Everyone dreads hearing it - that faint sizzle and pop with a wisp of steam rising from a 3D print: the telltale sign that filament has absorbed moisture and is compromised. Luckily, the PrintDry PRO is a simple solution that anyone can use to rehabilitate even the oldest of spools back into pure and dry working order, ensuring that your 3D printed parts are top quality. 

Let's break it down-

The Importance of Moisture

Keeping all of your 3D printing filament dry is an important part of the 3D printing process. Any moisture that is absorbed into the filament will be reflected in the 3D printed part, not only in its rougher than usual surface, riddled with small craters where water instantly boiled away, but the molecular structure is weakened by the water filling the gaps and breaking the bonds. 3D prints created with wet filament don’t just produce uglier 3D prints, but significantly weaker finished parts.  A material that will readily absorb water is  hygroscopic, and while not every 3D printing filament is sensitive to humidity,  nylon and polyester based filament are notorious for their tendency to absorb water, so much so that they’ll absorb it right from the air and need to be regularly dried out for ideal 3D printing results.

Hygroscopic filaments like NylonX and NylonG need to be dried before printing for reliable results.
Hygroscopic filaments like NylonX and NylonG need to be dried before printing for reliable results.

Drying Out Your Filament

With the PrintDry PRO you are able to save spools of filament that have been in the open air for years and start 3D prints with confidence. Simply set the temperature between 35°C and 75°C (depending on the ideal temperature for the specific filament), set the timer, or let it run until the auto-shut off engages after 48 hours. To run efficiently, the baseline PrintDry PRO uses a double-walled chamber to keep the heat in and dry two spools at once. 

Keeping your filaments at the right temperature is an important step in the drying process; too much heat and you risk melting the filament together, too little and it won't be dried enough.
Keeping your filaments at the right temperature is an important step in the drying process; too much heat and you risk melting the filament together, too little and it won't be dried enough.

Print Directly from the Chamber

Multiple feed-through ports can be found on the front face and sides of the chambers so you can dry your filament out and keep it dry even while you are 3D printing. This is an especially helpful feature when managing a print farm running advanced materials, like NylonX or NylonG; by printing straight from the PrintDry, you can keep productivity high and not risk adding moisture right back into your filament after drying. The standard arrangement PrintDry PRO has enough room to fit two 1kg spools upright and feed independently to two different 3D printers while maintaining smooth rotation of the spools for consistent tension on the filament as it enters the printers’ extruder.

Dry your filament and silica packs while having a 3D print running directly from the PrintDry PRO.
Dry your filament and silica packs while having a 3D print running directly from the PrintDry PRO.

Upgrades for Everyone

Everyone’s needs are slightly different, which is why upgrades are available for the users that need a little extra out of their filament drying experience. To accommodate larger spools, the Large Spool Kit can handle a 5kg spool of filament 300mm in diameter and retain all the features you would have with a 1kg spool. Or, if you would rather squeeze in more standard sized spools, get an additional chamber to stack right on top and fit two more spools in the same dryer and feed more printers with the same footprint.

Stack your PrintDry PRO chambers tall to handle your entire print farms filament needs.
Stack your PrintDry PRO chambers tall to handle your entire print farms filament needs.

When you need to make sure that your filaments are ready for 3D printing at all times, the PrintDry PRO won’t hang you out to dry, but it will dry your filament so you can have better quality prints. To learn more and to order your filament drying system today, check it out here.