I don't see why you would have problem because of a PLA few months old, especially stored properly in airtight bag with silicagel. Maybe simply a bad roll.
What kind of problem do you encounter? What brand of PLA?
Side comment: I sometimes print at 235°C with some "bad" filaments yes. Or it simply does't flow correctly. Cheap Chinese PLA in this case.
well, mine is form colorfabb (it wasn't always properly stored, first when i knew PLA abosorb moisture from air).
i was printing always 210 C with new pla straight form the package
with old PLA, printing at that temperature, the material doesn't flow nicely, so i need to go like you to 235... is that normal?
I have had old colorfabb PLA that has printed badly - I tend to try to use it in a wider nozzle and have a range of things that I print lots of - like plant pots and some disposable cups for mixing resins in.
the nozzle blockage happens way more regularly and if I leave the filament in the machine overnight then I get cracked segments in the bowden and it cracks at the spool - but when it is printing with a higher temp (normally only 220ish) it is fine but sometimes I need the fan off
I now make sure I only order what I think I need in fairly short order- and note that this has not yet happened with the newer clear reels - only older stuff on the black reels.
Jameshs, i think that small orders are better tan larger one, a few months ago i got like 10 spools from Colorfabb, some of them are stil unoppened, and I've left the used ones without the proper protection (bag + Silica), just like 3 weeks ago i decided to put everything in bags with silica... so i think most of them are really afected by air moisture...
is there a way to "rescue" the old Filament?
Esteban, some people "bake" their filaments rolls to dry them. Google it, you should be able to find some discussion about it, on utimaker forums If i remind correctly.
like this: http://protovision.com/2010/07/11/baked-pla/
this week i tried to print in old PLA. it was my first batch of generic PLA, about 18 month old. I stored it dark and in airtight plastic bags with silica inside. over this time period its diameter from ~3mm to >3.10mm. it's quite brittle and i have to print a few degrees hotter than "fresh" PLA, around 225-230° sometimes even up to 240° depending on the model and detailing.
it tends to carbonize much faster when the flow of material is stuck and when the diameter is going quite over 3mm it gets delicate with the original bowden tube.
I use this old PLA mainly for spiralizing vases which is quite ok if you get the parameters in the right window.
I experimented with drying (a vacuum draw for 3 days) and a whole roll just shattered into tiny pieces!
I am in the UK and moisture is not such a problem - it really only happens with me with older batches and half way through the roll.
I read about one guy who used good vacuum to dry also, but for a much shorter period (maybe 1h?) and apparently he got the best results!
[...] if I leave the filament in the machine overnight then I get cracked segments in the bowden [...]
Same here (though not with every PLA brand). Seems systematic, very strange. Does anyone have an explanation for it? Maybe fumes of lactic acid (depolymerized PLA)?
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donmilne 2
I'm not sure I remember any discussion where the age of the PLA was a factor. There has been discussion of the effects of the tighter radius as you near the end of a roll, but raising the temperature will not help that. The only suggestions I can recall that might help is (a) use Robert's feeder to give yourself better tension control, (b ) use mineral oil to lube the tube, and (c ) put the filament on a larger diameter roll, and put somewhere hot (e.g. on radiator) to make it "relax".
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