Stuff your 3D printer has made today...

[MattF]

Today, mine has made me despair.

T'would appear one of my older rolls of PLA had turned brittle. Bar the hotend/printhead, I've had to fish bits of broken filament from most sections. These are just some of the ........ fragments.

 

[ajlelectronics]

Today, mine has made me despair.

T'would appear one of my older rolls of PLA had turned brittle. Bar the hotend/printhead, I've had to fish bits of broken filament from most sections. These are just some of the ........ fragments.

View attachment 506350

Damp filament is the cause of that.

 

[MattF]

Damp filament is the cause of that.

The remainder of that roll's been binned now. The others will be checked with an "if they snap if I bend it" test before they go anywhere near the printer.

 

[JOEPRO]

The remainder of that roll's been binned now. The others will be checked with an "if they snap if I bend it" test before they go anywhere near the printer.

Do you vacuum seal your spools in storage? Do you have a mains powered filament drier?

 

[MattF]

Do you vacuum seal your spools in storage? Do you have a mains powered filament drier?

Lovely weather today, isn't it.

 

[Bladevane]

@MattF - don't despair. IMHO PLA doesn't absorb moisture like PETG and therefore doesn't need the drying out process. I've got numerous rolls of PLA which are pretty old and brittle but they still get used and print beautifully.

 

[JOEPRO]

Lovely weather today, isn't it.

@MattF - don't despair. IMHO PLA doesn't absorb moisture like PETG and therefore doesn't need the drying out process. I've got numerous rolls of PLA which are pretty old and brittle but they still get used and print beautifully.

PLA And most all filaments DO absorb water though. And require drying out periodically. Sometimes even new filament like TPU can require drying.

Anyone with a 3D printer needs to have a proper drier and vacuum storage bags.

 

[knighty]

I only use ABS... when I first started 3d printing it was the strongest stuff you could get so I bought that and stuck with it... haven’t tried any other stuff to compare it too

but... I've never dried any of it, and have rolls that have been out in the open for years, they still print no problem, no sign of damp

 

[Dr.Al]

Anyone with a 3D printer needs to have a proper drier and vacuum storage bags.

Strictly speaking, you don't need a "proper drier". Yes, it's a good idea to have a means of drying, but that could be a domestic oven or, if your printer has an enclosure then you might get away with just bunging the reel in the enclosure and turning the bed on.

I bought a "proper" drier (i.e. a drying box designed for drying filament) but it only goes to 50°C and that doesn't seem enough for PETG (most things I've read have recommended 60°C) and I've never had great results with the drier so I tend to wait until two or three reels need doing and then bung them in the kitchen oven.

 

[JOEPRO]

Strictly speaking, you don't need a "proper drier". Yes, it's a good idea to have a means of drying, but that could be a domestic oven or, if your printer has an enclosure then you might get away with just bunging the reel in the enclosure and turning the bed on.

I bought a "proper" drier (i.e. a drying box designed for drying filament) but it only goes to 50°C and that doesn't seem enough for PETG (most things I've read have recommended 60°C) and I've never had great results with the drier so I tend to wait until two or three reels need doing and then bung them in the kitchen oven.

Driers are relatively inexpensive I have a Creality single spool item that cost £50 and has suitable temperatures for all filaments.

In the long run chucking spools, wasted prints etc will cost you more.

 

[MattF]

Driers are relatively inexpensive I have a Creality single spool item that cost £50 and has suitable temperatures for all filaments.

In the long run chucking spools, wasted prints etc will cost you more.

The AMS unit has a drier built in. I do also have a standalone drier. Plus vacuum bags. That roll of PLA was simply several years old. It's gone in the bin.

 

[JOEPRO]

The AMS unit has a drier built in. I do also have a standalone drier. Plus vacuum bags. That roll of PLA was simply several years old. It's gone in the bin.

So you dried the PLA and it still broke up like that? Or did you chuck it in and hope for the best?

I am curious if PLA etc has a shelf life? Like for example UV exposure could break it down. Is yours exposed to UV in storage? I have alot of filament built up and also want to ensure it doesn't go bad.

 

[MattF]

Just because I have driers doesn't mean I used them. Just pointing out that I do have all on your list.

That partial roll, along with a handful of others, had been sat open, (no container or bag), for a good while. No UV exposure. Conversely, that same environment seems to have worked wonders for some other rolls. They've printed fine now, unlike when new.

 

[Spuddevans]

My (limited) experience over the last 8-9yrs of (hobby-level) 3d printing has been that certain filaments are much more prone to being effected by damp than others. With most filaments (PETG, PLA, and especially TPU) the print quality suffers (and with TPU, it REALLY suffers) if the filament has not had a recent cycle of drying.

Certain PLA's (especially "silk", metallic, bi or multi-coloured PLA's) seem to get really brittle with age and dampness, and even after 24hrs in a 60degree dryer with fresh dessicant, the brittle-ness remains and results in great frustration as it breaks all the time between the roll and the printer.

I have not had dampness or age cause any PETG I've used to become brittle, the dampness seems only to effect the print quality and stringiness (stringiness gets even worse), but I've only ever used standard colours/types of PETG, none with any additives (got a couple of Carbon Fibre empregnated rolls, but haven't tried them yet)

TPU, on the other hand, I've always found the print quality improves when I've dried it just prior to printing (even with new rolls just unsealed).