Temperature analysis of PVA and Bridge Nylon

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drayson
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Re: Temperature analysis of PVA and Bridge Nylon

Post by drayson »

LePaul wrote:That blue PLA is horrible stuff...I still have 3/4 a roll sitting in an airtight bag.
The time I got my UMO, there was a silver roll in and as far as I remember, it prented pretty well...

Sorry, I have to jump back to PVA:
I ordered a roll app one year ago - it is still unopened and seems to be perfectly sealed. The plan was to use it for disolvable support.
I will start testing/use it, when the new CURA with dual filament size support is up (nallath mentioned something like this @ UMForum).
Does anybody have some hints if it is enough to store it in a lock&lock container with app. 500g silica gel, take it out for printing and then back in..??
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ivan.akapulko
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Re: Temperature analysis of PVA and Bridge Nylon

Post by ivan.akapulko »

I add one packet in each package, and periodically look at the readings of the hygrometer.
Anders Olsson
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Re: Temperature analysis of PVA and Bridge Nylon

Post by Anders Olsson »

drayson wrote: I ordered a roll app one year ago - it is still unopened and seems to be perfectly sealed. The plan was to use it for disolvable support.
I will start testing/use it, when the new CURA with dual filament size support is up (nallath mentioned something like this @ UMForum).
Does anybody have some hints if it is enough to store it in a lock&lock container with app. 500g silica gel, take it out for printing and then back in..??
PVA is very hygroscopic so once you opened that sealed bag it will start absorbing water.
I would recommend that you plan your printing to avoid leaving the PVA in the printer longer than necessary.
And be very careful not overheating it!

It appears that wet PVA can be recovered by drying it. (Haven't tried dissolving it after drying though).
By mistake, I dried the PVA for 50 hours at 80 C, instead of the planned 20 hours, and now it certainly feels very dry again :)
When it absorbs water it gets soft and sticky like boiled pasta, so you will for sure notice that something is wrong with it.

Whether an air tight box with silica is enough is difficult to tell, but I would expect it to stay good very long in that environment.
The next step would be storing it under vacuum, which guess is not an option for most of us.
(We have plenty of vacuum storages and pumps at work and working with those really makes me not want one at home :-) )
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LePaul
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Re: Temperature analysis of PVA and Bridge Nylon

Post by LePaul »

You know this leads me to a thought I had a while back...I am surprised that no one has come up with a way to seal up the spool to help.

Granted the material from the enclosed spool to feeder would be exposed.

I recall someone had mentioned their nylon just soaked in moisture like crazy making for challenging prints.
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Dim3nsioneer
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Re: Temperature analysis of PVA and Bridge Nylon

Post by Dim3nsioneer »

If you keep PVA really dry you can store it for quite some time. I purchased a spool of PVA long ago and still can use it. I keep it in a sealed bag including a desiccant bag for storage and during printing I have it in a box from which it exits through a hole through a long plastic bag (both box and bag containing again desiccant bags) straight to the feeder entrance from which on it is protected by the Bowden tube of my UM.
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LePaul
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Re: Temperature analysis of PVA and Bridge Nylon

Post by LePaul »

Thanks for the reports....that person's soul has been tossed into the flames of Dante's inferno :D
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