A rant about filament dryers...

[@SmallBatchFactory]

My DIY projects and courses: smallbatchfactory.com/products/

[@ZappyOh]

I usually spit on my filament for good luck.

[@jr2e3]

This is the first video of yours I have seen. Immediately subscribed after hearing the level of detail you went into for technical explanation without filler or extraneous content. Thank you!

[@SmallBatchFactory]

Thank you!

[@Marshbouy]

I understand where you’re coming from in this video, but I live somewhere where it is consistently 70-80% humidity and a filament dryer was one of the most important things I bought for improving the quality of my prints.

[@Marshbouy]

I resisted using the ones already freely available to me in the club space for no reason other than “it’s overrated.” I definitely will not be going back

[@Marshbouy]

A lot of people do not live in places where it’s humid, constantly, and therefore don’t get the hype. But I think it is wrong to make sweeping generalizations about filament being fine 6 months to 1 year later when in our club space filament can take a noticeable dip in quality after a week or two

[@SmallBatchFactory]

That's absolutely valid. Putting the spools in a dry box and possibly even printing directly out of it is a much better long term solution in my opinion.

[@Marshbouy]

@@SmallBatchFactory We once got a batch of overture filament that printed poorly straight out of the box, so I am not sure that that's 100% the right choice. A dry box would help immensely, but with the volume of filament the club has collected throughout the years, I think a filament dryer or two is a better solution than a massive dry box. Especially since the filament dryer can rehabilitate damp filament from the factory while a dry box cannot. I empathize with the concern that this is hype powered by companies looking to sell us more junk though. It is important to think critically about whether or not something is truly necessary. And it is pretty goofy to see obvious infill issues get labeled as a wet filament problem...

[@SmallBatchFactory]

As always it depends. I personally am to impatient to plan prints several hours in advance because drying takes time. If that works for you it's 100% fine of course. There are definitely batches of filament out there that arrive moist as heck. Had that issue with my spool of Nylon. It's hard to print when dry, imagine what it's like moist. Luckily moisture issues are usually pretty distinct so it was clear that's the issue.

[@ziggystardog]

While I mostly agree, I find old PLA gets brittle and breaks from hydrolysis when it's left in the open for many months or years. No amount of filament drying seems to recover from that, so I've adopted an approach of not opening filament before its time and resealing with desiccant if a spool's been in the open for more than a few months.

[@SmallBatchFactory]

I've yet to encounter such unrecoverable filament. I'm not saying it doesn't happen, just that I haven't had issues in the past. If you live in a high humidity zone that's definitely a much bigger issue. My wife once left a print soaked in water and it god bloated pretty heavily.

[@ziggystardog]

@ I’ll send you a spool if you like. I have 5 or 6 of my own from when I lived in humid Florida, and my maker space with moderate humidity has quite a collection of ancient 2.85 mm filament stored on shelves in similar condition. Not to put too fine a point on it, but it’s happened enough to break me of the habit of opening every spool before I put it on the shelf. I kinda doubt manufacturers wouldn’t go to the trouble of vacuum packing and desiccant if the impact of these problems were completely negligible.

[@Alex_vGrafenstein]

I have heard that PLA is very sensitive to UV. And I have rolls of PLA that are more than 10 years old and also open for that long. I don't think that brittle PLA has much to do with humidity. Maybe there are other influences?

[@SmallBatchFactory]

@Alex_vGrafenstein I think it's an issue with more modern PLA, full of additives. I found the pure ones to be good for a very long time.

[@torquemada1971]

I bought a used Taz 6 earler this year from a seller in Houston, world renowned for it's humidity. It came with 20 spools of 2.85 PLA filament that was mostly from manufacturers that went out of business in 2018 or earlier. None of the spools needed drying.

[@CHEEBnRUN]

Even on reddit, it's become a bit of a meme. Don't worry, people are starting to call out others who proclaim moisture issues at every turn.

[@BeefIngot]

@@CHEEBnRUN The problem is that often the people calling them out are wrong. When you hear hoofs, think horses not zebras applies to 3d printing. When someone hasn't tried the most obvious solution but wants to jump to blaming their filament or printer, it's not the right move, so it's safer to suggest the easy non damaging process first a lot of the time.

