Protect Your PLA Filament: The Benefits of a 3D Printer Dryer Box
PLA Filament
3D printing is a great way to make your own items, but the process can leave your filament wet and unusable for several hours. This can be frustrating if you are in a rush and need to print an item that requires dry filament.
Luckily, there are ways to dry PLA filament in just a few minutes using simple household items. Your filament will be ready to use again in no time at all!
PLA Filament is an environmentally friendly material made from renewable resources. It is made from corn starch, which is a sustainable and renewable resource.
PLA filament is the most popular 3D printing material, because it can be easily melted by heat gun or hair dryer, then used to create hard plastic parts that are more durable than ABS. PLA filament has excellent layer adhesion, very low warping and shrinkage when heated to extrusion temperature. PLA filament is biodegradable and compostable in commercial compost facilities. This means you can safely throw out your finished prints in the trash.
PLA Filament Features
PLA filament is made from corn starch. It can be recycled, and it has a natural, earthy smell.
PLA filament is easy to print with and works well as a general purpose material. The finished prints have a glossy surface, making them ideal for applications where the look of the material matters.
PLA filament is available in a wide range of colors, including transparent varieties.
PLA filaments are typically more brittle than ABS filaments, but they have good impact resistance and don’t warp much at all when printing.
Why PLA Filament Needs To Be Dry
PLA is a type of polymer that is made from corn starch or sugar cane. It was developed by Natureworks LLC, which owns the patent on this material. The PLA is created by heating up the cornstarch or sugar cane until they become a liquid, then adding certain chemicals to make them harden into plastic.
This material has many benefits over other plastics like ABS or HIPS when it comes to 3D printing because it does not contain any harmful chemicals like ABS does, nor does it have any toxic fumes like HIPS does when heated up too high.
PLA also does not warp when it gets hot like ABS does because it has less shrinkage than ABS does when heated up past its melting point (which is around 250°C).
3D Printer Dryer Box
A 3D printer dryer box is a simple, yet effective way to save money, time, and filament. It’s a simple box that you put your unspooled filament in and set it to dry. The idea is that the heated air inside of the box will evaporate any residual moisture on the filament. This will allow you to print more accurate parts with less warping.
It uses a small fan to blow air through the box and out of a hole on top. The filament is placed inside the box and as the fan blows air through it, it also blows any moisture off of the filament. This helps prevent clogs in your extruder which can ruin your print.
The 3D printer dryer box can be used with any type of PLA or ABS filament. It can also be used with other materials such as wood and metal. The only requirement is that the material must fit inside of the box.
How it works:
1) Open lid on top of box
2) Place filament into box with spool sitting directly in middle of box top
3) Close lid on top of box
4) Plug in fan into power supply (12v or 110v)
5) Turn on fan so that it blows air through box (make sure you don't leave it on all day or night since this will cause unnecessary wear on your fans motor).
Benefits of a 3D Printer Dryer Box:
1) Faster printing: Because there is less moisture on the filament, you can print faster without worrying about warping or cracking.
2) More accurate prints: Because there is less moisture on the filament, you can get more accurate prints out of your printer. This will result in less wasted material and more usable parts!
3) Less waste: You won’t have as much waste from failed prints due to warping or cracking caused by excess moisture in your PLA or ABS filament.