Desicant Filament Cartrage.

thingiverse

Version 1.1 "Desicant Case 6w.stl" is a significant upgrade for printability. The internal ribs greatly reduce warping, ensuring both covers fit perfectly off the printer. "DC6 bb cage.stl" is a cage designed to hold spool bearings, utilizing seven balls and offering easier assembly though it can be somewhat fragile. "Desicant Case 6w plate.stl" is a comprehensive build-plate including all necessary parts for constructing one desiccant case with side filament output. It's recommended to print multiple output bushings and nuts before embarking on this ~14 hour print to optimize extrusion percentage. This desiccant case excels at maximizing desiccant life, with several cartridges operating for 2 years without needing recharging, showing that the desiccant still has ample life left. The case appears to effectively dry filament over time, with fresh filament printing better after several weeks in this cartridge. Fresh filament can be dried out by 4A molecular sieve, and storing it in a desiccant case like this one extends its lifespan significantly. Version 1.0 "DC6 shaft cone A", "DC6 shaft cone B", and "DC6 spool roller" can be combined with 8x 6mmOD bearing balls or air-soft pellets at each end to create a printed rolling bearing. When screwing cones "A" and "B" together, apply blue-tape to the threads if they don't have sufficient friction, then screw them together until achieving desired backlash and friction. Print two "DC6 spool fork" parts to support the spool shaft over the base. The base consists of one "desicant case 6" along with any two of "desicant case cap 6" or "desicant case cap short 6". The short cap allows for bottom exit filament, while normal caps provide more desiccant volume. If the caps don't snap in due to warped prints, heat the end of the case until it becomes leathery, then snap the cold cap in and let it cool to set the new shape. A "hot air re-work station" or temperature-controlled hot-air gun makes this process most efficient.