Oven Drying Saftey Concerns

[BairdB 1]

For some filaments (PVA & nylon in particular) one of the best ways to dehydrate the filaments if they become too humid is by putting them in the oven at 170 degrees F for approx. 6 hrs. But is this safe?  I put the nylon filament in the same oven that I cook pizza in, so is my pizza in any way contaminated with nylon? 

Thx for the feedback,

Baird Bankovic

[kmanstudios 1,120]

If you have a heated bed, you can close off the opening, heat the bed to a temp that is below the glass transition (Tg) and leave for several hours. Since most temps are in C, this will let you not worry about temp conversion. It will also let you not worry about cross contamination. Heated air will still carry the grease in it as it reheats. And, who knows what the filaments will leave behind if too hot.

 

Play it safe no matter what.

[BairdB 1]

Thanks for the suggestion, I think I will try that. 

[geert_2 556]

Personally - but this is just my opinion - I don't think it will contaminate your oven and food if you let it cool down with open door, and wipe the oven afterwards. Cleaning aids you use to clean the oven, will contain worse chemicals. And the smoke and coal produced by baking meals will be a bigger health risk. The main risk of kitchen ovens is their poor temperature control: it may easily get too hot, or overshoot the set temp, and destroy the filament.

 

So, using the UM glass bed as oven, or a dedicated filament dry box, or an electronically controlled laboratory oven (commonly available in schools, universities, labs), is better.