Filament Storage Ideas? (Page 2 of 3)

yep so that falls into my "unless exposed to" as PLA and some others are very moisture vulnerable. so if we keep them cool (under 100F) dry and out of UV lite till printing with them (also in cool dry no UV area). they should be good for long time. I dont think the public knows how easy PLA can decompose even after printed. all those widgets made with it are gonna be trash within months after buying them likely. thats why I prefer ABS mostly

yes that would be interesting to see results. looks like PLA may need sold in half spools as easy as it degrades.

I have looked at a broken part I made in PLA with a 60X currency microscope at the honeycomb infill. its full of splinters, microscopic hairs, spurs, bulges, glass glazed, bubbles etc. like peanut brittle. not impressed to say the least. I think I would only use PLA for indoor game pieces, model details and colored lenses for miniature vehicles and vases etc. not lamp shades even as CF bulbs have UV also. I want to be able to print in a rubber type material in maybe 4 dif colors Clear, Black, Neutral etc. the Apprentice with the new all metal hothead and filament guide tube would do near 100% of my prints with water desolvable support material. unless needing finer ultra detail prints.

I looked at the site selling the new hotheads and the one we need has shrunk to less than half size now. hope thats what the SD duel extruders use

Mitch G

yes the country of manufacture has a great deal to do with quality especially when they dont use/have access to good quality materials or workmanship to manufacture with like China and other old tech countries India and a couple others have out dated tool and die used to make metal items sold in cheap stores like harbor freight as more of a display novelty item like old style transits, compasses, sextants, Knives... in the name of recycling/going green" and many of the once famous brand name manufacturers have out sourced manufacturing, assembly and components to China, Mexico and elsewhere for cheap labor etc trying to boost profits at the cost of quality many have even closed or moved/sold out of the USA and get tax breaks for doing so plus other countries get big discounts on  importing to the USA yet place embargoes and heavy fees on the USA importing to them (kinda reverse of former Presidents like Reagan's "free trade agreement"). so I wouldnt call it just a patriotic statement/ideal as I know our own companies are part at fault. but we are tired of being sold out and becoming one of the poorest economy's instead of one of the wealthiest. there are more immigrants (legal and illegal) being employed than American born lately and thats getting worse. are there other countries that have this same problem? I worry how my children will make it at the rate things are going. there are thousands of industrys and businesses (Jobs/Careers) vanishing every month never to return being torn down even. but thats enough about that.

all Im saying from first hand experience is quality suffers greatly on several countries products compared to the quality I saw the first 30+ years of my 56 years here. and I can list dozens of examples where that has cost many times more than the few bucks saved going that route. its not the fault of those other countries but our own for allowing it happen to us.

Mitch

Clearly us Antipodeans and Europeans have no idea. I stand wholly corrected and educated.

USA... USA... USA... that's how it goes right?

yeah right, totally missed the point

You need a better dictionary:

And I dont think I missed your point .. I just sort of got side tracked as I personally see no valid arguments over country of origin == quality debates. I've used crap US product; crap European product and yes; crap Australian product.  Like any supply arrangement its up to you to choose to partner with people that provide the quality you seek. That quality can be delivered from multiple countries with little correlation between the two. There's yes crap Chinese product; but there is also quality product. There is just 10,000 more of them than there is in the US or Europe combined - so obviously following that statistically there will be more low quality product by volume, but not by ratio to the entire market place.  To walk into a situation with preconceived notions that Country of Origin will directly equate to the output quality is just short sighted and wholly non-reflective of reality.

By all means get worked up over flag waving and the demise of your industrial sector... but don't try and run the argument that Made in the USA means superior because it doesn't. Products rarely subscribe to Patriotism.

Anyway; ignore me and continue on... My apologies to all.

maybe but I have yet to see any top quality products from there even at top dollar. quite the contrary. just 1 example. how many other countrys still make and sell child and infant toys with lead based paint on them or Christmas tree lights with lead powder on the plastic wires insulation. any lead based products  where banned in the USA by the late 60s

where do ya find the ones with screw on lids? do lids also have rubber seal?

Yes rubber seals! They keep things tight. Home Depot.

I found 4$ shrink wrap and .01 per packet dessicant on line. Used Amazon prime and got free shipping.
Wrapping the filament with the dessicant package inside works great for me. The filament actually gets drier as time goes on.
Super cheap and effective

I have a vacuum sealer and have thought about turning some sturdy storage boxes into vacuum chambers for my filament. I have about a dozen spools right now so a single box would do. They don't have a vacuum port, however..

For now, I have a damp-rid in there with them..

What about the vacuum bags for clothes?

I usually stored all my filaments
- no direct sunlight
- no heat source
- dry
- circulated area

For opened box filament, I keep all of them in an electric dehumidifier to dry them up even more.  I typically dry them up to around 10% - 15% humidity.

I know many of us don't have an electric dehumidifier.
You can try this instead.
Preparation:
a container with lid that is able to seal tight (water proof)
package of dehumidifier (also known as desiccant)
Keep all opened filament inside the container along with the desiccant.  This will keep them around 35% humidity level depending on how long and how many desiccant to keep inside.  But 35% is an acceptable level.

Give it a try