[@Littlebrownchicken]

It’s just like the whole “did you try putting it in rice” or “turn it off and on again” when it’s like a charred bow. Of phone dust.

[@TheKd4lyfe]

I only print abs and I started drying my filament every new roll and if I haven’t used the printer in a new weeks, noticed a massive. Improvement.

[@SmallBatchFactory]

Improvement in which regard? Haven't had any issues yet even with the cheapest Chinese stuff. The surface looks perfectly clean etc.

[@WillThat]

Like mentioned, it depends. I've been printing recently with a roll of ASA that's been open for almost two years and stored out in a shed the last few months. It's been printing perfectly. Brand new roll of PETG straight out the packaging? It's milky, partial clogs, and zits all over it.

[@riba2233]

I'm sorry but I have to disagree with this one. You are lucky because you live in a low humidity area, but trust me, both pla and abs/asa absolutely can have moisture issues, I had new roll of asa get extremely wet just from sitting open in a humid basement (80%) and it printed like pure garbage until I dryed it. Similar with pla just not to that extent. Also many folks print tpu and petg today and you don't want to use those without owning a dryer, period

[@SmallBatchFactory]

Tom's 3D (now made with layers) submerged spools of ABS for days without any degradation. Not every filament is the same though, the additives can vary wildly. I'm not arguing against a dryer, I use one myself from time to time. But I also keep my TPU in a dry box. It's better than regular drying IMO

[@riba2233]

@@SmallBatchFactory yep, you nailed it. It is hard to find pure filaments nowadays, they are mostly blends or have additives so it's hard to make generalized statements. But I did also manage to wet the pure, old abs filament, it stood open for around 8 years in a moist basement but I still managed to dry it and it printed ok :)

[@lipinskirl]

@@SmallBatchFactorysubmerging and humidity are very different. It’s all about temperature, moisture, and pressure. Submerged in water you have the moisture and pressure, but not the temperature. The water will always dissipate the heat and close the molecular structure of the filament. In air with high humidity, the air can maintain a higher temp along with lower pressure which will allow for a higher volume of moisture transfer. It’s all comes down to the average humidity where you live. Some don’t need a dryer, some do.

[@zdog90210]

I interviewed at a company that did 3d printing as rapid prototypes and they used nylon and had a "degassing chamber" it held a few rolls and heated up to what ever temperature for however long then drew a vacuum in the chamber after it was heated to draw the "water vapor" out of the filament. I have been printing since 2019 and have never used a dryer or sealed my rolls they are out in the open and the only one i had a problem with was an early roll of sunlu meta pla it turned extremely brittle and was unable to unspool without breaking and drying it in my airfryer overnight on dehydrate setting didn't help a tiny bit.

[@SmallBatchFactory]

I'd love to have such a chamber. Pre heating the filament also enables you to print faster. As you said, it's usually not a problem. As a service company I definitely wouldn't take any changes of course.

[@802Garage]

Agreed it drives me crazy. Everyone jumps to wet filament for seemingly every print issues. It's almost always slicer settings more than wet filament. I have a lot of filament I have left out for months or well over a year now and they still print perfectly. I'm not saying nobody should dry their filament, but for basic filaments, you should learn slicer settings before blaming the filament.

[@SmallBatchFactory]

100% agreed

[@VolkanTaninmis]

Main problem: People try to print stupidly quickly and carelessly. It doesn't even take 30 seconds to check all the options in slicer before starting to print.

[@jvh22a]

Does humidity affect prints more then outside temperatures. Right now its cold out mid 50degs and humidity is about 10. I dont have a heater in the garage and wondering if i should even get a dryer now since humidity is low.

[@SmallBatchFactory]

Get a dryer of you notice degrading print quality, like the one I showed. If not there's no reason to bother. It's best to put the spools into a sealed container when not in use for longer.

[@saturnmedia1]

ESun PLA+ is VERY hydroscopic. If I leave it out, it gets VERY brittle. Several nylons and PETG is too.

