Many companies use vacuum drying ovens, the vacuum speeds up the process. Some companies use the Fortus build chamber set to run Ultem or they use a regular kitchen oven but that reduces productivity. Many of our customers dry every spool prior to use as a best practice.
A full spool takes two days to consume on the Fortus machine so you can dry the pending spool(s) for two days. Drying isn’t an admission of poor quality it is a Best Practice ie. the smart thing to do. There is a reason there are dryers on the machine themselves. Just as a injection molder always dries pellets prior to molding a Fortus 3d printer operator should dry the filament. Filament is nothing more than pellets in filament form.
For generic spools set your oven to 70C. Argyle Materials offers Ultem 9085 and 1010 and all double capacity (184ci) spools on a high temperature spool that can be dried at elevated temperatures of 90C without warping. Great for drying highly hydroscopic materials like Ultem 9085 and Ultem 1010 and Ultem Support. At 60C a 48 hour dry time is preferred, however, usually 12 hours overnight is sufficient. At 90C for high temperature materials the same durations apply. With a vacuum oven the spools will dry in 1/4 the time. For new Stratasys canisters simply remove the foil tape, take the lid off and place the entire canister and spool without the lid in the oven. Always keep canisters standing up as per Best Practice outline in Stratasys operator guide; this prevents loose loops of filament from falling on top of other loops and getting knoted or stuck. When ready to use the Stratasys canister afix the lid with electrical tape no need for the same metal tape. For Argyle Materials refills of ABS, ASA, PCABS, PC, Ultem 9085 Ultem 1010 and Breakaway Support (HIPS) simply remove the spool from the vacuum sealed bag, place the spool in the oven and load into a canister when ready for use. For partial spools, both OEM and after market, remove the lid form the canister, dry the spool and replace lid.
Now your 3d printer is ready to perform better than ever by running dry material just like an injection molder runs dried materials and just like filament manufacturers dry the material both prior to extrusion and again post production when the spool is fully wound. The desiccant and foil bags prevent moisture build up in new spools. Dry partial spools always: in short, implement a best practice of drying every spool.
