I have an H2D with a AMS 2 Pro and two AMS-HT. Now that the June sale is here, I’m not sure if I should get a second AMS 2 Pro or save a little money and get two more AMS-HT.
The advantages of the HT is each one can be used for drying if needed, or act like a normal AMS when drying is not needed.
Disadvantage is fewer material slots compared to the AMS 2 Pro (Total of 8 for me compared to a total of 10).
I don’t see myself needing 10 colors at once, but I also didn’t see myself needing more than 4 colors at once when I got the first AMS.
Is there some pro/con to getting two more HTs instead of a single Pro 2?
(I know that if you count the cost of the first two AMS-HT I bought, the total cost of four AMS-HT is higher than a single AMS 2 Pro, but I already have the first two AMS-HT so nothing I can do about that)
Really depends on what materials you print and your drying needs.
I do a wide variety of applications and materials and don’t need to do much drying, I’d probably get a second AMS2 Pro if I already had two HTs.
I print mostly in PLA, but when I want to print in PETG the guidance says it must be dried first. That means I have to wait 12 hours (while deprived of an AMS slot) until I can get started.
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12 hours to dry petg? Hogwash unless you leave out for a month at high rh. Dry for 2 or 3 hours and go.
Dry it once and store it properly and you won’t have to dry before every print.
12 hours is what the box says, but I’ll try 3 and see how it goes
problem the AMS HT doesn’t work if not attached to the printer, right ?
True, but mine would be hooked to the printer
The duration has variables that would make the label a book so saying 12 hours is worst case scenario for that box you get torn open you find a few months after sitting it on the shelf in a high humidity area.
Correct, it must be controlled by a printer and is not stand alone.
I store mine in a plastic container with gasket to reduce air getting in and have desiccant packs inside, so, probably not worst case.
they should had make a 4 slots HT device, at the price of 4 of them I rather buy another ams2pro and I dry spools with something else. Once they’re dry, a 50°c ams is enough to keep them dry.
i too dry 8-12h. It takes really some time to get the spool heated through and even more to release the moisture and let it diffuse from the inner layers.
In 3-4 hours I would say that only the outermost layers get dried or the filament was already dry in the first place.
I would also buy an AMS2. With 1x HT and 2x 2pro, the filaments I use most often stay in the 2pro’s. There are also very good options to keep filament dry with desiccant containers in there. The HT has two jobs for me:
When I get new spools, I directly dry them in the HT and either put them directly into one of the AMS or store them in vacuum bags (cereal boxes would be better, but I don’t have the space) together with dessicant and a hygrometer.
When the HT is not drying, I use it as hot spare AMS, e.g. for filament I use less often or for an extra color.
I don’t use the AMS2 at all for drying. I would have to shuffle around the other spools all the time. And repeatedly drying because I leave them inside will detoriate the filament over time.
I am starting to lean toward a second AMS 2 Pro. I like the idea of leaving frequently used filaments in the AMS instead of swapping it out every time I need the slot. Using the HTs for drying would also be less of an issue if I did not need their slots for an active print.
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Just a bit of experience, you can never have enough AMS slots if you are all over the place on printing things.
What is the old adage, “Build for tomorrow, not for today”. Until we get to true full color 3d printing we will be stuck jockeying rolls of filament. The more slots, the less hassle. Now with the filament switch, you just added even more flexibility to both nozzles. On the drying side, suggest a food dehydrator. Mine works exceptionally well and bulk drying takes on a whole new meaning at far less expense than filament driers.
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Went ahead and got a second AMS 2 Pro. Thank you everyone.
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