[@SmallBatchFactory]

PLA+ has various additives so the results can vary. Keeping the spools dry to begin with is the way to go. I'm not sure if those additives might evaporate from repeated heating.

[@lipinskirl]

Not sure where in the world you are, but if you live in Virginia USA a filament dryer is an absolute Must. Most of my issues do relate to wet filament. We consistently have 65% Humidity or higher. In spring & summer it’s 80% or higher. I have to dry my filament on a regular basis. PLA can last in the open for about a month but any longer and it’s almost unusable without re-drying, ASA about 2 weeks, and PA less than 24 hours. When I got my first Ender 3 well over a decade ago it took me months to figure out why I couldn’t get a good print, I tried everything. It all came down to wet filament. So if you’ve tried everything and nothing seems to work, check the average humidity in the room your printer is set up in. I now have a dehumidifier set up set to 35% and store all of my filaments in water proof storage containers and dry them when I receive them. If it’s PA I re-dry before use and print from the dryer. Dryers and dry boxes are cheap compared to ripping apart your printer and buying after market parts trying to solve an issue that could be as simple as moisture. Be happy if you live in part of the world with low humidity. Asking someone if they dried their filament would be my very first question because typically it’s really the only issue I normally have.

[@SmallBatchFactory]

I'm from Germany, right now we have 78% humidity outside. We have an open fishtank in the room where I print. I certainly don't live in a dessert but have never whitnessed the extreme problems some people describe. Apart from my PA spool, it was really horrible when it arrived. Other than that the benchy I've shown is usually the worst it gets. Maybe it's different if you store your filament in a cold environment, it never dips below 20c in my room.

[@lipinskirl]

@@SmallBatchFactory With my old Ender 3, yes I would see all kinds of consistent nasty issues. With my X1C no, the problems are not as dramatic. New nozzle designs help relieve the issue. But with that said, the problems are now more sporadic. I’ll get bed adhesion problems in just one or two random spots, or over extrusion randomly throughout the print that creates a glob on the tip during travel that gets stuck and included into the outside finish layer. The main issue I get will happens on larger final top layers where I’ll get one our two small rough patches or on inclines I’ll see random poor layer adhesion on just one or two layer lines. All of this ruins larger prints. No I don’t see it on small prints like a Benchey or anything thats consistent throughout a print. But it’s just enough to ruin the finish look of a print or the structural quality of a functional print. I do not see any of these issues after drying the filament. Now, if you’re ok with some minor blemishes then no it’s not really an issue. But if you’re printing an oil pump housing that’s going inside a 302 motor for a 1971 Ford F100, that single spot of bubbling layer adhesion will cause the part to fail prematurely. My parts need to be perfect every time. The parts I create are mostly to restore antique cars and trucks. That’s my actual hobby. So I can’t have a lifted warped corner when using ASA to print fuse covers for the engine bay, or travel inclusions in my PETG when printing vent fins for the interior AC vents, or a single layer failure in my PA-CF for the internal oil pump housing that’s going to take 14 hours to replace should it fail or God forbid fry the entire motor. I get where you are coming from. The issues are not as prevalent today as they use to be on older printers like my Ender3, but the problems do still exist and are still caused by moister in the filament. You may be able to tolerate them, I however can’t. I enjoy most of your vids, but this one I had to comment.

[@SmallBatchFactory]

@lipinskirl that's a fair point! For critical parts you just can't take any chances. Printing directly out of a dry box should mitigate all of those problems. I don't see a reason to dry more than once and store it in a box like the one I showed. My PC and PA have been sitting in there for years now and print great every time. Saves a lot of time not needing to dry before every print. For many people slicing takes up a large portion of issue potential. Like the one I showed in the intro. People are quick to jump to conclusions even when the issue is simple for someone experienced.

