Context: I’m about to start printing with PA6-GF for the first time. I understand that thorough drying is essential, so I’m thinking about buying an AMS HT specifically for drying the PA6-GF.
I currently have a P1S with AMS Pro that I’ve been using for PLA prints – no problem there. I understand that the AMS Pro isn’t sufficient for drying PA6-GF – it doesn’t get hot enough.
My questions:
Would there be any problem in using the AMS HT as a standalone dryer? That is, dry the PA6-GF in the AMS HT, then move the spool into the AMS Pro for printing?
If there is a clear advantage to connecting the AMS HT alongside the AMS Pro, can someone walk me through the process? I don’t yet understand what’s required to support both AMS units at the same time.
Any other issues or hints that I should be aware of?
My term “standalone” was badly chosen. I meant “electrically connected to the P1S, but not used for feeding filament”, since I’m not planning on multi-color printing. Does that change the answer?
Of course you can connect just the AMS cable w/o connecting the PTFE tubes and thus use the HT only for drying. In my eyes a waste of possibilities, but it’s your party.
IMHO, just get a standalone dryer. You can (probably, depending on availability) get one for around the same price which does 4 spools in 2 bays, at high temps and doesn’t depend on the printer. I’ve been disappointed with my HT, both in terms of its drying and storage (sealing) capabilities. There have been some other negative opinions posted here in the last few months as well, but of course that doesn’t necessarily mean they’re all bad… YMMV.
Connecting the HT to the printer (with tubes and a buffer/coupler or hub) would basically make it like a “5th slot” of your AMS 2. If that’s useful for you, then of course the HT may still be a reasonable choice.
Pi X4 is what I was referring to (price up a bit since I got one in Jan), though I’m hesitant to make specific recommendations like that. Mine’s worked fine through a few dozen spools so far, but it’s also still all plastic and whatnot. I’d love someone to test one of those metal and glass oven-like dehydrators for temperature stability…
I’ve been using my HT to dry PA6-CF and GF it is doing a good job. I found running two or three drying cycles over a few days with a freshly opened spool made a big difference. This suggests two things, first that the material is arriving less dry than it should and secondly maybe the drying profile is not ‘strong’ enough. But once dried, and properly stored (not in the HT), I have had great results (GF version can be a bit warpy). The big issue I have had with the HT is the rapid increase in humidity. I’ve tried a lot of the ‘fixes’ but it would gain a percent or two a day. I live in the UK and the relative humidity is usually above 50% here). I did just add a large desiccant container that fills the space in the lid and that has made a very significant difference and I’m happy leaving the filament in the HT longer term (I’m a bit of a weekend user so it usually sits all week).
I use AMS-HT to print PA6-CF, which is similar to PA6-GF though may be more abbrasive and not recommended with my main AMS PRO - reason why I got the AMS-HT. The AMS-HT has the main port for automatic feeding and it has a bypass port. The bypass port is rubber and no PFTE connector to hold any cable so I found a AMS-HT Bypass Adapter, which can connect PFTE connector (check size). I printed this part with PA6-CF so it’s really strong and secure. Now I can connect a PFTE cable to both the main outlet and the bypass outlet securely/safely with the option to disconnect quickly. So… AMS PRO and AMS-HT autofeed ports go to buffer. Buffer goes to Y-connector where I also connect the AMS-HT bypass port (bypasses buffer). With this all connections are securely connected and closed between AMSs and extruder. I’ve been able to feed PA6-CF automatically, which has been prone to failure so I prefer to use the bypass port. I’m able to thorougly dry the material bellolw 10%RH and keep it low while printing due to dry while printing feature of the AMS-HT. Absolutely no issues using AMS-HT as standalone dryer while using main AMS for printing. AMS-HT has been ideal for drying while printing my setup. And there’s an AMS tray that can be printed/inserted into the AMS-HT so that it can be used for annealing - possible with PA6. Other issues… stiff/brittle material may not feed automatically and some materials (TPU) are not recommended through the buffer so it may be best to take advantage of the bypass port as I described.
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