Been having a lot of problems getting my printer to function correctly. I’m new to the hobby and have had this printer collecting dust for a few years but wanted to get into it. I know I probably have a plethora of problems with the printer itself and with the z-axis garbage and everything but I was wondering if my filament just sitting out for these few years could be another factor messing it up. I’ve seen that even new filament can have moisture so I was wondering if getting a filament dehydrator could help.
A few months per year I need one for PETG. Otherwise it won't print properly. PLA is more forgiving - but drying can help it a bit.
Filament dehydrators help, especially so if you're in a humid environment, but they're not a silver bullet unless the problem you're specifically facing is wet filament.
Once I finally got my filament dryer I found it was also good for revitalizing years-old spools of PLA I had sitting around.
Personally for me all of the problems I had with my printer were stuck behind wet filament, a 20€ used filament drier purchase later I'm getting practically flawless prints, so if you live in a humid area, or if your house/apartment just gets humid then absolutely yes.
Yeah my house is defiantly humid. I have a dehumidifier in the living room that completely fills every week
Also would be good to pick up a pack of inexpensive hygrometers that you can leave places near your printer and near your spools.
Then it's probably worth a try, I'd recommend one that you can directly print out of if you're doing long multi day prints, of course depends on your printer but I was able to feed the filament directly from the drier to the printer :)
Depends on the humidity where you live, which can vary throughout the year, but in most places its absolutely essential for at least part of the year. In general though printing directly from a heated filament holder has almost no downsides.
Yes, a dryer is useful to have, especially if your filament has just been sitting around. But whether or not moisture in your filament is a problem or not just depends. Very wet PLA becomes brittle to the point of the filament breaking easily. Slightly wet filament is mostly just more prone to stringing, bubbling, and that sort of thing. You can Google symptoms of wet filament for more references.
Under ordinary circumstances, barring spools that ship wet, if your household humidity level tends to be over 40% or so, you'll... "probably" need a dryer anyway.
Other than having/using a filament dryer, using silica beads is also a good idea
I just got one and while not necessary, I've noticed a marked improvement in print quality. I think it'll result in less clogs and maintenance issues in the future. I have an A1 and its easy to fix but over time, the cost of spare parts adds up
It depends on the filament and your environment. What problems do you have?
Get a decent filament dryer and then keep the open spool of filament in a box with large desiccant packs in it. Better yet, keep the dried filament in sealed bags (Ziploc) inside a plastic tote with large desiccant packs.
https://a.co/d/hCo23K1 A good, inexpensive single-spool dryer
https://a.co/d/c3VW4j1 Desiccant packs that can be "dried" and reused.
When PLA absorbs too much moisture, it becomes very brittle and easily breaks with little effort. TPU becomes excessively stringy - it also sizzles when moist.
Yes, yes it is.
Super consistent, super predictable parameters, super reliable printing year round.
print a benchy and see
What does that mean.
It’s a test print of sorts that can show if your filament is meeting standard metrics or if things need to be adjusted.
Is your filament hissing or steaming off when you print? You’d have to be right there watching because it’s not wildly obvious in sound or visual. How does the filament strand react to bending? Does it snap immediately or bend pliantly (which means different things for PLA and PETG respectively).
https://preview.redd.it/3p9drdger96g1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=f7ceeb58ee45014d5fac4a2090399bd2d2d22283
This is a photo of a completed print it’s supposed to be flush if you couldn’t figure that out
That looks more like under extrusion then wet. What filament is it?
If you filament has been sitting in the open for a few years and you don't live in a super dry climate, it would probably benifit from drying. I dry most of my pla for stuff I sell even if new and longer prints.
O think it’s pla but idk how to fix any of this stuff people tell me the problem is. I’ve heard that it’s the x axis is messed up the belt is messed up I’m not leveling the bed correctly my extruded is under extruding. Really the works. Just though maybe getting the filament to stop being so brittle might be a step in the right direction
PLA when it's wet is often brittle. For the other stuff Google the model of the printer and put filament calibration. There is YouTube videos for lost out there.
Dry filament is always a good idea. However those that live in desert areas or just dryer environments don't have much issue with such things as it's naturally dry enough.
Posting pictures of the issues that you are having would help significantly in being to point you in the right direction.
IMO, yes very important. Filament is very hygroscopic and some more than others. Get one that also measures the RH% and use ChatGPT what the RH% should be for the filament you are using. I could never print PETG. Then when I paid attention to the RH% needed to be successful to print PETG, I had my first successful print and it was with the most generic PETG I could find.