[@Unscientifically]

I’ve been printing petg for years and never bothered to dry it or store it safe. In my area it seems fine. Only now I got an air fryer to dry some higher temp engineering fillament. Normal dryers won’t even reach temps needed to dry (why the air fryer)

[@OmegaGamingNetwork]

The only time I have to dry filament is PETG that I have had sitting for 6+ months out in the open and even then it is usually a very minor difference. You are 100% correct, most of the problems people have isn't wet filament. I've actually had more filament ruined by crappy filament dryers not having good temperature control than I have moisture. I don't store my filament in any special way, just out in the open on a PVC rack shelf. PLA/ABS never need to be dried. PETG only if it has sat for a long period of time. I can't say for certain on nylon because that crap is expensive and I find it honestly cheaper to just dry it ahead of time and be "paranoid" about it.

[@SmallBatchFactory]

Thanks! My Nylon spool was very cheap and arrived moist as hell. After drying I kept it in the box I showed. Funny enough not even the silica needed drying so far, those boxes are pretty well sealed.

[@Alex_vGrafenstein]

I think that food dehydrators are the much better filament dryers. They serve almost the same purpose, but manufacturers have optimized their devices while manufacturers of filament dryers mostly seem to have copied the concept but missed to understand the key points. I am severely space constrained, so I'm still using my X1C for drying. But when I get a dryer some day, it will be the Graef DA2042. It costs less than most dedicated dryers, reaches 80°C, heats up fast due to 300W heater, has very good convection and exchanges the wet air. The only advantage of filament dryers is space unfortunately. But I rather stick to my printer as dryer before I buy such a flawed tool.

[@SmallBatchFactory]

The real advantage of a filament dryer IMO is you can print out of it (it has rolls). As you said, they're mostly building things without much experience but often for a hefty price.

[@richardhobson7724]

Agree with this 90%! With faster and faster printers, pushing wet filament at high speeds tends to make the steam bubbles a bit more pronounced, especially noticeable printing top layers in PETG. I find PETG and TPU bubbling to be my biggest issues and why I have a pair of dryers. I've also had some issues with really old (5+ years) brittle PLA. In those cases I usually dry it for a couple days low and slow and then keep it warm when printing. This has only been an issue with stuff I struggled to use up (bad colours) though, so it's rare that I need to do it.

[@SmallBatchFactory]

It can definitely be an issue. Something I haven't touched upon is how you can print a bit faster if your filament is already warmer than room temperature

[@richardhobson7724]

@@SmallBatchFactory true, just keep it well below the glass transition point or your PLA starts to think it's TPU. 😁 I usually run it warmed to about 45-55 depending on how brittle it's become.

[@SmallBatchFactory]

Printing fast is the most fun with ABS :-) You can probsbky heat that up to around 90c

[@BeefIngot]

Drying filament in an oven is typically a really bad idea because they usually have poor temperature control which can lead to melted spools and filament all over your oven. When a dryer is only 40 bucks, it's easily worth it to just buy one for just over the cost of a roll.

[@SmallBatchFactory]

That was years ago and I only ever did it once. Back then filament dryers weren't as readily available and I didn't want to buy a food dehydrator. I've since bought one (the Sunlu shown in the thumbnail) and been using that one since.

[@sierraecho884]

Or you can simply place your filament on the heated bad with a paper box or something over it and precisely dry it for 0 bucks, just saying.

[@BeefIngot]

@@sierraecho884 While true (though you probably want a fan and slit to circulate out the moisture) it means you can't print and dry simultaneously, which is a massive downside.

[@sierraecho884]

@@BeefIngot Yeah, you cant prepare food and dry either when using an oven. It´s way less hassle to simply use your print bed, plus if you are smart you have a vent system attached to your 3D printer anyways, which means you can dry that material to the outside with all it´s toxins and all the moisture and that crap.

[@BeefIngot]

@@sierraecho884??? My initial suggestion was against the oven in the first place. My latest reply was just explaining the downside of using a printer vs a dedicated dryer. As for fumes, they shouldn't be an issue when you're just getting moisture out of the filament. The filament shouldn't get getting to the breakdown temperatures of anything during drying.

