Depends on the filament. Any CF/GF blend is way more hydroscopic because it leaves pockets of air due to the CF/GF strands in it. More air pockets means more moisture is absorbed. TPU is another one that I just have much better luck after drying. I've actually heard water evaporating before on wet TPU. FYI, it has 2 modes, continuous and timed. You have to long press the button that changes temps to switch between the 2. In times mode it can be set to 24 hours max.
So the timer just sets off an audible alarm but does not switch the heater off? This box seems to be the best of a bad lot, but I wish someone would do it properly! Heating filament in a closed box will not dry it. I suspect all these systems rely on you opening the box while is is still warm to vent off the damp, wet air. If you let it cool down before opening, the moisture will just condense again on the filament (although maybe it relies on the desiccant to absorb it, in which case heating the air is pointless and it would be just as effective to circulate cold air). What it needs is separate exhaust and circulation fans and a controller that heats the air with just the circulation fan running, then stops the fan and heater and runs the exhaust fan to change the warm, wet air for cold dry air from outside, then repeats. It could also have a weight sensor on the spool. When the weight stops reducing you have removed all the water possible and the controller can shut the box off altogether to avoid wasting energy. I may have to buy one of these when they are available again and modify it to do the job properly!
It also powers down depending on the mode it's in. There are 2 modes, continuous and timed. You switch between the 2 by long pressing the bottom left button. Modbot did a great review and covered this. At level 1 it gets to 50°C, level 2 is 60°C and level 3 is 70°C. When putting the thermometer over where the hot air comes out it was 75°C on high.
Why not have both the circulation fan and the exhaust fan running at the same time? Wouldn't that automatically get rid of the moisture in the filament? Or does the warm air need some time to absorb the moisture?
@@alexandernieuwland5148 Mine does, no air is blowing and the unit cools down. The display stays on but all heating and air circulation stops. I'm not sure what he means by that statement. You can feel the base unit get cooler after 30 minutes or so after it's done. Using nn accurate (+/-0.1°C) temperature and humidity sensor (sht3xd), it gets up to just over 70°C on its highest heat setting, 50°C on the lowest and 60°C for the medium setting. The built in humidity sensor is pretty accurate as some just show a lower humidity value the longer it's been running. My hunidy sensor said 11% while the sensor that came with the dryer said 10 percent. The temperate and humidity sensor I used costs 15 bucks alone, it's hooked up to an ESP32 and measured using Home Assistant. I had that super cheap Sovol dryer, never got above 30°C but it said it was at 50°C and the humidity level just went down over time without actually removing much at all. It has to be programmed to do this. Honestly, I'm surprised they weren't sued. As the first reply says, hot air is blown out of one and the exhaust pulls it in. There are four holes on the actual drying unit on the side to release humidity as it circulates. This is clearly demonstrated and shown on the poly maker home page for this device. I've got 2 storage boxes. One has had some PA-CF that was dried for 10 hours. The humidity sensor was at 9%, after a week it's now at 11%> I do like to flip the spool around about half way through drying. That or roll it a bit to ensure the heat isn't blowing in the same place the entire time. Especially for CF, which is the main reason I got it and it solved my issue without using an oven or using the bed as a heat source to dry the filement. I just wish the additional storage boxes were cheaper. That's were they are making money. Around 30 US for another storage box but there are 3D printable mods to dry 2 boxes with one base unit. Obviously each box only gets half the airflow though. This is great for PETG/ABS/ASA/TPU so you can dry 2 spools at once. I've never left TOU/PETG out for 2+ years but I'm wondering what a new dry spool print would look like using the same brand and print profile/settings. Some of those issues seemed to be profile based but without a new dry roll to compare too, it's not the best test IMO and doesn't really prove anything.
@@john_hind Everything shuts down and no air or heat is used when the timer finishes on mine. Not sure what you're talking about. This is the one small issue I have because humidity goes back up quicker when sitting on the base unit compared to putting in the 2 bottom seals. I unsnap bot handles are the top to open and close. I mean, without a tight seal it makes it less effective for long term storage. Maybe this could be engineered better but not an issue for me personally.
Do you dry your filament? Be honest!
Never have, but I really really need one of these right now!!!
There is currently stock over at West 3D!
