1 Topic by rforeman (edited by rforeman 2014-12-08 03:46:34)

  • rforeman
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Topic: How long will it take to dry out my filament?.

I started having my nozzle jamming and it was happening with 2 different spools. After taking apart the nozzle and soaking it in acetone and cleaning it out, I tested both spools and there was bubbling every few mm's so I figured it had absorbed moisture.

Long story short, I now have the 2 spools in a storage tub with a 100w bulb in it and a can of damprid. Inside the container it is about 100° F(38° C) and humidity 16%. About how long should I wait to try to use the filament?

Thanks.

2 Reply by Lmay

  • Lmay
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Re: How long will it take to dry out my filament?.

The answer is not as easy as picking a temperature and a time as you have just defined your own "drying method" with the use of your lightbulb and whatever chamber volume your storage tub represents.  If you were attempting to dry ABS molding pellets, a typical time/temp routine would be something like 80 to 90 deg/C for 3 to 5 hours but in that scenario, the drying is  taking place with forced air in a known and somewhat predictable chamber size.  What matters more for your attempt at drying is when you can observe a visual difference in the molded results.  Moisture does show in a variety of ways and most commonly in what we would describe as silver streaks within the molded parts.  if you leave your spool(s) in the current status for a 24 hour period and then try producing parts with this material again - and if you don't see the similar streaking, then you've probably just defined a data point for your filament that represents "dryer" material than what you had previously.  Given the wide variety of households, garages, basements, etc. it would be pretty difficult to ever establish something like a standard except by trial in your own specific conditions.  Maybe others have a "recipe" that works from their trials and figuring out some form of an acceptable range might be of value to all of us but only when we mirror your tub and bulb!  Good question, but it's pretty hard to pin down further with any real certainty.  Thanks.

3 Reply by rforeman

  • rforeman
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Re: How long will it take to dry out my filament?.

Lmay wrote:

The answer is not as easy as picking a temperature and a time as you have just defined your own "drying method" with the use of your lightbulb and whatever chamber volume your storage tub represents.  If you were attempting to dry ABS molding pellets, a typical time/temp routine would be something like 80 to 90 deg/C for 3 to 5 hours but in that scenario, the drying is  taking place with forced air in a known and somewhat predictable chamber size.  What matters more for your attempt at drying is when you can observe a visual difference in the molded results.  Moisture does show in a variety of ways and most commonly in what we would describe as silver streaks within the molded parts.  if you leave your spool(s) in the current status for a 24 hour period and then try producing parts with this material again - and if you don't see the similar streaking, then you've probably just defined a data point for your filament that represents "dryer" material than what you had previously.  Given the wide variety of households, garages, basements, etc. it would be pretty difficult to ever establish something like a standard except by trial in your own specific conditions.  Maybe others have a "recipe" that works from their trials and figuring out some form of an acceptable range might be of value to all of us but only when we mirror your tub and bulb!  Good question, but it's pretty hard to pin down further with any real certainty.  Thanks.

Thanks. I figured I would ask and see if anyone else had tried this method. May give the spools a go tomorrow. I have a print going now that is going to take another 15 hours. I opened a fresh filament spool to do this job and it is rolling right along.

Here is the tub I got
http://www.lowes.com/pd_336492-62860-71 … Id=3341164

And its stats.
Unit of Measure    Quart(s)
Unit of Measure Quantity    66
Depth (Inches)    13.1
Width (Inches)    24
Height (Inches)    16.8

4 Reply by Lmay

  • Lmay
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Re: How long will it take to dry out my filament?.

Close but no cigar - as they say!  the others might range from 18" tall to 60" tall and hold from 20 to 300+ lbs of resin so even with the nice molded handles on both sides, it's a different animal for sure.  I doubt if Lowes (in Monroe) has any left though this close to Xmas.