Inline filament dryer

[TheRealJoost 5]

Does anyone has experience with the Thordsen 3D IFD-175 filament dryer? (https://thordsen3d.com)  I find drying filament in an oven (of sorts) cumbersome and this inline filament dryer seems convenient. Can it indeed dry out filament effectively?  Any other inline filament dryers you are familiar with?

[Ishy 8]

Not seen that before but looks neat. Can't help wondering if the exposure time is enough to completely dry the filament though.

Also been looking at food dehydrators which seem to be an option. For now I'm running a dehumidifier in my print room which is relatively small.

[geert_2 556]

I like the conceptual idea of "drying on the fly" very much, but I have the same doubts as Ishy.

 

Normally people recommend to dry plastic for at least *several hours*, preferably in the presence of desiccant (to remove the dislodged moisture). My printer usually consumes about 1m of filament per hour. So a heater would have to be 2 to 3 meters long to meet that spec, and it would need to have escape-routes for the moisture.

 

So I am not saying this can't work, I hope it does, but I do have doubts. Also, this seems to be only for 1.75mm.

 

Along the same line of thinking: in the chemical industry they have heater systems for heating thin pipes and sensor lines with fluids, so they do not freeze in winter. These sort of "socks" do encapsulate the pipes. Maybe you could have a look into such systems, and try to adapt one? Maybe then you could make a longer one? And at places cut holes to allow moist air out and fresh air in? Not sure if that would work either, but it could be an interesting experiment?

 

[NBull 14]

I don't know the Thordsen 3D IFD-175 filament dryer, but we had a similar product at my old workplace.
We used it on drye spolles to keep them dry when the print was over 5 days long. to protect agenst ambient moist for the print duration. 

 

In my experience it can't "drye" the spoll, but make long prints more uniform. so in general its not worth the money, you will be betteroff whit a drybox. (polybox or similar)

 

Edit: Only worked with it on Pva, don't know how it will work on Pla, Nylon or Abs. 

Edited June 13, 2019 by NBull

[TheRealJoost 5]

Thanks for your comments guys. Similar to what @geert_2 mentions to 'heater length',  I did ask Thordsen what their max feed rate was to get good efficacy but got no answer on that question. I like the idea of inline heating but question it this can really work in a practical setup.  So consensus seems to be; "move on, get a dry-box (of sorts)" 🙂

[thordo 0]

2 hours ago, TheRealJoost said:

Thanks for your comments guys. Similar to what @geert_2 mentions to 'heater length',  I did ask Thordsen what their max feed rate was to get good efficacy but got no answer on that question. I like the idea of inline heating but question it this can really work in a practical setup.  So consensus seems to be; "move on, get a dry-box (of sorts)" 🙂

Hi Joost,

I'm disappointed that you did not put our conversation in the proper context. I thought it was very positive. You were inquiring about a 3mm filament dryer and I informed you that it was still in a prototype state and would not be released for at least a couple of months. We discussed how to adapt bowden tubing to your UM2+ to connect to the IFD. We exchanged pics of your setup and one of our test machines and came to the same conclusion on how to make it work for you.

 

Alan Thordsen

[geert_2 556]

3 hours ago, TheRealJoost said:

...

@geert_2  So consensus seems to be; "move on, get a dry-box (of sorts)" 🙂

For an immediate solution, yes.

 

For a long term solution, I think it might be worth looking further into the idea of drying on the fly, but then over a much longer path, and with a means of evacuating the released moisture. And with a means to cool the filament down again after dry-heating, before it enters the feeder. If PLA would enter the feeder at 50 or 60°C, it would get totally deformed by the feeder wheel pressure, and would cause grinding and/or blocking in the bowden tube. So, after the heating and drying cycle, there needs to be a cooling cycle too (without moisture entering again).

 

It might not be easy to put all that in a small housing with no friction, and to make it still work after a week-end of standing still. But I still like the idea, especially in compact spaces where a separate dry-box might not fit well.   :-)

 

[thordo 0]

1 hour ago, geert_2 said:

For an immediate solution, yes.

 

For a long term solution, I think it might be worth looking further into the idea of drying on the fly, but then over a much longer path, and with a means of evacuating the released moisture. And with a means to cool the filament down again after dry-heating, before it enters the feeder. If PLA would enter the feeder at 50 or 60°C, it would get totally deformed by the feeder wheel pressure, and would cause grinding and/or blocking in the bowden tube. So, after the heating and drying cycle, there needs to be a cooling cycle too (without moisture entering again).

 

It might not be easy to put all that in a small housing with no friction, and to make it still work after a week-end of standing still. But I still like the idea, especially in compact spaces where a separate dry-box might not fit well.   🙂

 

The IFD does exactly what you've described. It heats the material to a drying temperature,then passes through a heat break and then through a cool side where the moisture is drawn out (by air movement via internal fan on the 175S and natural rise of heat on the 175R) as it continues through a heat sink cooling it back to stable temp. Yes, 3mm takes longer for heat to penetrate to its core which is why our 3mm dryer prototype is three times longer than the 1.75 dryer and is also more heavily insulated.

 

Drag is also an issue which is why the entire process runs inside PTFE tubing to the printer.

Edited June 13, 2019 by thordo
added info

[NBull 14]

Hej Alan. I have a question.

 

And sorry if it says on your page but i ditten find it 🙂

 

Do your products have som heat vs speed regulation. im thinking of dual extruder systems where the fillement movement isn't constant. and you risk one of the fillement siting a "long" time in the heater at the same spot.

[TheRealJoost 5]

4 hours ago, thordo said:

Hi Joost,

I'm disappointed that you did not put our conversation in the proper context. I thought it was very positive. You were inquiring about a 3mm filament dryer and I informed you that it was still in a prototype state and would not be released for at least a couple of months. We discussed how to adapt bowden tubing to your UM2+ to connect to the IFD. We exchanged pics of your setup and one of our test machines and came to the same conclusion on how to make it work for you.

 

Alan Thordsen

Hey Alan, re-reading my post I can see how you took it negative, wasn't meant that way. You did answer my other questions indeed, my apologies. 

 

Now that you are here, would you mind answering the question about speed?

[thordo 0]

16 hours ago, TheRealJoost said:

Hey Alan, re-reading my post I can see how you took it negative, wasn't meant that way. You did answer my other questions indeed, my apologies. 

 

Now that you are here, would you mind answering the question about speed?

We're still endurance testing the longer 3mm dryer and have not run filament through it yet, so I don't know yet. We have been running 1.75 ASA and ABS at 80-100mps on our production parts. CF nylon parts at 60-80.1.75 test results are being posted on our FB page and will get them on the website ASAP.

[thordo 0]

18 hours ago, NBull said:

Hej Alan. I have a question.

 

And sorry if it says on your page but i ditten find it 🙂

 

Do your products have som heat vs speed regulation. im thinking of dual extruder systems where the fillement movement isn't constant. and you risk one of the fillement siting a "long" time in the heater at the same spot.

That's a great question. We don't have a dual head machine to play with so I don't have an answer. However, my guess would be that as long as your temp setting is within the recommended drying temp of the material you're running it should not be an issue. You would also need an IFD for each thread of filament.

 

Please realize that we have barely scratched the surface of where the IFD can possibly go. Ideas for product expansion are always in our minds and on the drawing board but right now the focus is on testing all types of filaments to find optimal temp settings. Customer feedback is another driving factor in the evolution of the IFD.