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Keep yer powder dry
Feb. 7th, 2012 03:51 pm..and your ABS filament as well.
Since baking my ABS filament over the weekend, my print quality has improved and I haven't had any more clogs. This is not definitive, but it's suggestive of a problem, and since it can't hurt, I figure I'll start taking some care to dry my filament.
I think what I will do is to use a really large ziplock, perhaps the ones used for vacuum storage, then large dessicant packs. Then I can put the entire spool of plastic into the bag with a dessicant. The spools are fairly large. I see on eBay that ziplock bags as large as 20 gallons are available, so I can probably find some locally as well.
A web search points me to using baked Epsom salts as a dessicant. When baked at 500*F for an hour or so, Epsom salt/magnesium sulfate become anhydrous and is very hydroscopic. Putting it into coffee filters is supposed to make a heck of a good, cheap, and reusable, dessicant pack.
Since baking my ABS filament over the weekend, my print quality has improved and I haven't had any more clogs. This is not definitive, but it's suggestive of a problem, and since it can't hurt, I figure I'll start taking some care to dry my filament.
I think what I will do is to use a really large ziplock, perhaps the ones used for vacuum storage, then large dessicant packs. Then I can put the entire spool of plastic into the bag with a dessicant. The spools are fairly large. I see on eBay that ziplock bags as large as 20 gallons are available, so I can probably find some locally as well.
A web search points me to using baked Epsom salts as a dessicant. When baked at 500*F for an hour or so, Epsom salt/magnesium sulfate become anhydrous and is very hydroscopic. Putting it into coffee filters is supposed to make a heck of a good, cheap, and reusable, dessicant pack.
