PVA Printing Idea

I've just starting to purchase parts to build up a mendelmax and I've been doing a lot of research on using PVA as a support material. It seems like a lot of people have been having issues with the PVA absorbing humidity rapidly and making it impossible to print.

What if you were to build a sealed case for the roll, and either integrate some type of electrical dehumidifier or purge the case with some type of gas to clear out all atmospheric air?

I think the hardest part would be a low friction air tight seal around the filament.

What do you think?

Thanks!
Clay

Just a thought, maybe you could fill the canister with argon gas and then pull filament from the top. The argon gas would displace the air in the canister and is heavier than air and wouldn't be readily lost.

I like the sealed case concept. I am going to be researching this soon as support material is going to be vital for what I am doing with my equipment. I am still in the test and tune phase right now. I have also heard if sugar being used in experiment with support. If not a pressurized gas chamber perhaps a vacuum chamber? The main area of concern for leakage would be where it goes into the extruder but perhaps some kind of regulated Bowden style chamber could be used to allow it to normalize before it goes into the extruder. The biggest uncontrollable would be how the material was handled before you got it. Just my two cents. I am curious where this leads.

~Mike

I would have thought that a small hole in the side wouldn't let in very much moisture at all, and you could just add a load of desiccant to the box. This way, you'd dry out the pva, not just stop it absorbing more water. I have no plans to try pva any time soon, but it'd be a cheap experiment.

Funny. I posted several weeks back that exact idea for how I'll be storing and feeding my filament in order to keep it dry. Already got a couple pounds of desiccant for the purpose.

You just feed the filament out of the enclosure using plastic tubing with a few fittings to minimize the filament's exposure to free air. There's little need for exotic gasses. If there is, then it kinda fails as a hobbyist pursuit.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/06/2012 11:58AM by xiando.

Quote
Xiando
There's little need for exotic gasses. If there is, then it kinda fails as a hobbyist pursuit.

Not exactly true. You can buy cans of Argon from wine stores. They spray it in their half-empty wine bottles to keep it fresh for a week or two. No more expensive than a can of compressed air from electronic stores for dust removal.

That being said, dessicant is the way to go. I've made drying chambers for fruit before and it works very well without the box needing to be air-tight.

Also what works is those pretty salt lamps. Place one on each side of your spool and your good to go.

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-Tom