D Printing Filament Storage. Our automatic humidity control dry cabinets provides a quick and simple way to store filament without hassle. Simply set the desired humidity level, store the filaments and our dehumidifier dry unit will take care of the rest. Your filament will stay completely dry, easily accessible, perfectly identifiable (i.e. no need to open every box to find the right kind of filament you are looking for) and ready to be used anytime you need them for a print.
We offer cabinets in a range of sizes and shapes and storage capacity from 20 liters to 1300 liters and relative humidity control in a variety of ranges from 5%RH to 55%RH, we can provide you with custom or OEM cabinet designs that will suit you or your client's filament dry storage needs.
ADL-3D77 3D Printing Series Filament Dry Cabinet
Eureka Dry Tech's 3D Printing Filament Storage Dry Cabinet features:
- Low humidity environment
- Four filament feed ports allows direct printing from the cabinet while in dry storage.
- Adjustable hanging rod hanging up to 33 cm diameter spools.
- Air tight cabinet prevents moisture and dust.
- Low energy consumption (13 W Avg., 100 W Max).
- No consumable parts, desiccants to replace, no water tanks to empty.
- Dries your filament without heat to weaken filament tensile strength.
For more info please visit https://www.eurekadrytech.com/application/3d-printing-filament-storage-dry-cabinet
For product details please visit https://www.eurekadrytech.com/products/auto-dry-box/eureka-dry-tech-adl-3d77-3d-printing-series-filament-dry-cabinet?v=70
Most may not realize, moisture absorption in filaments could be a significant cause of failure in 3D printing.
Some filament materials (like nylon, and PVA) are more hygroscopic than others, which means it has an inherent quality to attract ambient moisture. When filament spools are exposed to ambient humidity for long periods of time without any humidity controlled storage solution in place, moisture related problems will soon appear during printing. A complicated project could take hours or even days to complete but when a project has been set to run on its own, discovery of problems are often too late. Moisture absorbed in the filament could cause obstructions to the printer’s hot end and may require it to be replaced. Furthermore, moisture absorption can also affect the tensile strength of the filaments and the output objects.
Moisture Sensitivity of Filament Material
Sensitivity to moisture and the rate of absorption could vary depending on the type of filament material.
For example, nylons exposed to moisture in the ambient environment will absorb its maximal capacity of water molecules in only 18 hours.
PVAs are extremely hygroscopic and needs to be stored in a sealed box or a special container.
Conductive graphene is a new filament material on the market and is also moisture sensitive.
Ultem is another popular new filament that provides great tensile strength but recent studies has shown moisture absorption will decrease tensile strength. (see https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2214860418304779)
PLA and ABS also attract water from the air, even if it is to a lesser degree. Proper storage for these various types of filament is important when not in use and Eureka Dry Tech offers various storage solutions for this.
Effects of Water Absorption by 3D Printing filament material may result in the following problems:
- Brittleness and breakage of filament,
- Diameter inconsistency
- Hissing steam or bubbling when filament reaches the hot-end,
- Filament degradation,
- Higher extruding temperature
Some "Makers" has come up with creative ways to address these problems, all of which has its own setbacks.
"Makers" in the 3D printing world often have multiple spools of filaments that are made of different materials like nylon, PVA, ABS, PLA, and in different colors. Rolls of filaments usually comes in 1kg spools, the filament spools often lasts for a long time. Soon the collection of filament polymer spools begin to grow and proper storage could become an issue as moisture absorbs in different types of filament material. This is of a concern especially with nylon and PVA, which are quick to absorb moisture.
Containers with light bulb or other heat source: A constant draw of power is required to maintain drying without control for a set humidity level, moisture will reabsorb when ever heat from light bulb or other heat source is removed.
Vacuum bags and silica gel desiccants: Moisture can enter the bag if not sealed properly. Silica gel desiccants are able to absorb so much before requiring replacement and can create too dry of condition initially. If not monitored constantly, silica desiccants can actually maintain moisture inside the bag with the filament.
Baking filaments in ovens: There are no specific recommendations for best temperature for curing filaments in an oven. Filaments are made of thermoplastic, any heat source could present changes to the filament material's properties. And if not properly monitored the filament that are being dried could melt in the oven.
Repeatedly drying filaments with an active heat source will irreversibly degrade the plastic. Preventing moisture absorption in the first place will eliminate the need to dry your filament and ensure your filament's print quality is maintained till the end of the spool.
Please click the following link for more information regarding our Filament Dry Cabinet or please visit our or for pricing details.
Photo Source:
http://forums.vr-zone.com/chit-chatting/2904838-review-portabee-3d-print...
http://3dprint.com/49058/filament-moisture-damage/
http://stephanfr.com/2014/09/07/printing-with-taulman-bridge-nylon/