[@AdrianLopez-sb7eo]

I always get better results when I dry my filament, especially with PETG but also with PLA which is more prone to breaking when humid. I do live in a tropical island, though, so humidity is more of a problem than in drier locations. I do get the point of the video, though, which is not to blame problems on dry filament that are likely to have other causes.

[@SmallBatchFactory]

Exactly! The benchys show that dry filament is always better, it's just not as severe as some make it to be. I totally forgot to mention humid climates though. That's on a whole other level.

[@Know-Way]

I'm having problems with my diet, so I dried my filament and that fixed it. /S Thanks for saying it! I find 3D printing issues similar to bad golf. Folks just buy more and more things to try to fix problems with not understanding the problem. Buying more expensive golf clubs won't fix a bad swing. Buying a filament dryer won't fix a wrong z-offset, or incorrect extrusion flow rate.

[@SmallBatchFactory]

I've heared eating filament counts as fiber intake... Your definitely spot on! Although I'm guilty of this when it comes to mountain biking I've manged to fix my printer issues without buying expensive accessories so far.

[@2ndprotocol]

Its not moist? If you remove that as the cause of all printing ills, the only thing left we can cling to is z-offset being the answer.

[@SmallBatchFactory]

You probably already saw the answer, it was a large Nozzle on a bowden system. Way too much ooze to get under control

[@rossc12345]

It’s pretty much only PETG I’ve have had to run through the dryer. You don’t need a dedicated drier either unless you’re printing a lot of PETG in a humid environment. Can easily use the build plate of the printer and a cardboard box with holes poked in it as a makeshift drier.

[@SmallBatchFactory]

100% my experience. PETG needs more maintenance. Ideally you put it in a dry box after opening and you should be fine until it runs out anyway.

[@clockworkvanhellsing372]

ASA and TPU and Nylon were the three materials I've needed the dryer. Asa (extrudur yellow) strings heavily when not propperly dried and tpu in vase mode gets critical too. Nylon gets quite bubbly. (My petg expirence is to limeted to make a judgement). - Europe ~ 60%@20°C

[@SmallBatchFactory]

ASA seems to be a bit different from ABS, absorbing more moisture. Nylon is absolute hell when moist, my spool came soaked from China

[@brunobellomunhoz]

I print mostly ABS and I wouldn't say it doesn't care about moisture. When I had 50-60% humidity outside my prints would get a lot of bubbles in the surface. Not any other print issue, but the surface finish had a notable dip. But I just dry my fillament on the print bed for a few hours and all is fine. A drybox is really the way to go.

[@SmallBatchFactory]

Haven't had any issues with pure ABS so far. Tom's 3D did a test a while ago where he submerged spools and it didn't make any difference. Possibly your spools had special additives.

[@logicalfundy]

It's definitely a problem when any defect is treated as a moisture problem - usually wet filament has a specific look to it, and top surface problems is generally not a symptom. That I agree with. I've also been leaning towards preventing moisture by proper dry storage, which generally means only needing to dry it if it's new or hasn't been in proper storage. I do think that some "dry your filament" replies are a joke, which is annoying because it makes it has the "boy who cried wolf" effect where people ignore moisture even in the occasional case where it turns out to be the problem. I also see some people basically hide moisture problems with profile adjustments. I guess that is personal preference for aesthetic prints (after all, a profile adjustment is easy if you are familiar with slicing), but for functional prints moisture can weaken the print, even if it visibly looks good. I do a fair bit of functional prints, so I prefer to ensure the filament is dry before looking at profiles. It does seem like most profiles assume dry filament, as I haven't really needed to adjust profiles for stringing. Could also be because I have a Prusa and they have very solid stock profiles. . . . and yes, there does seem to be more people getting PETG. It's about as cheap as PLA, has higher temperature resistance, has some desirable mechanical properties, and has become easier to print on modern printers. It also doesn't contain Styrene, which needs good ventilation (ABS/ASA).

[@hedleypepper1838]

+1 I had a reprap mndal 13 yeas ago and an ender 3 6 years ago. Never really heard or considered about wet filament and printed pla petg wood filled something and even abs without issues

[@SmallBatchFactory]

You probably know all the struggles by now :-) I guess the rise of plus-filament with various additives is a contributing factor.

