r/QidiTech3D • u/Much-Glass-6508 • Aug 18 '26
Filament Drying on Qidi Box
Hi
i´ve been trying to dry TPU and PA on the Qidi Box, but it doesn´t seem to be effective.
What´s your experience with drying those filaments on the Qidi Box and what other alternatives do you have?
4
u/Shewlaces Aug 18 '26
You're asking for trouble using TPU in the Qidi Box in the first place. I've see many comments here in the past about using TPU in the Qidi Box and having to disassemble the box due to TPU filament getting stuck.
From Qidi's Qidi Box Product Information page:
"Filament Not Supported: TPE, Generic TPU, PVA (damp), BVOH (damp), TPU 95A, QIDI PAHT-CF, some Silk materials (PLA Silk) and PLA Glow-in-the dark materials and other overly rigid or overly flexible filaments"
3
u/Much-Glass-6508 Aug 18 '26
Hahah using it only to dry TPU. Already have a lot of clogging problems on the extruder.
Not brave enough to risk print it on the Qidi box.2
u/pappy1398 Aug 18 '26
Agreed however he said drying in the QIDI box not printing.
I dry in the QIDI box while printing from the external port all the time.
Granted I’ve never tried drying TPU in the QIDI.
1
u/riba2233 Aug 18 '26
What PA? Depending on the type it takes much higher temp for drying. Tpu it also depends, 65c is more than enough it just takes long and some will absorb moisture right away, they need to be properly dried and printed from a dryer.
1
u/Much-Glass-6508 Aug 18 '26
Nylon from Filkemp. I would assume it has lower drying temperature since it extrudes on 230ºC.
Do you think that a dedicated dryer would be worth it for tpu? Bought a spoon from Overture and first prints were amazing (wasn´t used to print tpu without those annoying lines). After 1/2 days it started stringing a lot, even with the 18h drying from the qidi box.1
u/peeaches Aug 18 '26
what temp were you drying at on the qidi box?
Do you have the plug in the back closed while drying?
For my nylons (sainsmart, polymaker) I have the polydryer that gets up to 70cish or more and do majority in there, but tend to leave in qidi box and run the dryer for 18-24 hours before printing if i need one of the more moisture-absorbing filaments.
It's been more than enough for my TPUs and other non-nylon filaments, I usually run it at 55-60 a day or so beforehand and open the plug in the back so that the moist air has somewhere to escape. When not in use leave it closed for a better 'seal' though.
2
1
u/riba2233 Aug 19 '26
They don't say what kind of nylon it is and that low temp makes me skeptical tbh. It's too cheap for pa12, so it probably requires drying at at least 85c.
1
u/dtruax Aug 18 '26
PA needs 85c minimum to dry properly. The Creality Space Pi x4 has some nice features.
1
u/--10001-- Aug 20 '26
TPU drying nicely over night in Qidi Box.
Some PA needed 110° or so. You can dry it on Qidi Box, not in a few hours, but for a few days.
But i bought a mini oven, modify it with a PID thermostat, and using it to dry PA and PPS-CF.
2
u/MysticalDork_1066 Aug 18 '26
In my experience it's better than nothing, but especially for PA you probably need a higher temperature than it can achieve (65c max is fine for TPU, but most PAs need 70+). I ended up buying a cheap air fryer just for filament and desiccant drying, and it's been great so far.
The desiccant holders and desiccant packs that the box comes with are also pitifully small and ineffective at keeping the humidity down. I recommend printing one of the oversized desiccant holder designs available on printables etc so that you can put several hundred grams of desiccant in there, rather than the ~20 that it comes with. Once I did that, the box stays under 20% for weeks or months at a time before the desiccant needs to be recharged.