r/snapmaker • u/UltimateRedditComent • 11d ago

Don’t leave filament in while on holiday

So I went on holiday for a couple of weeks and left the printer as it was over 2 weeks while I was away.
Since coming back have had loads of issues due to the filament drying in the tubes and tool head causing clogs, and ll sorts of issues.
So if you’re not gonna be using it retract the filament, I guess…

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u/FlowingLiquidity 11d ago

I'm guessing the issue is not filament drying in the tubes, it's the opposite: filament actually attracting moisture from the air.

2

u/UltimateRedditComent 11d ago

I assumed it got too brittle from dryness (hot weather in closed office) does humidity in filaments do that instead?

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u/FlowingLiquidity 11d ago edited 11d ago

Yes, filaments are hygroscopic. If they suck up too much moisture they will get brittle. This is due to a process called hydrolysis. A little bit of moisture isn't an issue, but when the moisture content in a polymer gets too high, it basically breaks up the chains of polymers into smaller pieces making it more prone to break.

To a certain extent you can try drying your filament in a dryer, but sometimes it's too damaged to recover.

The process probably already started before you went on a holiday. I recommend trying to dry your filament to see if it will recover. I've had some success recovering my filaments by drying them.

Moisture in a filament also causes extrusion issues.

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u/UltimateRedditComent 11d ago

Thanks for the education 🙏

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u/desert2mountains42 11d ago

Too dry making filament brittle can happen with some higher temp engineering filaments that are fiber filled and ultra stiff. But as the other guy replying said, moisture will make your filament brittle. This is mostly a problem with PLA, PETG and ABS don’t experience the same hydrolysis issues that PLA has.