Vacuum sealed filament container

Large filament manufacturers, such as Fillamentum, strive to ensure that their filaments reach their customers in a vacuum-sealed package and with a desiccant bag to keep the humidity percentage at a minimum and controlled. This container is usually reusable, but for some type of filament that is not enough. For this reason, PrintDry has developed hermetic filament packages with vacuum sealing.

The 5 containers of hermetic filaments with vacuum sealing PrintDry are high-strength plastic containers, where each user can store their filament safely without worrying about whether they pick up moisture. The potential of these containers is in the lid, since in this a vacuum valve is housed, through which and with the help of a manual pump (included with the containers), it is possible to extract the air from the interior of the container. container, providing storage free of dust and moisture. Its operation is very simple: the pump is placed on the valve and is operated up and down until the central part of the valve descends, as shown in the following image.

Image 1: vacuum valve. Source: PrintDry

Studies carried out by PrintDry guarantee that a filament reel of 750gr, correctly stored in this type of container, together with five desiccant bags of 15 gr, ensure more than 30 days without increasing the percentage of humidity at all.

Image 2: Humidity test. Source: PrintDry

Its design is designed to easily stack these containers and thus keep the work area organized and clean. Another aspect of the design that stands out is that the packaging is transparent, which allows checking the type of filament stored without having to open the container.

A usual doubt that a user usually has after finishing a 3D printing using a newly opened coil is how I now store this filament. If it is not done correctly, it happens that when working with the filament still existing in the coil, the typical problems arise due to excess concentration of humidity. This moisture affects the final mechanical properties of the part and causes a soft and many-pored surface finish, caused during printing when the water inside the filament suddenly evaporates at the exit of the extruder. This water can oxidize certain elements of the extruder, such as hardened steel nozzles. Conventional storage measures are usually to store the filament in its bag with a "grip" type pressure seal, this solution is effective to protect the filament from dirt in the air, but not completely from the humidity. The ideal solution is to use the tightly sealed containers with vacuum sealed PrintDry together with the dryer. In this way, the correct condition of the filament can be guaranteed, although several months have passed since the coil was removed from its original factory seal. There is also an intermediate solution, which is, use a filament storage box (PolyBox).

In addition to these containers, PrintDry has a dryer filament, which reduces the humidity of any type of filament to very low values (10%) and which allows the filament to be used to print pieces directly from its interior. The use of the filament dryer and the hermetic filament and vacuum sealed packages are highly recommended for users who use materials sensitive to humidity, such as nylons and some advanced materials.

Image 3: PrintDry Dryer filament. Source: PrintDry