Only when needed
Depends on the filament. Any CF/GF blend is way more hydroscopic because it leaves pockets of air due to the CF/GF strands in it. More air pockets means more moisture is absorbed.
TPU is another one that I just have much better luck after drying. I've actually heard water evaporating before on wet TPU. FYI, it has 2 modes, continuous and timed. You have to long press the button that changes temps to switch between the 2. In times mode it can be set to 24 hours max.
So the timer just sets off an audible alarm but does not switch the heater off? This box seems to be the best of a bad lot, but I wish someone would do it properly! Heating filament in a closed box will not dry it. I suspect all these systems rely on you opening the box while is is still warm to vent off the damp, wet air. If you let it cool down before opening, the moisture will just condense again on the filament (although maybe it relies on the desiccant to absorb it, in which case heating the air is pointless and it would be just as effective to circulate cold air). What it needs is separate exhaust and circulation fans and a controller that heats the air with just the circulation fan running, then stops the fan and heater and runs the exhaust fan to change the warm, wet air for cold dry air from outside, then repeats. It could also have a weight sensor on the spool. When the weight stops reducing you have removed all the water possible and the controller can shut the box off altogether to avoid wasting energy. I may have to buy one of these when they are available again and modify it to do the job properly!
This device does vent the damp air from the 4 small holes on the side of the base.
It also powers down depending on the mode it's in. There are 2 modes, continuous and timed. You switch between the 2 by long pressing the bottom left button. Modbot did a great review and covered this. At level 1 it gets to 50°C, level 2 is 60°C and level 3 is 70°C. When putting the thermometer over where the hot air comes out it was 75°C on high.
Why not have both the circulation fan and the exhaust fan running at the same time? Wouldn't that automatically get rid of the moisture in the filament? Or does the warm air need some time to absorb the moisture?
@@alexandernieuwland5148 Mine does, no air is blowing and the unit cools down. The display stays on but all heating and air circulation stops. I'm not sure what he means by that statement. You can feel the base unit get cooler after 30 minutes or so after it's done.
Using nn accurate (+/-0.1°C) temperature and humidity sensor (sht3xd), it gets up to just over 70°C on its highest heat setting, 50°C on the lowest and 60°C for the medium setting. The built in humidity sensor is pretty accurate as some just show a lower humidity value the longer it's been running. My hunidy sensor said 11% while the sensor that came with the dryer said 10 percent. The temperate and humidity sensor I used costs 15 bucks alone, it's hooked up to an ESP32 and measured using Home Assistant. I had that super cheap Sovol dryer, never got above 30°C but it said it was at 50°C and the humidity level just went down over time without actually removing much at all. It has to be programmed to do this. Honestly, I'm surprised they weren't sued.
As the first reply says, hot air is blown out of one and the exhaust pulls it in. There are four holes on the actual drying unit on the side to release humidity as it circulates. This is clearly demonstrated and shown on the poly maker home page for this device.
I've got 2 storage boxes. One has had some PA-CF that was dried for 10 hours. The humidity sensor was at 9%, after a week it's now at 11%>
I do like to flip the spool around about half way through drying. That or roll it a bit to ensure the heat isn't blowing in the same place the entire time. Especially for CF, which is the main reason I got it and it solved my issue without using an oven or using the bed as a heat source to dry the filement.
I just wish the additional storage boxes were cheaper. That's were they are making money. Around 30 US for another storage box but there are 3D printable mods to dry 2 boxes with one base unit. Obviously each box only gets half the airflow though. This is great for PETG/ABS/ASA/TPU so you can dry 2 spools at once.
I've never left TOU/PETG out for 2+ years but I'm wondering what a new dry spool print would look like using the same brand and print profile/settings. Some of those issues seemed to be profile based but without a new dry roll to compare too, it's not the best test IMO and doesn't really prove anything.
@@john_hind Everything shuts down and no air or heat is used when the timer finishes on mine. Not sure what you're talking about. This is the one small issue I have because humidity goes back up quicker when sitting on the base unit compared to putting in the 2 bottom seals. I unsnap bot handles are the top to open and close. I mean, without a tight seal it makes it less effective for long term storage. Maybe this could be engineered better but not an issue for me personally.
🤘🤘