[@Tome4kkkk]

When I got my very first printer it came with an open filament roll sitting, along with the printer, on my friend's balcony for months, central Europe. Prints were fine. That's how I know misture is rarely a problem with PLA.

[@SmallBatchFactory]

Exactly my experience. We have an open fish tank in the room so it's even a bit more humid than usual.

[@TheOneAndOnlySatan]

You dry all filaments to a base line point then store them, check and use them. And when in doubt Dryer !

[@SmallBatchFactory]

You really dry every freshly opened spool? I just keep them dry.

[@TheOneAndOnlySatan]

@SmallBatchFactory yes, you bring them to a known base moisture level and store them like that, its all about consitancy

[@SmallBatchFactory]

Sounds like a waste of energy to me. Apart from the shown nylon I never had a spool arrive wet. It's like changing the oil on a new car.

[@mohammedfaihan7975]

​@@SmallBatchFactoryEspecially many cheap filaments I have got from AliExpress are not at all dry when opened, and sometimes it causes more issues than just stringing. But still I dont have a dryer, I just dry it on the heatbed and it works wonderfully. I had some problems with my extruder before and people were very quick to assume it was wet filament even after I told that it was printing perfectly just a few days ago, well after repairing the extruder everything was back to normal 😅.

[@SmallBatchFactory]

@mohammedfaihan7975 that's the point I'm trying to make, it's often not the filament. As of today I haven't had issues with moisture, apart from the mentioned nylon spool, and I've printed some of the cheapest stuff you can find.

[@atomic...]

I've just stuffed the reel back in the box it came with with it's bag of desiccant. Even before I got a 3d printer the whole moist filament being the default answer for failed prints or isses printing just seemed stupid. So unlrss it actually becomes a problem I will just put my reels back in the box it came with or just warm up the print bed for a little bit

[@SmallBatchFactory]

Should be fine. I have boxes with silica which I never needed to dry. So the actual moisture contamination is pretty low in a closed container

[@atomic...]

Yea, I will probably make a dedicated storage box with desiccant in it at some point soon as that seems like the least hassle solution

[@SmallBatchFactory]

If you're not swapping filament constantly I can highly recommend making a box to directly print out as I've shown. Otherwise a regular box will do.

[@atomic...]

Thanks for the tip I'll definitely look into that

[@braixeninfection6312]

I print PLA, PETG, PCTG, TPU and PA6-GF. No problems. I keep them in bags with desiccant when not using or the AMS. Unless the roll is a color I don't care for and almost empty then it can stay out for all I care lol. One day I'll get a dryer mostly just for the rolls that can be a problem. I'd rather try and find the issue with a print than always blame a boogyman.

[@SmallBatchFactory]

The only downside is that you sometimes get filament that's wet from the factory. Like my Nylon was. But it was also a cheap brand. The Polymaker Polycarbonate was in perfect condition. My expensive spools stay in sealed boxes. For the cheap Chinese stuff I don't really care. Plus I have some large spools that don't even fit

[@jamesbullo]

A humid climate can certainly cause your petg to print a bit shitty. But yes, by no means is it the end all be all for print issues. Thankfully, I live in a desert climate, so no need to dry the filament.

[@TheNewBloodDan]

I only print in PETG, and the dry boxing going right to the printer is just a lazy nice to have. If I plan on printing I run it twice, second time during the print.

[@SmallBatchFactory]

It's also energy efficient...

[@lonewolfsstuck]

Mind you I print PETG, TPU and PA6(sometimes, and soon to be PC) so having a dryer is basically a requirement for me. But all my PLA and ABS I just let sit out, if i *KNOW* i will print with them anytime soon i will dry them. I also primarly print Sunlu's aPLA (Anti string PLA) if im printing PLA.

[@SmallBatchFactory]

Having a dryer is definitely a good thing. For PA6 and PC it's really handy to print directly out of a dry box. Those are really hygroscopic. Even for TPU I get away with storing it dry between prints.

