instructables

3D Filament Storage Box (in an IKEA SAMLA Box)

by Handy_Bear

3D printing is amazing - it gives you so many possibilities need to buy some stu :
to play with. And if you're like me, you've got multiple
rolls of lament to try out di erent colors and materials. Supplies:
_Silica Gel
However, 3D lament is hygroscopic - meaning it will
absorb moisture from the air over time. That means that
_Storage Container (mine's a 22L SAMLA box from IKEA,
in a few years, your precious lament may be too brutal
but I suggest you buy a storage box from a hardware
to print with and the print quality will be worse due to
store that already has clips on the side and a built-in
the water molecules that turn into steam when heated
sealing ring to make your life easier)
in the nozzle.
_Bowden tubes and connectors
Some laments like nylon and ABS are more prone to
degradation over-time, while others like PLA take longer.
_Humidity Sensor

Luckily, there is a cheap and simple solution to that

_M4 nuts and bolts
problem: dry boxes - and in this Instructable we'll be
doing just that.
_A sheet of rigid plastic ot aluminium (optional)

Most of the pieces will b 3D printed, but you will still

Step 1: Watch the Video

I made this one minute video on the building process to give you a quick overview of what to do:
3D Filament Storage Box (in an IKEA SAMLA Box): Page 1
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fUOdMoCvSVo&ab_channel=HandyBear

Step 2: 3D Print the Parts

For most parts, I found perfectly designed models from
Thingiverse. Here they are:
SAMLA box lid Clips:
https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:2110134
Bowden connectors:
https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:2953325
However, in all the dry box designs that I have seen the
silica gel is at the bottom of the box. It's certainly the
easiest solution, but I wanted to try something di erent:
attach the silica gel under the lid to make it easier to dry
it. For that, I had to design custom brackets:
https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:4692850
They require more work but in the long term, they'll save
you some time when maintaining the box.
I also created a mount for the Xiaomi humidity sensor
(more on that later):
https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:4692828

Step 3: Mount the PVC Tube and the Bowden Connectors

3D Filament Storage Box (in an IKEA SAMLA Box): Page 2

The assembly is fairly simple: just drill the holes and
attach the 3D printed parts with m4 bolts and nuts.
I didn't use any templates and it turned out ne, but to
be extra sure, you can also print some guides from here.
NB: if you plan to mount the silica gel on top of the
spools like I did, you'll have to mount the spool holder
lower to make room for the silica bag.
3D Filament Storage Box (in an IKEA SAMLA Box): Page 3
For the PVC tube, I cut it at around 31 cm but if you
mount the spool holder to the original height, the tube
has to be cut 31.5 cm.
I also didn't add Bowden tubes for all the spools, as I
won't probably need to access all of the spools at the
same time.
Step 4: Mounting the Silica Gel
Silica gel is the same stu you nd in little bags that
come usually with shoes or 3D lament to keep them
dry. It absorbs moisture and when heated, becomes dry
again - so you can use the same beads again and again.
There is also gel on the market that changes color when
going from dry to humid, but I decided to buy it in a
closed fabric bag to prevent spilling the gel beads
everywhere when I have to take them out of the box to
purge them from humidity.
To make the purging process even easier, I decided to
mount the silica gel under the lid of the box. The key to
make this system work is to use a sheet of material that's
as rigid as possible. If you use something exible like
3D Filament Storage Box (in an IKEA SAMLA Box): Page 4
plexiglass, it will bow under the weight of the silica gel
and touch the lament spools - thus blocking them on
the PVC pipe. That's why it's best to use something like
aluminum to prevent any excessive bending.
You can use long-nose pliers to keep the nuts in place
while screwing in the bolts, as it takes some ddling to
get everything in place.
The lid of a SAMLA box isn't at, that's why some parts
have the word 'Mid' in their name. The mid parts have to
be mounted in the middle of the lid, to keep everything
parallel.
 View in 3D Download

https://www.instructables.com/ORIG/F4J/QAPB/KKL5LHIN/F4JQAPBKKL5LHIN.stl

View in 3D Download

https://www.instructables.com/ORIG/F6U/KF76/KKL5LHIO/F6UKF76KKL5LHIO.stl

View in 3D Download

https://www.instructables.com/ORIG/FNT/WYEV/KKL5LHIU/FNTWYEVKKL5LHIU.stl

View in 3D Download

https://www.instructables.com/ORIG/F7G/0JSO/KKL5LHIV/F7G0JSOKKL5LHIV.stl

Step 5: Mounting the Sensor

3D Filament Storage Box (in an IKEA SAMLA Box): Page 5

I decided to use this smart Xiaomi sensor, as it can be
connected to a home network through a gateway to
send noti cations when the humidity level in the box
gets too high - or you could set up your speakers to give
you a musical reminder when the humidity level gets
critical.
For that to work, you'll also need to buy a Xiaomi
gateway, that will connect the Bluetooth equipped
sensor to your home WiFi - without the gateway, you'll
just have an overpriced minimal looking humidity
sensor.
To mount it, you'll need 4 m4 12mm bolts and 4 m4 nuts.
Just press the nuts in the 4 slots on the bottom piece
and screw the bolts in from the top.

View in 3D Download

https://www.instructables.com/ORIG/FB2/K3A1/KKL5LHUL/FB2K3A1KKL5LHUL.stl

View in 3D Download

https://www.instructables.com/ORIG/FCU/AS57/KKL5LHUM/FCUAS57KKL5LHUM.stl

Step 6: Done!

3D Filament Storage Box (in an IKEA SAMLA Box): Page 6

Now that you have nished the box, you can nally set
up the laments inside. If they had already absorbed
some humidity, you can dry them in an oven for a few
hours (40°C for PLA and 80°C for ABS = 104°F for PLA and
176°F for ABS).
Then, set them on the PVC tube rack, close the box with
the 3D printed clips and enjoy your new dry box!
Depending on how often you open your box and how
airtight it is, you'll have to dry out the silica gel in an
oven or on a radiator every few months - if you used a
box with a rubber seal, you don't have to worry as much
about the silica bag.
After a month of use, I have to confess that I actually
don't use the PVC tube rack to hold the spools - I usually
just take a spool out and place it on top of my 3D printer
when I need it. But I still use the box to store the lament
when I'm not using them, and the weight of the silica gel
bag pushes the lid down, helping to make a better seal.
If I had a printer with dual extrusion or the MMU from
Prusa, I'd probably use the box to its full potential with
the included Bowden tubes.
I hope you liked my Instructable. Stay creative, and have
a beautiful day!

Could you show a picture of it connected to your printer?

I have changed my 3D printing setup since I finished this project. Right now I'm using this box
only for storage and I have a rack above my printer for all the rolls I'm currently using
But before I had the drybox on a shelf above my printer.
Looks great. FYI, you can buy sealed boxes pretty affordably. I made my drybox out of this one:
https://www.target.com/p/sterilite-20qt-gasket-box...
They have lots of other sizes, too.
Thanks for the tip! I live in Belgium and I didn't manage to find sealable boxes when I was doing
the project from nowhere else than Amazon for pretty hefty prices. In the end, I thought that
perhaps making a drybox in an IKEA box for the tutorial would make sense because everybody
can't have access to the same boxes depending on where they live.

But I agree with you that making the drybox in a sealable container would be the best :)

3D Filament Storage Box (in an IKEA SAMLA Box): Page 7