Basic dry filament storage

thingiverse

This is a straightforward dry filament storage solution. I didn't bother with any extra features, opting for a simple and functional design instead. No Bowden tubes were added to feed the filament to my machines, nor did I use rods to hold the filament up because I wanted a quick and easy setup. All you really need is an airtight container and some reusable desiccant tins. The other parts are just extras that I included because I tend to overengineer things sometimes. I used the Iris 62 quart weathertight storage box available on Amazon (link below) because it had the most storage capacity for standard 1kg filament spools. Each box can hold two rows of eight rolls, totaling sixteen per box. Many boxes were too narrow for two rows of filament, so I chose this one to avoid stacking spools on top of each other - I wanted easy access. With 500g/750g rolls, you can fit more than sixteen rolls in a bin depending on the width of the rolls. I also added two 40-gram silica gel desiccant packs to each box. They're reusable and available on Amazon (link below). The indicator changes color when they're saturated, and you just need to bake them for a few hours to dry them out again. Mine have been in use for eight months now and are still working fine. I went overboard with the design by including some PVC pipe to separate the desiccant tins from the filament. I'm not even sure why - maybe it was just for air circulation purposes, but it seems unnecessary now. For my specific bins, I cut two 2" PVC pipes to 20 inches each for the outer edges of the bin and one 3" PVC pipe to 19.75 inches for the center. The thicker PVC in the center is supposed to keep the rolls from overlapping, but that was probably an overthought move. If you decide to do this, make sure to measure your own containers carefully - especially at the bottom since the top is always wider. Also, check inside any curved edges so your tubes fit all the way to the bottom of the bin. The PVC on the edges will be pressed into place by the weight of the spools, but the one in the center might move around if the weight isn't evenly distributed. To fix this, I made some brackets to lift it up slightly and glued some scrap rubber to the bottom to make them slip-resistant. It's not perfect, but removing a few rolls won't let the center tube slide around. Links to items used: Iris 62 quart weathertight container: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003KWJ9TS/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 40 gram Silica gel reusable desiccant tin (use two per container): https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0001EJIXK/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1