Your 3D printer’s filament must be dry (freed from moisture absorbed from the encircling air) to carry out correctly. Results range primarily based on the particular filament materials, however absorbed moisture may cause every part from poor print high quality to finish print failure. Most filament supplies can dry correctly at round 60°C, which is what client filament dryers have a tendency to focus on. However some filament supplies want a lot greater warmth. If you wish to print these supplies with out spending some huge cash, comply with Milos Rasic of element14 Presents’ information to construct your personal high-performance filament dryer utilizing an previous air fryer.
As you’re undoubtedly conscious, air fryers turned extremely standard just a few years in the past. In consequence, thrift shops, secondhand shops, and dumpsters are completely overflowing with the issues. And so they make good candidates for filament drying: they get highly regarded (175°C at a minimal) and flow into the recent air. However you most likely don’t need to simply throw your good, costly filament into an unmodified air fryer, as a result of it gained’t have very exact temperature management or timing. The conversion carried out by Rasic provides these options (and extra) to make the air fryer protected and efficient to make use of as a filament dryer.
To attain that, Rasic built-in {hardware} able to controlling the air fryer’s heating factor whereas exactly measuring the air temperature. The {hardware} additionally controls the air fryer’s fan to flow into the air.
The important thing element is an Arduino UNO R4 WiFi board. It controls the air fryer by means of three relays: one for grasp energy, one for the heating factor, and one for the fan. It displays the air temperature by means of a DFRobot DFR0558 temperature sensor. This technique is way extra correct and exact than the air fryer’s unique mechanical thermostat.
Even higher, Rasic was capable of create a very nice management and information visualization interface utilizing the Arduino Cloud service. It lets the person set a goal temperature and a drying time, which the air fryer will then keep. It additionally offers complete information, so you possibly can visualize, for example, the heating and cooling cycles because it makes an attempt to keep up the goal temperature. A extra subtle PID (Proportional Integral Spinoff) management algorithm would possibly degree that out, however that isn’t mandatory for an software like filament drying — as long as the temperature doesn’t get too excessive for a selected filament materials or its spool.
For roughly the identical value as an off-the-shelf filament dryer, you might comply with Rasic’s information to construct your personal filament dryer that can carry out a lot better
