We’ve all heard stories of the dangers of 3D printing, with fires from runaway hot ends or dodgy heated build plates being the main hazards. But what about the particulates? Can they actually…
PLA is heated to around 220C whilst being extruded so any water will steam off very quickly as water vapour - which is not even “wet”, well before worrying a print job.
That’s the issue, when it “steams” out it changes the flow rate. My humid filament “drools” more, and isn’t as consistent as a fresh one. Once I’ve put the filament through my food dehydrator for a few hours it’s not as good as fresh, but it’s a lot better. This is only really an issue if I leave the filament out for months on end. If I’m printing like crazy and get through the spool quickly it’s not really an issue until towards the end. That’s the reason people have these fancy ass boxes to store their filament.
That’s the issue, when it “steams” out it changes the flow rate. My humid filament “drools” more, and isn’t as consistent as a fresh one. Once I’ve put the filament through my food dehydrator for a few hours it’s not as good as fresh, but it’s a lot better. This is only really an issue if I leave the filament out for months on end. If I’m printing like crazy and get through the spool quickly it’s not really an issue until towards the end. That’s the reason people have these fancy ass boxes to store their filament.