3D printers for kids

Corv said:

What's the impact of the humidity? Is it like the dimensional variations from a change of temperature?

Thanks!

“the water absorbed into the filament rapidly boils off as it gets heated in the hotend, that motion of the steam actually tears apart the polymer chains”

I somewhat agree with the conclusion of this:  https://toms3d.org/2021/11/23/how-bad-is-wet-filament-really/

My experience with “wet” PETG is that there is a lot more stringing but this is totally manageable.  I’ve definitely noticed a higher rate of failure with functional parts printed with “wet” filament.

Here’s a pretty extreme example of cosmetic defect caused by moisture, this is from a roll of filament that was left on a desk for a year.  I could hear a cracking noise (think pop corn) when printing.  This is definitely not typical though, problems are usually limited to “hairy” prints.



I store my rolls in ziploc bags with containers (which I printed) of silica gel and then in airtight buckets also with some silica gel.

paqman said:

Corv said:

What's the impact of the humidity? Is it like the dimensional variations from a change of temperature?

Thanks!

“the water absorbed into the filament rapidly boils off as it gets heated in the hotend, that motion of the steam actually tears apart the polymer chains”

I somewhat agree with the conclusion of this:  https://toms3d.org/2021/11/23/how-bad-is-wet-filament-really/

My experience with “wet” PETG is that there is a lot more stringing but this is totally manageable.  I’ve definitely noticed a higher rate of failure with functional parts printed with “wet” filament.

Here’s a pretty extreme example of cosmetic defect caused by moisture, this is from a roll of filament that was left on a desk for a year.  I could hear a cracking noise (think pop corn) when printing.  This is definitely not typical though, problems are usually limited to “hairy” prints.



I store my rolls in ziploc bags with containers (which I printed) of silica gel and then in airtight buckets also with some silica gel.

im surprised they dont get stored in a slightly heated dry box. even alot of metal wire gets stored that way, i use an old surgical sterilizer box to store it and added a fan to circulate the air inside for certain welding wires

@kl8ton right now is a good time to get decent discounts on filament from Amazon.  You need to make sure it matches your nozzle diameter (probably 1.75mm).  You will probably want to start with PLA (easy to print, but brittle, doesn’t resist to heat, doesn’t resist to UV).  You will mostly likely eventually want to try PETG (somewhat finicky to print with, better impact resistance/more flexible, better heat resistance, somewhat resistant to UV).  For PETG, you may need a different build plate (textured) instead of the typical smooth plate.

kl8ton said:

Update

Priceless smile! Does it float