Silica Dryer using Filament Spool v2 by mb323

mb323

3D Printer>3D Printer Accessories

Print Profile(1)

All

X1 Carbon

P1S

P1P

X1E

0.16mm layer, 2 walls, 15% infill, inner and outer brim

Designer

1.8 h

2 plates

5.0(9)

Boost

Released

Description

Updated Version V2

I made the funnel larger to cover the 4 holes on the opposite side of the spool with a smaller funnel opening to make it easier to handle large amounts of silica. It now prints in 1.5 hours and still uses less than 70g of filament. Snaps now lock in better. I also added a spool hub cover so there is no risk of spilling silica through the center hub when loading.

Make a silica dryer using an empty Bambu filament spool. This snaps securely to one side of a filament spool allowing it to be easily loaded, once loaded attach the other side of the spool for insertion into a filament dryer. When done pull it apart and continue using your spool for filament.

Prints in 1.5 hours
Uses less than 70g of filament
Recommend using ASA for spool part, hub cover can be printed in PLA (I have not tried printing in ABS but should work fine)
Printed on smooth PEI plate with glue stick applied, no glue need for hub cover if printed in PLA
Inner and Outer brim required for spool part, no supports required for hub cover
No other supports required

There are some really nice silica dryers out there that look great and work really well. I wanted something simpler that would take a lot less time to print and use less filament. This prints on my X1 in less than 2 hours and uses less than 70g of filament. I made it with a built in funnel for easy unloading and the important part is that it should snap securely together to the side of the spool with the tallest hub.

I printed mine using ASA and 0.16 Optimal and used variable layer height to get smoother snaps which took 1h 28m. I used smooth PEI plate with Bambu gluestick using an inner and outer brim. No other supports or special print settings required. The walls are 4 layers thick and there is no infill which helps with print time.

The hub cover can be printed in PLA since it will be removed before putting the spool sides together. No supports or brim required and it prints in < 22m.

When assembled there are no gaps between the part and the spool sides. The spool holes are small enough to keep my silica beads inside the spool. Occasionally I would see some small broken parts fall through and might have to poke a few beads out of the holes. The built in funnel helps with getting the silica back into the bottle. On the bottle I use this screw on funnel: https://makerworld.com/en/models/79396#profileId-83879

When done, pop one side loose and then the other side, be careful not to bend it up too far as it could break off the snaps. The first few times it is a little harder to pop apart but gets easier, I have put mine together and taken it apart dozens of times and it still snaps together securely with a click.

To test your printer making the snaps, you can slice one side of the snaps out and print just a small part. Make sure to use an inner and outer brim.

I use a PLA spool which is rated for 70c and is higher than my max dryer temp. The hi-temp spool is rated for 90c if your dryer goes higher. ASA is heat resistant to 100c, I do not recommend printing in PLA or PETG.

MAKE SURE TO SET FLAT BEFORE OPENING

Another tip, I wouldn't load it up very much at first until you get use unloading.

desicant

silica

dryer

Comment & Rating (13)

@Gasguirre

Print Profile

0.16mm layer, 2 walls, 15% infill, inner and outer brim

the fit is great. I was thinking that it might be a good idea a version with grill instead of solid material. the only correction would be that the small holes of the other piece are not covered and silica gel balls does come out from those

The designer has replied

@mb323

Nice Print! I considered a grill but thought that would create a mess in dryers with automatic rollers and it would increase print time. I can create a version with slots to help minimize that. Good catch on the holes in the opposite side. Mine partially covers those holes so haven't see that yet but can definitely see a need to cover them. I'll add some covers and see if I can make a retro fit part for those that have already printed one.

@Gasguirre

Replying to @mb323 :

thank you and please don't think that I was negatively criticizing your model. it's great and I'm grateful of people that take the time to come up with and idea and execute it :) I'm learning fusion 360 myself and I'm loving it. just need to come up with a small fix or thing that would potentially help others:)

(Edited)

@mb323

Replying to @Gasguirre :

Thank you for the feedback! This is how we make a better model. New version V2 published, it covers the holes, the funnel is larger with a smaller opening to make it easier to unload larger amounts of silica and I included a hub cover so the silica doesn't spill into the open hub.