Filament Dryer / Dehydrator

thingiverse

Filament Dryer / Dehydrator The filament dryer is based on a widely available food dehydrator, a plastic food container, and some 3D printed parts. The food dehydrator used is an ECG type SO 375 model. The cap used is the bottom part of a Sunware food container, article 087. Building Instructions: The food dehydrator comes with five layers (shelves) and a light. For the filament dryer, we use only one shelf and place it on the food dehydrator as intended. Then, we hang four pieces of the 3D printed part called "Cap Brace" on the rim of this shelf. On these four "cap braces," we can now place the bottom part of the food container (upside down) to create a transparent cap for the filament dryer. Next, we attach the 3D printed part called "Filament Snoot" to this cap. To do this, we make a hole with a diameter of about 20 mm in the cap and four more holes, 3 mm in diameter, to mount the filament snoot to the cap using M3 bolts and nuts. After that, we place the 3D printed part called "Spool Axes" in the center (hole) of the shelf. This part is designed so that most (small and large) filament spools will fit on the "spool axes." The spool axes enable the filament spool to unwind smoothly with minimal friction involved. Pull the filament through the filament snoot and feed it into the 3D printer's extruder. The filament snoot has a hole with a diameter of 3.5 mm, so filaments of 3mm or 1.75 mm can easily pass through it. Specifications: This filament dryer allows you to: Dry filaments for many hours at a time. Keep drying the filament while printing. Dry food (since we didn't damage the original food dryer, we've only added 3D printed parts and a food container). Temperature range: 35-70 °C. No built-in timer. The total cost of this filament dryer was €59.00 (not including 3D printed parts). And as I mentioned before, the food dryer can still be used for drying food because none of the original parts were damaged. Update 12/6/2016: Thanks to Crazy Dog's idea of adding a PTFE filament guide clamp, I've now included an alternative snoot for those who want to guide the filament with a Teflon tube right up to the extruder. This will enclose the filament so it won't absorb moisture on its way to the extruder. He also suggested incorporating one of many filament dust filters available here: http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:153807/#files These filters can be clamped onto the other end of the PTFE tubing just before the filament enters the extruder, combining optimal drying and dust removal in one go. The files for this snoot and clamp are called: Filament_Snoot_for_PTFE_Filament_Guide_Rod.STL Filament_Guide_Clamp_Nut.STL This PTFE guide rod option can hold and secure PTFE rods with an outer diameter ranging from 4-6 mm, making it suitable for both 3mm and 1.75mm filaments. Note that by printing these parts using PolyMakr PC Plus filament (black), you'll get really durable and strong parts. Printer Settings: Printer: Mankati Fullscale XT plus (customized bed) Rafts: No Supports: No Resolution: 0.25 mm Infill: 20% Notes: I printed these parts using PolyMakr PC Plus filament, which is an excellent material for making strong and durable parts. To print with PolyMakr PC plus, use the following settings: Cura slicer software. Extruder width of all layer types set to 200%. Printing speed: low (30-40 mm/s). Cooling fan disabled or set to a maximum of 30%. Printing temperature: 255°C. Bed temperature: 90°C. When printing with PolyMakr PC plus, use the included BuildTak printing surface for good adhesion with the building platform. I chose this material because of its high temperature resistance.