Dry Filamentbox for Ender 5

thingiverse

#Filamentbox with spooling and drying function# ##The Problem## Printing nylon can be a nightmare. If you're using PLA, everything is smooth sailing, but when it comes to nylon (or ABS, PC for that matter), things take a turn for the worse. Nylon sucks the moisture out of the air, making it a challenge to print with. The solution is to dry the filament hours before use, but that's not all - even after drying, nylon will start to absorb moisture again once it's inserted into a printer. Printing long jobs can lead to saturated filament, making it impossible to achieve proper results. That's why you need a box that isolates the ambient air from the unprinted filament. ##Commercial Solution## I tried using a ready-made box from Polymaker, but it was a disappointment. The box is massive and stationary, making it difficult to move your printer around without leaving the box behind - an unnecessary second item that's more hassle than help. ##My Solution## My designed box (Version 3) addresses all these issues. It's specifically designed to hold one kilogram of filament, using only half a handful of silica gel for drying. The hygrometer is conveniently located inside the box, ensuring accurate readings. The filament stack is fed onto four bearing balls, eliminating any handling problems. ##What You Get## I've uploaded all the necessary files for you to create and modify the design - it's completely open-source under CC licensing. Feel free to adapt it to your printer if needed. ##What You Need## To build this filament box, you'll need: * Access to a laser cutter to create the upper case (made from 1.5mm acrylic/polypropylene for optical clarity) * The lower case is printed with PLA using Cura settings found in the pdf file * A printer area of 600x300mm will suffice * Four bearing balls (16mm outer diameter, 8mm inner diameter, 5mm width) * Two steel or aluminum axes (8mm diameter, 100mm length) * One LAPP feedtrough and fixture * Acrylic Bond for a secure seal * A hygrometer for panel mounting * Silica gel packs for drying * Sandpaper * A cable holder for the x-axis (available on Thingiverse) Log Entry - December 25, 2019: I've been running an experiment with my version two filament box, using it without a feedtrough and inserting 500 grams of nylon filament. The goal was to test how well the box maintains its inner atmosphere. In under two hours, I reached 10% humidity inside the box, which has remained steady ever since. On December 22, 2019, I started another experiment with my final version box installed on my Ender printer. I filled it with 37 grams of silica gel and began printing. The goal was to test the impact of the feedtrough on humidity levels while the printer is running and filament is being pulled out over several hours. During this time, I also changed the filament spool. The results were impressive: the hygrometer measured a consistent 10% humidity level - the lowest value it can measure. January 20, 2020: After one month of use, the silica gel (37 grams) has reached saturation and needs to be replaced. This is a remarkable result, showing that my filament box can maintain low humidity levels despite printing out the inserted filament for an extended period.