I’ve been reading around and have been running into conflicting information about PLA… is it susceptible to moisture absorption that would cause quality issues while printing?
Yes most all types of filament are very susceptible to moisture. That’s why most come sealed with a desiccant. If you store them I would highly recommend buying some desiccant and a sealed container.
Cool thanks man… place them in the closet I have my dehumidifier in for drying silk screens for shirt printing, until I can get some silica gel
How is the filament made can we use hemp
People say that but I have left mine out for years with no big issues. Never have any hissing or popping with spools that are two years old… If you are concerned throw it in a vat with silica gel. I do that for my nylon, flexible, and PETG
With PLA, it’s really about the ambient humidity level. A normal air conditioned home environment won’t cause excessive moisture absorption. But if your workshop consistently runs over 50-60% RH, moisture can be an issue.
Same thing as @Griffin_Paquette ; I’ve left unspooled PLA out for years (longest was 3 years) and it still printed fine. This is in Florida, where humidity is quite possibly the worst.
@ThantiK does comming to the end of a roll make any difference? The filiment I’m using has been fine up until the last 1/4 of the roll
No conflict just incomplete reporting. It depends on you local climate. The killer is absolute humidity not relative humidity. At 38 deg C and 95% relative humidity the atmosphere carries 38 g/m3 water - 8 teaspoons per cubic metre. At 27 deg C and 75% RH it is 18 g/m3. At 2 deg C and 75% RH it drops to less than 2 g/m3 (half a teaspoon). So watch your local climate then decide.
PLA does seem really resistant to moisture-related printing problems. Cannot say the same for ABS or PETG.
I used Verbatim White PLA, it was lying more than 1 year. There is no issues of moisture, but the filament starts breaking when printing. If you finish a print, then the filament automatically breaks at the start of the extruder.
For the next print, you have to insert the filament again. This happens for every print. Even at the middle of the print, if you pause, then the filament breaks.
I am not sure about this strange behaviour.
@Alex_Krause the old stuff I had wasn’t on a spool, so can’t really give you any help there.
Totally depends on brand. Test the theory by drying it out and printing w the problematic filament.
Not much better than @ThantiK here in Georgia. Mine was a no name eBay spool. Actually the first one I bought! Still have some left on it.
And I have had spools sitting in my garage across all kinds of seasons, no effect. But…I also have good garage door seals and a humidifier and dehumidifier in the house and air does flow more to and from the house. Or maybe it’s all the motor oil suspended in the air…
I’ve had some PLA that’s been out for well over a year. It’s still fully printable but some areas have swelled slightly due to moisture absorption. It’s not visible to the eye but when printed I occasionally get small lines on the print where the filament diameter was thicker. I’ve created the setup shown in the link below which seems to resolve the issue.
Humidity should balance within 24 hours, not over weeks. If you have problems start later it is either your humidity changed, or a different problem.
Humidity flaws would show up as warts, stringing, and holes. As the boiling off water expands and isn’t predicted by the slicer. If your flaws are different then these you should look at other causes.
Some things that I have experienced: the spool center is too small (at the beginning it was fine, at the end it didn’t want to be bent straight, a poor plastic mixture ( I had a spool that was nearly unprintable as it would either jam because the temp was low or ooze because it was too high). You can look for other causes, but pictures of what flaw you’re seeing help with diagnosis.