As you already know, PLA filaments can absorb moisture easily. And once it comes with water drop, it affects your printing quality. So, how can you keep your filament dry for an extended period? Creating the filament dry box is a great way to keep your 3D printing filament from going worse! So, how to make a dry box for the 3D printing filament?
The process of making a filament dry box is not very tough. It needs some ingredients with some guidelines. By installing the pole socket and adding the filament feed, you can easily make your DIY dry box for keeping the filament.
In this article, I’ll show you how to make a simple DIY filament dry box using a few ingredients. I have also shared some experience about drying the filament when it is wet. So do hurry to learn it!
How to Store PLA Filaments Safely?
Don’t you know how to store filaments? You can keep your filament safe by properly storing them. In most cases, people keep the filament in these different ways: a Ziplock bag, dry box, or any heated dry cabinet. Let’s know a little deeper about how they help you:
Zipper Bags
Zipper or Ziplock Bags are a way to store filament. The common use of a zipper bag is to keep your filament dry safely. When you store it inside the zipper bag, you will have more convenience when you want to use it. It can also prevent dust, mold, and other contaminants from entering the bag that can harm your filament.
Most of the time, ZIP seal bags are not as effective in protecting your 3D printing filament from dust and contaminants as they intend for keeping food fresh long-term. To protect your filament and keep it dry, use a dry box.
Dry Box for Filament
Dry boxes can be the best way to keep your 3D printing filament dry, free of contaminants and dust. They come of plastic, cardboard, and glass, and in various sizes for different types of 3D printers and materials used.
The smallest 3D printed dry box can store up to 300 grams of filament, while others can store over a kilogram. Some boxes come from plastic and are transparent, so you can check on the amount of filament inside. Most dry boxes are rectangular with a lid so that you can seal them tightly when you want to store your 3D printing filament inside the box.
A dry box offers more protection than a ZIP seal bag. The most effective way to protect your filament is using a vacuum sealing machine. Or just use another Zip seal bag to create an air-tight environment that prevents air and other contaminants from entering your 3D printer filament storage unit.
Heated Dry Cabinet
Heated dry cabinets are a more advanced method of storing your filament. Depending on the model, you can keep the filament by air heating, forced or convection heating in the heated dry cabinet.
A convection dry cabinet pulls cool air through it for faster heat-up and heating. For forced-air models, warm air from its fan pulls through a coil or tray in which the filament rests during use. You can make a DIY heated dry box on your own.
Why Do I Need to Build A PLA Filament Storage Dry Box?
If you want to store your filament dry and clean, don’t trust your zip-seal bags at all. So if you want to keep your 3D printer’s nozzle clean by preventing mold and dust in it, that is the right time to build a PLA dry box.
But why buy them when they are so expensive? Well, this is not the only reason. Besides keeping your filament clean, it also serves other purposes for you. Moreover, the filament always absorbs water.
Do you know how to store PLA filament? If you would like to save your filament, you should build a 3D printer dry box and keep it safe. If there are water drops or any moisture and glues in the filament, it will affect the print quality, especially for PLA filaments.
What is the Benefit of The Filament Dry Box?
A moisture-free, clean environment is more optimal for all types of 3D printing filaments. The dry box provides a safe environment for maintaining the quality of filament. Storing filaments properly and safely can effectively extend their useful lifespan, especially if they are stored in Zip Seal bags or vacuum-sealed.
If you have ever wondered how long 3D printing filaments can last, the answer depends on how you can after leaving the factory.
When you store them properly in Zip Seal bags, but it creates a leakage or not seal properly, the filament will damage. So, a dry box will help you keep it safe for longer than Zip bags.
What Ingredients Should I Need for Making A Dry Box?
You need a plastic-made gasket container. The container should be deep to fill with filament. You can choose the shape you like. Then it would be best if you had a closet rod or PVC pipe whose size should match your container.
After that, you’ll need a few Teflon tubing for feeding the filament to your printer. You also need some silica gel packets to absorb moisture coming from the air and stay inside the box. Then you need a screw gun, a step drill, a few O rings, and some 3D printed items.
How to Make a Dry Box for the 3D Printing Filament?
For making the dry box, you need a few ingredients which I have already explained and a step-by-step guideline. Here are step-by-step guidelines on how you could make your dry box. So let’s know the details:
Made Some 3d Parts
First, you make a closet pole socket. It is very easy to make. After making this, you need to fit the screws where needed.
Install Your Pole Socket
You need to install the pole in the container. For installing the pole, you need to choose a side to open the lid of your box easily. After deciding on the installation place, you need to mark the points and drill holes for installing pole sockets. Use the O-ring on each of the screws and then tighten the bolts.
Install the Filament Feed
After that, you need to test with a filament roll put in the box to understand if the roll is fitting or if you need to drill some other places. Then fixing the points, drilling all the holes, and using O-rings in every hole, you need to install the pole socket to adjust the filament roll holder. Make sure you use the Teflon tubing to keep your filament away from air or dust.
Load the Filament
Now you need to feed the filament over the tubbing. Or you could feed the filament from above your printer down to the printer’s feeder beneath.
How You Can Dry Wet PLA
When using PLA, you need to make sure it is in a dry condition otherwise, your object can get damaged or face a problem. Moisture can cause improper 3D filament storage that is too hot or cold or in an open-air environment.
If you don’t want to deal with this problem, then there are some methods that you can do to dry the filament before using it again.
Baking
One of the easiest and most convenient ways to dry the PLA is by using a household oven.
The more you leave the filament, the more it will dry. First, heat the oven to around 40 to 45 degrees Celsius (104 to 113 degrees Fahrenheit). Preheat for about 15 minutes before turning off the heat. You can also dry it in natural gas. Or you can dry it in an electric oven for 4 to 6 hours.
Dehydrating
You will need to place your PLA in a food processor. The filaments should be dry and ready to use when you are done. The PLA drying temperature should be around 40 to 50 degrees Celsius (104- 113 degrees Fahrenheit). It can take about 6 hours until your filament is dried. You may have some commercial use also to dry the filament.
Final Words!
3D printing with PLA filament can be a great way to create strong and durable objects. However, PLA can become brittle and break easily if not stored properly. There are a few different ways to store PLA safely to retain its strength and flexibility.
One easy and cost-effective way is to keep them in a filament dry box. But how to make a dry box for the 3D printing filament? In this article, I have already explained the details. So, try not to miss the simple way to make your dry box at home and enjoy dry filament!
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