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Expiration Date on Filament?
Posted: Tue Sep 11, 2018 6:48 am
by ajmadison
Long story short, I moved 3 times in 18 months. Just when I thought I would get back to printing again, I was in job hunting mode, then relocating cross country, packing, moving, unpacking, etc. etc. etc. So I have filament in two states. Still factory sealed but purchased 18+ months ago. And spools that are partially used, but stored in one of those lidded plastic storage tubs with a bunch of silica gel packets. Then there are spools that all but used up. Those I can toss without too much heart burn. I endured my share of annoying filament on a couple of projects, so having to dis-assemble the extruder and cleaning it out, or the removing shattered filament from extruder drive would irritate me. On the other hand tossing out a bunch of spools with $15+ of filament on each one gives me penny pinching heartburn. But if my filament is all past the 'best by' dates let know and I won't test my patience or waste my time.
Re: Expiration Date on Filament?
Posted: Tue Sep 11, 2018 2:41 pm
by sthone
It all depends on how good the filament is as well as how it was stored. Like you I store my filament in Plastic tubs (my lids have seals) with silica gel packets and I have Makergear filament that came with my printer and is 4+ years old that is still fine. Then I have other cheap stuff that is less than a year old that gets brittle still. The brittle stuff can be dried out (or so I hear), some people put them in the over others use food dehydrators. I haven't tried drying them out myself though. It's better to just start with good filament and not worry about it. If you do buy the cheap stuff.... use it up quickly.
Re: Expiration Date on Filament?
Posted: Wed Sep 12, 2018 2:54 pm
by boucha18
You should be good with the sealed stuff so long as there aren't any holes in the packaging. If you have a bit of trouble, there is definitely a need to dry the filaments. The opened stuff would benefit from drying. Filaments outside of PLA should definitely be dried(ABS, Nylon, TPU...). I use a food dehydrator that was cheap ($36) on amazon. In my experience, the small amounts should just be tossed(too much trouble
).
Re: Expiration Date on Filament?
Posted: Wed Sep 12, 2018 4:32 pm
by airscapes
Ninjaflex needs to be dried, is that correct? I did not do that prior to first use.. How bad does is suck up moisture.. PLA like or Nylon like??
Re: Expiration Date on Filament?
Posted: Wed Sep 12, 2018 5:47 pm
by sthone
airscapes wrote: ↑Wed Sep 12, 2018 4:32 pm
Ninjaflex needs to be dried, is that correct? I did not do that prior to first use.. How bad does is suck up moisture.. PLA like or Nylon like??
I don't think so... its flexible so it's not going to get brittle. I have an off brand of flex (Zen Toolworks) that I've had for 4 years and it still prints fine.
Re: Expiration Date on Filament?
Posted: Wed Sep 12, 2018 6:18 pm
by airscapes
Thanks, I had kind of figured that to be the case ..But to tell the truth, I have not googled the question yet. Since the stuff we not really vacuum sealed I did't think it was hydroscopic but probably should goggle it now
Re: Expiration Date on Filament?
Posted: Wed Sep 12, 2018 6:31 pm
by airscapes
Re: Expiration Date on Filament?
Posted: Fri Sep 14, 2018 1:12 am
by boucha18
Yes Ninjaflex is like other filaments and will absorb moisture. Instead of becoming brittle like other filaments it will begin to lose other properties. I mainly deal with functional parts in nylon or tpe so drying is a must if I start to see problems. Some of the issues you may see are extra stringing, less interlayer strength and less fatigue strength.
Re: Expiration Date on Filament?
Posted: Fri Sep 14, 2018 3:53 am
by airscapes
This is the response from the manufacture:
Hello,
Ninjaflex does not typically absorb water from the atmosphere. We have 90% of our stock sitting in the open air and see no issues when printing.
Thanks!
Technical Sales Support Specialist
NinjaTek | A division of Fenner Drives
311 West Stiegel Street
Manheim, PA 17545
office: +1-717-664-8390
Email:
Mike.Crotti@ninjatek.com
www.ninjatek.com