Dry Box Storage System for 3D Printer Filament, Updated for 2024 and Better than Ever!

I'm always on the lookout for good ideas when it comes to storing spools of filament and keeping them dry, and I've finally landed on a solution that is perfect for me.

This system is heavily inspired by a design from Stephen Wardlaw. His original design and YouTube video can be found here:

I've combined Stephen's design ideas with my own past iterations on filament dry box solutions to come up with the system that I show in this video. All the files needed to print the parts required to assemble one of these dry boxes can be downloaded here:

Below are Amazon links to the storage containers and other hardware bits that I used for assembly.

If you try out this dry box design and have suggestions or feedback, please reach out either here in a comment or on the post at Printables. My plan is to continue iterating and improving this design, and also to create an ecosystem of useful accessories to make using these dry boxes easier and more enjoyable.

[gunplamark]

A few of you have noted that the 608 bearings I used have quite a lot of friction. I prefer this style, but if you're after something that rolls more easily I've linked to a second option in the video description.

And while I'm here, huge thanks to everyone who built these boxes and has sent me feedback and suggestions on the design. I really do appreciate it!

[TookBurrow]

Printed 12x Dry Boxes!! Thank you so much for your contribution to this project. Love the upside down orientation. If you progress the agenda to install a heater/fan that fits in the desiccant port… for an active heating/drying system let me know!!

[ernie]

I made this pretty much as offered. I thought it was wonderful and worked pretty well.
Some feedback:
-- I used 608 ZZ bearings instead of 608 2SR for less rolling friction. For even less friction you can even use unshielded bearings as this is in an enclosed clean space.
-- Be very careful drilling the top hole. I was careful but some still cracked. I think it is from stresses in the plastic at the fill port.
-- I modified the coupler cap to be easier to remove. Where the "handle" meets the thin tube I changed it to have a shoulder for added space then a cone section for even more space. You can easily remove the cap with one hand.
-- Maybe it's my printer (Bambu A-1 Mini) but I had clearance issues with the roller shafts. I had to sand them all. But other than that the fit and function were perfect. ( I made the rollers from PLA as I don't have any TPU.)
--DO NOT buy the silica gel that is clear then only has a small amount of color-changing indicator beads. It is very hard to see them through the basket. I might try printing in white, but just buy the ones he listed.
-- I was really surprised at how effective the silica beads are! They take an empty box from 60% humidity to 12% in an hour!
-- Has anyone with an A-! Mini made one of these? Have you experimented with having the filament come out at the bottom? Or by moving the Bowden tube directly from the printer to the dry box? I don't know the best orientation to use this in!

Thank you for the great design and for making it affordable. Good work!

[gocastleman]

I liked your video. As for a heater dryer, I think you could probably just set the unit fully loaded with filament and dessicant in the sun for a little while. It will heat up and the dessicant will absorb the moisture.

[tcurtin]

This is a super elegant solution - nicely done!!

[DennisRyu]

Small weak magnet attached to the spool on the side would enable you to roll back the filament onto the spool from outside with another magnet without having to open the box. Spacing between spool and box should not be too far so that magnet would pull the spool down from the bearings.

[Shenandoahleather]

Fantastic! A much sturdier option than the roller system for these boxes I’ve been using. Thank you for the great redo! I have a Polydryer and hate it. The storage box they use was a good, although poorly set up, idea. These cereal boxes have worked very well for me and this build makes them even better!

[PaganWizard]

I am glad you made this video. I have assembled about 36 filament driers from the previous video you mentioned. The most common issue I had with those, is when I opened the top of the container, and the cap for the desiccant/hygrometer holder would pop off, causing desiccant to run wild all over the room. This looks like it will eliminate that problem. On a side note, I loved hearing you say "Freedom Units", I love that phrase. There are two types of Countries on this planet, those that have put a man on the Moon, and those that use the metric system. 🎇🎆🎇🎆🎇🎆🎇🎆

[gin-]

Love this! Thank you so much... I'm a newbie to 3D Printing and this is exactly what I was looking for. Nice and easy project, fun to make!

[joshgebbie]

I use a center core desecant holder that just screws into the hole in the center of the filament spool. That way, if you build your active heater, you could just pop off the lid opening and put it on the heater, then pop the lid back on when it's done.

