Check back later and I’ll tell you how I made a Hex fillament dryer hit 90c chamber temps complete with an app to control it and network access. Fully utilizing that ESP32 in it now.
I’m starting to think it may be easier to hit the target temps by building a simple DIY filament dryer from scatch, similar in type to:
As long as it doesn’t get so hot that it melts the enclosure, it seems that you can keep raising the temperature limit, as he already demonstrates, by just adding more heating elements, or else possibly driving them at a higher voltage.
There’s a lot of space in the box that he demonstrates. Ideally I could use the same or similar box to anneal a PET-CF print after printing it. I just need to ensure that I use an enclosure that won’t melt or deform at 120C.
Edit: Rummaging around, I see that I have a gasket box that looks very similar if not the same as the youtubers. According to its plastic recycling code (number 5), it is made from polypropylene. According to google,
“Polypropylene fibers have a softening point in the region of 150°C and a melting point at 160-170°C.”
So, not much headroom, but assuming the googled information is correct, it could in theory work as a filament dryer/annealer , even up to 120C without deforming or melting.
Some serious tinkering here, much respect! The furthest I got was sticking a pair of pliers over the rollers and balancing the roll on top to get extra distance from the heating element.
I noticed in both your modifications you completely covered it, isn’t it advised the dryer has good airflow to expel the moisture as it drys?
@NeverDie something like that maybe the way to go. My Cyclops drier isn’t handy to take pics, but it’s so basic, I’m no expert but it’s a heating element and fan, with a some sort of temp cut-off. Honestly, the price these things go for seem excessive for what they are. A basic fan heater that costs a few quid is probably more complex.
I’ve got half a roll of Bambu PAHT-CF that’s been laying around for months (humid UK), at some point I’ll get it back in the drier to see if it works. From my limited experience, guidance temps fo drying are just guidance. I got way too hung up on this. Just leave it for longer than advised if at a lower temp. Again my experience is limited, and I’ve only really dried PAHT-CF, which in some ways maybe easier as it has a higher temp before it goes soft.
Yeah I got sick of manufacturings flat out lie about things. Set up buying every single filling it dryer on the market testing every single one of them and then seeing what it takes to see if It can actually hit the claimed temperatures.
There’s a lot of deceptive practices going on with these dryers. For example the fixed dry dual use a DTH11 for the only purpose of being able to make an offset. It’s actually only a 50C dryer at best. That’s insulated at full power. But what they did they put a 20C offset and the temperature with a curve so at room temperature it appears to be working correctly but then starts ramping up over time. For example I use the temperature forcing unit to force it to 0c I actually have the temperature sensor I actually have the DTH11 out and lowest I would measure was 20C. It is not just them there’s a lot of deceptive practices like this. And most of these units are extremely unsafe. The fixed dry dual is safe and built well They just lie about the specs on it and try to deceive the end user. But They at least used right materials and right place where Eibos Yes I absolute cheapest ABS they can find and then expect it to hold up the heat of 140-170c .
I’m using the new Eibos dryer to try and dry out the PET-CF, however the PET-CF drying instructions on the product page say to dry at 80 degrees C 8-12 hrs. On the box sent to me, the drying instructions say to dry at 60 degrees C 8-12 hrs. Huge difference!! What are the best settings to dry this filament? The box also says temp resistance of the spool is only 70 degrees C. But the spool itself says its resistance to 90 degrees C. Why are none of these consistent??
