Garden Railway Forum

Being in a high humidity environment I have been looking for ways to seal my filament spools, I stumbled upon this article https://www.zdnet.com/home-and-office/w ... to-use-it/
I have just bought this.
https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/26621178516 ... R87t-rb5YQ

When I start the Coal Wagon production line I will need something to remove some lumps and bumps from the prints.
I found this article https://www.zdnet.com/home-and-office/t ... -printing/
And I have just bought this.
https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/32472330369 ... %3A2047675

I've seen other references to vac packing filament, but never investigated it before. I use round plastic sweet 'tins' with the silica sachets from the original package. It seems to work well enough, but we don't have particularly high humidity, of course.

I'd never come across the deburring tool before, but that does look useful, thanks. I've always used a scalpel held sideways and/or file or wet 'n dry for this sort of work, but I'll give it a try , I think. so thanks again.

Thanks for these tips. SWMBO has decreed the 3D printer “is to be relocated” to my shed/workshop and I have dawdling due to concerns about keeping filament dry. This is a good looking solution.

Also I had been looking to justify a set of deburring tools, so multiple uses builds the case. Yippee.

The de-burring tool arrived this morning and I tested it this afternoon and it worked quite well.
I used the fine blade and when compared to using a scalpel I think my fingers are a lot safer now.
There are limitations but overall it is very handy tool to have and use as it is supposed to used for metal the blades should last for a long time before needing replacement.

I am definitely going to bite the bullet, if only to stop eBay and Amazon reminding me I had once looked to these tools!

The vacuum sealing kit for my filament spools has arrived; and a quick look revealed that it should work as advertised (I would be surprised if it did not, as E-Sun is a big player in the 3D market and reputational damage would be a big consideration for them); it even came with bags of silica gel to seal up with the spools.

I use vac bags for longer term storage, but I also use a filament dryer on every roll a few hours before printing and during the first couple of hours during printing, this method works well for me. The deburr tool looks like it will be useful.

Oh Steve - get behind me Satan with your tempting recommendations. I have already fallen for Graeme's deburring tools and vacumn storage. The printer and I are destined to "the shed" only a few days hence

Ianm wrote: ↑Sat May 06, 2023 9:54 am Oh Steve - get behind me Satan with your tempting recommendations. I have already fallen for Graeme's deburring tools and vacumn storage. The printer and I are destined to "the shed" only a few days hence

If I was printing outside I would not be without a filament dryer, they even bring back old filaments to their former glorious printing ability, 100% the best investment for me.

Did I mention that most can also weigh the remaining roll, though you do have to take off the weight of the spool,so weigh an empty one first.

After googling DIY filament dryer I came across this article.
https://all3dp.com/2/diy-filament-dry-box-tutorial/

This cheap dry box storage has caught my attention
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zwg6MKK ... rnHobbyist

The food dehydrator idea it might also be worth some consideration.

The link to the drying time table
https://www.printdry.com/how-to-dry-fil ... ing%20Time

I found these silica gel packs which are interesting
https://www.silicagel.com.au/hydrosorbe ... i-canister
and this which can be dried in a microwave
https://www.bunnings.com.au/cli-mate-15 ... r_p4470300

I've never really had a problem with damp filament, probably because my machines are in a centrally heated house. Just occasionally the last few turns of a reel that been sitting around for a while, get brittle. However, I did recently get a gift of this dryer box:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/eSUN-Filament- ... hdGY&psc=1

It seems to work Ok as far as I can tell, but without having a problem it's difficult to know for sure!

Thanks for these links. I think I will start with a dry box and silica gel and see how it goes. Space is a premium in The Shed so the dry box may live indoors till the next phase of track laying is complete to release some storage space currently occupied with track ( ROW negotiations on-going slowly)

I do have at least part of one spool of filament that needs drying as it is very brittle. I’ll explore the temperature range on the oven when SWMBO is out for a while.

Just invested in a couple of eSun driers (thanks to a recent Garden Rail article being published ). I'll see if stringing is reduced as a result.

Rik

Just put all my spools into a vacuum bag each with silica gel.
The little pump really sucks the air out so much so that I had to open a couple up as the spools had been crushed out of shape.
The kit is basically a Cryovac similar to what butchers use to package meat.
Will see if the silica gel sucks some of the suspected moisture out of the filament, the latest print of the coal wagon has stringing all over the shop (different spool of filament that has been out of its packaging for a while) it is PLA+ filament and was so brittle it snapped of its own accord possibly from the tension between the spool and the feed wheel.

-steves- wrote: ↑Sat May 06, 2023 3:20 pm
Did I mention that most can also weigh the remaining roll, though you do have to take off the weight of the spool,so weigh an empty one first.

Steve,
Which dryers do you have that can weigh the reel? I haven't found one yet.

philipy wrote: ↑Fri Nov 17, 2023 1:54 pm

-steves- wrote: ↑Sat May 06, 2023 3:20 pm
Did I mention that most can also weigh the remaining roll, though you do have to take off the weight of the spool,so weigh an empty one first.

Steve,
Which dryers do you have that can weigh the reel? I haven't found one yet.

Mine is an ESun EBox, but the V1, unupgraded NOT Lite version. It appears that the V2 (upgraded and Lite) does not come with this function, that's progress for you

-steves- wrote: ↑Sun Nov 19, 2023 10:46 am
Mine is an ESun EBox, but the V1, unupgraded NOT Lite version. It appears that the V2 (upgraded and Lite) does not come with this function, that's progress for you

I thought you might say that. I've been digging and finally worked out that the V2 Lite is about 50-60quid. The full Ebox (not Lite) is £164!!!
I've already got one of the Lite boxes, and although it's Ok, I don't like the controls and the way they work I want a 2nd box so I thought I'd look at the options before splashing out.

After a bit more digging and thinking, as I write this, I've got a "SUNLU Upgraded 3D Printer Filament Dryer Box S2" out for delivery on Amazon black friday for 48quid.

philipy wrote: ↑Sun Nov 19, 2023 11:16 am

-steves- wrote: ↑Sun Nov 19, 2023 10:46 am
Mine is an ESun EBox, but the V1, unupgraded NOT Lite version. It appears that the V2 (upgraded and Lite) does not come with this function, that's progress for you

I thought you might say that. I've been digging and finally worked out that the V2 Lite is about 50-60quid. The full Ebox (not Lite) is £164!!!
I've already got one of the Lite boxes, and although it's Ok, I don't like the controls and the way they work I want a 2nd box so I thought I'd look at the options before splashing out.

After a bit more digging and thinking, as I write this, I've got a "SUNLU Upgraded 3D Printer Filament Dryer Box S2" out for delivery on Amazon black friday for 48quid.

Strangely enough, my 2 boxes (1 Sunlu and 1 ESun) were both around the £50 mark when I bought them, however that was a few years ago now. I guess the price has rocketed. I see nothing wrong with the Lite version, other than it doesn't weigh the rolls, big deal, I rarely look at that anyway, just a quick peek inside the box is more than enough to work out what's left.