[quantumenergysolutions]

Nice! I have a zero power, passive, low cost idea for long term, easy fast access, storage. Purchase a big plastic box with airtight lid, fill the floor with a few inches of Silica crystals that absorb water. Get another smaller box to house your filament spools made from any mesh. Make sure you have a few inches between the inner box and outer box, also fill space with Silica crystals, make sure the lid also has a layer of silica. A 50kg sac used for making Beer is a low cost bulk price. & wont pass the mesh. After use just but the spools back. seal lid, . Maybe to preserve the crystals for long term storage, can add a small vacuum pump, to remove the air from the box. If the crystals ever get to wet, just dry them in an oven or the sun. If you are worried some filaments get wet unopened? Just fill a bin with those crystals and bury your stock until needed. A clever designer would take that idea, and could build that around an, in use, spool hooked up to a working machine. and the 6 x silica panels would be removable to easily remove for drying.

[wagnerlip]

Hello friend, I found that if you will print this on Bambu Lab A1 unit, both bottom parts fit at once on print bed, you can use the Bambu Lab Studio (previous to print) overlap them a little bit, merge them and print at once as a single piece, it saves time and filament on printing.

I print few of those (thanks), but still working on a different support for the base two overpasses instead of the support block. For some reason when printing with PET-G those blocks are almost impossible to remove.

Other, I installed the bowden coupler on the top, 1/4 from one edge, so the filament gets out vertically, and I shorten the hygrometer holder arm just to hold the indicator, eliminating the long bottom curved (I don't feel any difference). The box(es) stay aside the printer, it is better way to exit vertical.

I also made a tube like a medicine bottle with cap (full of narrow slits), a bit of smaller diameter, 50% full of silica gel, insert into the spool hole, it turns slow along with the spool and move the silica. With that it reaches 14% moisture. Have few of those tubes ready, bake them whenever empty the 1kg spool. Always fresh silica gel.

[Cenedd]

You mentioned metric vs Freedom units. I think I can muddy the waters for you a little more than that. Those bowden tube entry gromets are sold as M10 but the thread on them is actually a G1/8 BSPP - as are a lot of threads that are on parts that were originally pneumatic parts. This is only really useful if you want to either tap the hole or model the thread in the 'rocket' part. The correct tap drill size you might actually have as it's 11/32 (about 8.8mm).
I've just finished printing parts for a system the 'right' way round....but now I'm wondering if a 50-50 mix of the two would let me fit them closer together and get more on a shelf.

[PhilippensTube]

I printed the rollers in TPU. That way, the spool has more grip than on hard plastic. I printed the filament stop also in tpu. A bit of flex gives better fit (I think).

[BooDevil]

Too funny - my bro and I literally just designed almost this same system yesterday over the phone, and I even already had the same Wildone cereal boxes LOL
So OBVIOUSLY a great idea! TY for the STLs - you just saved us a lot of time!

[jfassino]

Just ordered the parts for making 6 of the dry boxes. Thanks for sharing the idea.

[commonsense]

Great video Mark, thanks for sharing your project and information!

In reference to your workspace, if you have AC in the room and the humidity is too high, there are solutions to help lower it if this space is actually a seperate room in your garage. A decent exterior door that is made to be waterproof with seals, instead of using an interior door, would help quite a bit. Again this assumes this is a seperate room within your garage. Next are the wall, ceiling, and floor. They make moisture barrier concrete sealer if you have a concrete floor. If you have carpet over the floor, it makes sense to remove the carpet, seal the floor, then reinstall the carpet. They also make moisture barrier paint that can be applied to both the walls and ceiling, which should also help the intrusion of water vapor into your workspace. Once you have sealed the room from water vapor from external sources, your air conditioner should easily reduce the moisture in that space to below 40, or even 30%, possibly more, depending on how well the room is treated. Any hear generated in the room will cause the AC to run even more, further reduce its moisture content.

[TCOmuns]

If you do in the future decide to modify these to do the active drying, remember that airflow and having some place for the moisture to escape is much more important for effective drying than the heat is. So to have success on that project, ensure you have both a way to ensure good air circulation in the container and a way for the moist air to escape. Both of these could probably be aided by building a vent into the top of the container with some kind of method to seal it when it is not actively drying.

[JoshMurrah]

I really love this, and will probably be using it for building a DIY MMU (tradrack). I like the drop-in desiccant, versus the glue-in one the other guy did, but the innovation of doing the lid on bottom, was a really cool thing the other guy did, and I like what you've done to improve it. Good work

[sierraecho]

I too started out with roller bearings, however it is best to have a little bit of friction otherwise the roll might unwind in a bad way. Just use some PTFE tubing for the contact surface instead.