Wet filament is Bad – DR.3D-Dryer Box is here to prevent it

Who likes strings, blobs and general bad quality of filament with moisture?  I’d guess that would be a resounding ZERO.  Wit3D is bringing their latest product, the DR.3D Dryer Box to market using Indigogo.  The box is designed to dry out filament that has absorbed moisture.  It also keeps out moisture and keeps out dust when you are storing your filament for an extended period of time.

Upgraded DR.3D-Dryer Box of 3D Printer FilamentFilaments are varying degrees of hygroscopic.  Water binds with the filament polymers which is what leads to “wet filament”.  Wet filament poses a problem for 3D Printing.  Wet filaments get tiny bubbles in them.  This expands the filament slightly leading to under-extrusion, stringing, oozing, and ultimately, a weaker print.  Wit3D has tackled this 3D Printing problem with their new device, the DR.3D-Dry Box.  

Since filaments come in more than one size, this machine is also compatible with the standard filament diameters (1.75mm, 2.85mm, and 3mm) though, it looks like it holds standard 2KG rolls and nothing larger.  The DR.3D-Dry box has a built in max timer to turn it off after 48 hours.  It’s also got a timer you can set to match the project print time of your project. It can keep filaments dry by keeping them in a temperature range of 95° to 140° F. 

It’s one thing to dry your filament, there are a number of less precise methods (Using your oven or using a food dehydrator), but this one both stores your filament as well as drying it.  To store your filament, you need a place to put your filament dryer.  This one will mount on the table next to or around your printer and also has the capacity to be mounted to the top to reduce the footprint of the printer.

In the box, you get the filament dryer and the power brick and cord.  Inside the unit, there is a metal bed that evenly heats up the filament within 2 minutes of starting up.  On the Indigogo site, they say that the noise it produces is below 15 decibels which puts it somewhere between breathing and leaves rustling.

You may be asking yourself, who is Wit 3D and why are they creating this Indigogo campaign? Well, Wit 3D is a 3D filament and resin manufacturer in Shenzhen.  They have been around for 8 years and have a track record for producing 3D Printing materials.  Adding a filament dryer to keep their filaments dry and in peak condition for printing makes a lot of sense. 

If you are in a wet/humid area and need to keep your filament dry, you should check this out.  If you are in an area that sees seasonal shifts in humidity this would also be a great investment.  It is supposed to be delivering some time in December, which isn’t that far off.  At Indigogo you can get it at a special pre-production discount before it goes to full retail price in production.