[@lonewolfsstuck]

@@SmallBatchFactory For TPU I dont print as often and i just store open air. But same thing, if i know im going to use it any time soon ill dry it and it will be fresh enough for a few days.

[@SmallBatchFactory]

It's been good enough for me to store TPU dry between prints in a box with silica. The few hours it stays outside haven't been an issue.

[@MarinusMakesStuff]

You're right, PCTG is the end all be all ;D Haha j/k. At least for me it is! But it's personal. When it comes to drying.. Well I've been making my own printers since 2012 and can say that moisture is definitely an issue with PLA. It always has been. Maybe it depends on the humidity, but drying my filament when typical artifacts appear, has always worked for me. I just think that most people do not recognize the issue. And in a lot of cases, moisture isn't even that much of an issue. It also heavily depends on the geometry that is being printed. I think the main issue here is that whenever people see a printing problem, they immediately scream: 'D1d y0u dRy Y0Ur felamonzx!?'. This not only trivializes other real printing issues, but it also snows down other comments that are actually constructive and helpful. Another problem, is that a lot of companies sell filament dryers that do not evacuate the moist air out of the dryer. Though it seems more and more companies are starting to understand they actually need to think about their designs and filament dryers do improve over the years but most of the dryers are still useless in 2024.

[@SmallBatchFactory]

I couldn't agree more! If you have a otherwise perfectly working system you can safely assume it's moisture. In many cases it's just a bandaid because people can't troubleshoot issues properly and it's way easier than disassembling an extruder

[@braixeninfection6312]

PCTG gang! lmao I only just got a roll yesterday so no idea how well it works. But I have high hopes from what I've seen online.

[@MarinusMakesStuff]

@@braixeninfection6312 I've had pretty good results with PCTG! It's pretty flexible, like PETG but it doesn't delaminate at all when bent too far. Been using it for about a year now. I love the stuff so much that I now bought PCTG+CF10 for prints that need to be more rigid. I wish you good luck with PCTG! Let me know how it went :) Which brand did you get? Normally I used Azurefilm PCTG, but for the PCTG+CF10 I bought 'Fiberlogy' filament.

[@Marshbouy]

@@SmallBatchFactoryif drying the filament fixes the problem then it isn’t a bandaid…?

[@MarinusMakesStuff]

@@Marshbouy He's saying "in many cases" which is completely on point.

[@MisterDeets]

ABS prints so much cleaner when it is dry. I tend to print a lot with Nylon, PETG and PET filament. A dryer is a requirement for those types of filament IMO.

[@SmallBatchFactory]

Definitely, I specifically mention Nylon and PETG as "main offenders" when it comes to moisture.

[@yeroca]

Thanks for this different perspective. I still will be buying a filament dryer for TPU though. I've read that it's a lot more hygroscopic than PLA. By the way, I love the wobbling microphone touch at the end!

[@SmallBatchFactory]

Thanks! Definitely nothing wrong with having one. So far it was enough to store my TPU dry between prints. It's better to keep spools dry than to dry them regularly.

[@thedoginthewok]

TPU is the only filament type where drying makes a huge difference for me. I mainly print ABS/ASA, where there might be a difference, but it's not very noticable. Wet TPU prints really badly though. (Haven't printed any nylon yet, that's also supposed to be very hygroscopic)

[@SmallBatchFactory]

Nylon is hell when moist. You can hear it pop and crack while printing. My spool was moist from the factory, made a huge difference.

[@PoetofHateSpeech]

Doesn't it depend on where you live? I'm in Australia and it's humid as hell

[@SmallBatchFactory]

It does make a difference. So does temperature. It's still best to store the filament dry instead of drying it constantly.

[@PoetofHateSpeech]

@SmallBatchFactory Oh 100%. I purchased those vacuum bags, but all lost their seal after a couple of months

[@LexxDesign3D]

in order of hygroscopic: PLA --> PETG --> ABS --> TPU --> Polycarbonate -------> Nylon

[@dempa3]

I thought it was important for TPU.

[@SmallBatchFactory]

It's important to keep it dry. I never dried my spool, just keep them in a box with silica.

