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Filament Storage Box DIY

Discussion in 'Projects' started by kameya, Feb 26, 2016.

  1. kameya

    kameya Member

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    As a 3D printer owner, the two most important elements for 3D printings are the 3D printer itself and the printing filaments. As for ROBO3D R1+, it has become my BBF as I can treat it like my 2D printer, just press print and the machine will start making prints in no time...well, almost, still have to prep the bed, insert the filament, and dial the filament/print quality settings, but these have become my second nature when working on the printer.

    And for the filaments, I've used only PLA for most of my printed objects. I know there are many other materials other people use, but for me, PLA is economical and is good enough for my design needs. However, in order to keep the PLA filament in its optimal conditions, you have to keep it in a moisture-free container. So after doing many researches, including this forum here, I have come up with my own low-budget Filament Storage Box design, which will not only store my filaments in the near moisture-free box, and I can also keep the filament in the box while making the prints. So I would share my ideas here to anyone who would like to build their own Filament Storage Box.

    This is how I setup my 3D printer and the Filament Storage Box...
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    Rest of the Filament Box making steps are pretty self-explanatory as I have added instruction notes to each picture...

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    You can download all the required 3D-printed components here, and I've also posted links on the two key components you can get them yourself. Please let me know if you have any questions and suggestions about my design...Thanks... ^_^

    3D-printed components - http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:1372828

    Sterlite 20Qt. Gasket Box - http://www.target.com/p/sterilite-2...A-15066036?lnk=rec|pdp|related_prods_vv|pdpv1

    Eva-Dry E-500 Dehumidifier - http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000H0XFD2?keywords=eva-dry e500&qid=1456505807&ref_=sr_1_1&sr=8-1
     
    #1 kameya, Feb 26, 2016
    Last edited: Mar 4, 2016
    m4r1n5, jim3Dbot, Greg Howard and 5 others like this.
  2. janot928

    janot928 Active Member

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    woo. Nice one man an great tutorial
     
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  3. Mike Kelly

    Mike Kelly Volunteer

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    This is real nice man. I'm gonna do something just like this for my super sensitive stuff like PVA and nylons. I need to find a solution to the fact that the taulman spools have such a tiny ID

    One thing I've noticed having a bunch of filament rubbing spools against each other, you'll cause the other spools to spin, which is usually OK but if the filament comes undone it can start to wide around the shaft causing a failure
     
    #3 Mike Kelly, Mar 2, 2016
    Last edited: Mar 2, 2016
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  4. danzca6

    danzca6 Well-Known Member

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    Great Job! I'm sure we will be able to just buy these at Target as 3d printing gets more and more popular. nice to have great solutions like this in the meantime. Thanks for the share.
     
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  5. kameya

    kameya Member

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    You are correct, the spool would sometimes rub against each other during printing, but so far I have no issue with the filament got caught with other spools... as long as I will do a visual check on each spool to make sure there are no loose filaments hanging around before each print, and if there is one, then I just wind up the spool manually.

    With that being said... I do still have a single filament spool holder sitting on top of my 3D printer, so if there is a bigger job that will take more time to print, then I will take the spool out of the box and print from the single spool holder.

    This tutorial here is just providing a basic idea on how I design my filament storage box, and the filament guide I designed would only work on 1.75mm filament. It is the one of the components that can be re-designed to suit your requirements and needs.
     
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  6. Mike Kelly

    Mike Kelly Volunteer

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    I originally wanted to do 3/4" PVC like you did, but I'm thinking now of using a 5/16" or M8 threaded rod so I can stick some 608zz on it as spacers between filament.
     
  7. danzca6

    danzca6 Well-Known Member

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    Could you just cut thin square cardboard pieces about the size of the box and put between the rolls? That should stop the transfer of rotation to the other rolls. Just cut out a slot into the square to accommodate for the 3/4 PVC and slide them in where needed.
     
  8. Mike Kelly

    Mike Kelly Volunteer

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    That might work, but even cardboard is a bit rough. Something with PTFE or non-stick would be best as a spacer. Really just want to minimize the friction between the two.

    I've been thinking about designing some printable bearings that can slide between.
     
  9. danzca6

    danzca6 Well-Known Member

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    Maybe something like this http://amzn.com/B00U33TNLG? Kind of expensive, but probably some cheaper alternatives.

    I ordered the dehumidifier and stopping at Target tonight to grab a bin to get this put together. Hopefully will do a better job than what I have been doing with keeping my PLA away from humidity.
     
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  10. kameya

    kameya Member

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    Or you can design and print your own spacer to reduce the frictions between the spools... this is my spacer design I had planned to use... but so far I have not used it as I had stated before, I have not encounter any issue with the entangled filaments....
    [​IMG]
     
  11. Mike Kelly

    Mike Kelly Volunteer

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    Yeah a lot depends on the spool though. You may have just gotten lucky or I may have just had my spools too close together. But when I had my spools on a bar the ones next to it would spin. I might be too concerned about it, but I feel like if you don't latch the filament back into the spool you run the risk of it spinning.
     
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  12. shwmks

    shwmks New Member

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    Quite creative
     
  13. akumazedex

    akumazedex New Member

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    Nice! I'd love to do something like this if I had more desk space.
     
  14. danzca6

    danzca6 Well-Known Member

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    I did half of it. I got the tub, the eva-dry dehumidifier, and the hygrometer and put all my rolls in it. I have it sitting on the floor under the printer. Better than just having the rolls sit around. I just grab the one I will be actively printing with.
     
  15. danzca6

    danzca6 Well-Known Member

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    Sorry if this comes off as a dumb question, but what do others see as a max humidity level for storing PLA? Tried googling and didn't find anything. Trying to make sure my bin is working to the optimal setting. I see above that @kameya must live in a desert from the readings on his open box with his hygrometer.
     
  16. danzca6

    danzca6 Well-Known Member

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    Ok I did find some references online that somewhere around 25% or lower is ideal. Mine is sitting at 28% at the moment and with the room humidity at about 60%. I'd say that has to help. I'm looking at getting either a bigger tub or another the same size to add more. Would it be ok to use a PTFE tube from the box to the direct drive? Not sure if that would put too much resistance on the extruder gear. I guess there is one way to find out ;)

    3d Printing Systems has a new product coming to kickstarter called the filament bunker that looks interesting as well. I wonder though if we add an arduino and a stepper to this DIY setup if we can introduce some of the same smart features. That would make for a great project. http://filamentbunker.com/
     

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