Using the Filament Dryer

The filament dryer at FatCatFabLab is a food dehydrator that has been modified to accommodate regularly sized 3D printer filament spools. It's normally located near the oven used for the circuit board reflow oven.

Using the filament dryer is a fairly straightforward process. First select the temperature from the dehydrator dial, then set the plug timer (at the power strip) for the recommended drying time for your particular plastic. The turnknob on the dryer is marked with the set temperature in Fahrenheit, in addition to the off position. Temperature ranges from 104 to 158 degrees. The recommended temperature and times can be found here and the table is duplicated below:

Type	Temperature	Glass Transition	Duration
PLA	122 F	140-150 F	8 Hours
PETG	140 F	165-175 F	4 Hours
ABS	158 F	220-230 F	4 Hours

The plug timer has a button that cycles through selections of 1hr, 2hr, 4hr, 8hr, continous on, and off, One LED will light up over the selected duration, or no LED will be lit when the timer expires or the button is cycled to the off position. If there is a spool in the dehydrator that is already done, please place it in a plastic bag if you want to put your spool into the dehydrator.