[@dempa3]

@@SmallBatchFactory Thank you for the reply!

[@BradClarke]

It's the 2020s version of "level your bed" 😂

[@SmallBatchFactory]

Definitely! With auto bed leveling there just had to be something new

[@gungun974]

Have you try to wet your filament ?

[@SmallBatchFactory]

Somebody suggested spitting on it for good luck

[@habiks]

You missed some good points here.. The filament dryers usually lack fan and opening to exchange fresh air. They are OK for keeping them dry but not really to dry them. Use a proper food dehydrator.

[@SmallBatchFactory]

Do they? Even my cheap one has a fan, although the older model hadn't.

[@NuggetsInclusive]

looks liek a nozzel clog?

[@SmallBatchFactory]

Quite the opposite actually. Way to much oozing from the large nozzle

[@c.augustin]

Yeah, PETG is no fun in my (limited) experience. I'll avoid it whenever I can, but sometimes it has the right properties for the job ...

[@SmallBatchFactory]

Like you said, sometimes you need those properties but usually there's an easier alternative

[@c.augustin]

@@SmallBatchFactory For me, it's outdors and better heat resistance (not necessarily outdoors), and PETG looked good for both applications. Most of what I'm about to do will work fine with PLA (this is not my "main" hobby, so I'll try to keep it "low profile" regarding equipment and the number of filament spools … ;-)).

[@SmallBatchFactory]

@c.augustin I made stuff for my wife's fishtank with PETG. PLA bloats underwater and ABS might have harmful substances. PETG is not the greatest when it comes to UV resistance, but it will usually work for a few years.

[@christianmontagx8461]

Ha. That's what I always say for the printer community: Every problem is suddenly a nail.😂 That explains why some try to print nails and M3 screws instead of buying them.

[@Amybnuy]

for nylon and petg filament dehydrators are a need TBH.

[@SmallBatchFactory]

It's best to store them dry from the beginning. My cheap nylon arrived very moist and needed drying, but my Polymaker Polycarbonate was perfectly dry and has been stored dry ever since, never needed to dry it.

[@Amybnuy]

@ long term transfer etc can make them absorb moisture again

[@SmallBatchFactory]

Stored in a perfectly dry box with silica and printing directly out of it has been good for me for years (the one shown)

[@sierraecho884]

Printing PETG for years without a dryer. Yeah it could be better if I properly dried it with lots of energy for hours, but honestly who cares, the parts work.

[@SmallBatchFactory]

Exactly, that's my point!

[@sierraecho884]

@@SmallBatchFactory Also one negative point of drying filament is, it releases al those toxins, way worse then while printing. So people should take care of good ventilation first, a housing for the printer and then worry about drying filament and only if they use PC or PA filaments. But most people are no engineers they don´t understand material properties and such.

[@SmallBatchFactory]

@sierraecho884 definitely true! I know people printing with resin in their living room. They know better but they just ignore the risk.

[@Vyz3r]

I can vouch for this. I've had mine sitting around in open air for 5 months now and it still prints perfectly.

[@Mettleh3d]

Filament drying has become ritualistic

[@SmallBatchFactory]

It works best with a pentagram and some candles ;-)

[@mistaecco]

Recommending filament drying is still better than recommending doing extrusion calibration and modifying firmware to someone on their first week of printing.

[@SmallBatchFactory]

But why if it isn't the cause? With higher tier printers those things aren't an issue. If you buy a cheap machine you need to expect some fiddling around.

[@MarinusMakesStuff]

This is exactly the point of this video, it's (moisture) often not the cause of printing problems. So when people recommend to dry filament as a 'cure all' is simply wasting peoples time and money and then in the end doesn't solve the actual issue. If firmware or mechanical issues are the cause of the issue, this needs to be taken care of. No amount of filament drying will fix a faulty machine 🤷‍♀

[@SmallBatchFactory]

@MarinusMakesStuff thank you for getting it ;-)

[@MarinusMakesStuff]

@@SmallBatchFactory No problem, I think some people are actually just trolling anyway.

[@3dtexan890]

Pandemic??? LMFAO