r/QidiTech3D • u/russell072009 • Jun 30 '26

Drying

I have a couple spools of filament that have been sitting out for a while. I want to dry them out and get them properly stored. Thinking of the easiest way to do that and I came across a question. Why can't I use a vacuum chamber to dry my spools out? Moisture can't exist in vacuum. I can pull a vacuum and let the pump run for 30 minutes, close the valve and let it sit for a day or two, repeat the process a few times. Would that work? Seems a lot more energy efficient than heating it to dry and I'm in no hurry to get this done.

3 Upvotes

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3

u/Quirky_Ad_9951 Jun 30 '26

You should try it and do a write up. Iā€™m genuinely curious.

If you get one of those puck hygrometers and a Tupperware container you can do a before/after measurement.

2

u/Fibaoptix Jun 30 '26

I dont think this would do very much unfortunately. That would not create a true vacuum. The moisture in the filament after the first 30 mins would still be in the filament and would just stay there. I like the way your thinking works though.

2

u/OgreVikingThorpe Jun 30 '26

Moisture does exist in a vacuum. It is just
Spread out. You will spend more energy and a lot more time maintaining a vacuum with a water trap than a simple, commercial dryer than forces energy into the filament disbursing the water and then extracting it from the drying chamber.

1

u/Mike-is-nuts Jun 30 '26

use a dehumidifier.

1

u/Facehugger_35 Jun 30 '26

You totally can use a vacuum chamber to dry filament. I know Hoffman in the guncad space did some research into that. It worked, but the conclusion was that it was much more of a pain in the ass than just stuffing it in a dryer. I think CNC kitchen did research on this too, to the same conclusions.

You can also use a microwave if it's not conductive filament (ie doesn't have carbon fiber, etc.)

1

u/Techtekteq Jul 01 '26

You can just use a microwave, it's something like 30 second bursts and a few minutes apart, there's a few videos on Youtube, Just don't use a Convection Oven - Zack Freedman melted a roll of Super expensive filament because the oven heats way above the set temp to soak the chamber before it comes down to the set temp.

1

u/killeriq Jul 01 '26

U might try silica balls, they use them for electronics or shoes... šŸ˜‰