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How long can you keep filament

Posted: Thu Jan 14, 2016 10:27 pm
by Cyber_Gram
I am planning on buying a lot of filament so I can open up a 3D Hubs hub.
How long before filament goes bad when properly stored? (In a sealed container with rice at the bottom)
The filaments I would buy would be PLA, ABS, Nylon, and Ninjaflex.

Thanks for your help!
-Cyber_Gram

Re: How long can you keep filament

Posted: Thu Jan 14, 2016 10:43 pm
by Bratag
Cyber_Gram wrote:I am planning on buying a lot of filament so I can open up a 3D Hubs hub.
How long before filament goes bad when properly stored? (In a sealed container with rice at the bottom)
The filaments I would buy would be PLA, ABS, Nylon, and Ninjaflex.

Thanks for your help!
-Cyber_Gram
Ive had well stored filament for well over a year. Pretty sure however rice is not the way to go. Better to use silica gel or the damp-rid stuff in an airtight container. There was a thread here somewhere discussing the rice viability. Keep in mind the air tight container will only stop moisture getting to the filament - it wont necessarily draw it out. For that you need a low bake in an oven. This is yet another reason I love PET - that stuff hates water (unlike PLA) and you can leave it out with no worries.

Re: How long can you keep filament

Posted: Thu Jan 14, 2016 10:58 pm
by Cyber_Gram
Bratag wrote:
Cyber_Gram wrote:I am planning on buying a lot of filament so I can open up a 3D Hubs hub.
How long before filament goes bad when properly stored? (In a sealed container with rice at the bottom)
The filaments I would buy would be PLA, ABS, Nylon, and Ninjaflex.

Thanks for your help!
-Cyber_Gram
Ive had well stored filament for well over a year. Pretty sure however rice is not the way to go. Better to use silica gel or the damp-rid stuff in an airtight container. There was a thread here somewhere discussing the rice viability. Keep in mind the air tight container will only stop moisture getting to the filament - it wont necessarily draw it out. For that you need a low bake in an oven. This is yet another reason I love PET - that stuff hates water (unlike PLA) and you can leave it out with no worries.
Okay, thanks for your help :)
Have any recommendations for filament brands? (Not too expensive)

Re: How long can you keep filament

Posted: Thu Jan 14, 2016 11:09 pm
by Tim
Cyber_Gram wrote: Have any recommendations for filament brands? (Not too expensive)
MakerGear PLA is great. Only go with other brands when you can't get the color you need, or if you're looking for exotic types of PLA like wood or copper fill.

A lot of us get eSUN brand PETg from William at intservo.com. He's very friendly and occasionally posts special discount codes for us on the forum.

Re: How long can you keep filament

Posted: Fri Jan 15, 2016 3:11 pm
by willnewton
MG PLA is good stuff, the black is my gold standard of how a filament should perform.

I like the Esun PETG as well, as I do not print ABS. I have just tried some Hatchbox white PLA and it was very nice as well.

Before you order too much filament, make sure you have some demand for it and also make sure you enjoy providing prints for other folks. 3dhubs seems to be a bit hit or miss depending on area demand and competition. Also, some print providers get fed up with the low profit and problematic customers not making it worth their while. Start small and you can always grow into it.

Re: How long can you keep filament

Posted: Fri Jan 15, 2016 3:23 pm
by Slipshine
If your going to use pla be sure to store it out of sunlight as it will photo degrade. I have a couple of rolls that are 3 years old and still work but are starting to get brittle. A friend dicided to store some on a window sill so the sun would keep the moisture out. 5 months later it was so brittle it was un useable.

Re: How long can you keep filament

Posted: Fri Jan 15, 2016 4:26 pm
by innkeeper
for the most part, if you can keep your filament stored at relatively low humidity, it will last a while... i have filament that 3 years old, that i recently used... and it was all good.

i've had filament break down in less time... and i think it has noting to do with the storage temperature, but more to do with the chemical makeup... i had some older makerbot abs that basicly degraded as it sat...when i went to use it it would turn almost water like very odd...

Re: How long can you keep filament

Posted: Fri Apr 08, 2016 2:20 am
by Bluesoulx12
I've got 2 year old filament, still works great. MG PLA is still holding up really well that came with the printer. I'm on 3D Hubs and I rarely ever get jobs (once a month), but then again I am not located in a large city.

Re: How long can you keep filament

Posted: Fri Apr 28, 2017 9:19 am
by MairaWeil
I was using my for 4 years before it completely broke down.

Re: How long can you keep filament

Posted: Mon May 01, 2017 6:37 pm
by insta
Cyber_Gram wrote:I am planning on buying a lot of filament so I can open up a 3D Hubs hub.
How long before filament goes bad when properly stored? (In a sealed container with rice at the bottom)
The filaments I would buy would be PLA, ABS, Nylon, and Ninjaflex.

Thanks for your help!
-Cyber_Gram
What other research have you done about running a hub, before you drop a lot of money on filament?