Thorough filament drying is extraordinarily essential in 3D printing with plastic if you want to create professionally wanting miniatures, figures, and life-size fashions on a desktop 3D printer. In case you work with a couple of printer or 3D print with a number of colours without delay, you would possibly want a superb filament dehydrator, similar to Sunlu FilaDryer S4, in your workshop to get rid of strings and different points attributable to moist plastic.
Gambody’s chief engineer bought an opportunity to unbox and evaluation the brand new highly effective S4 machine. Learn the way it compares to FilaDryer S2, what different utilization it affords, and the way it can change your passion.
About Sunlu
Sunlu specializes within the manufacturing of filaments for 3D printing and dryers for them. The corporate’s undoubted hit, Sunlu FilaDryer S2, has gained nice recognition amongst 3D printing lovers, all because of its fascinating design, easy controls, and secure excessive drying temperature, which lets you dry even refractory filaments with out issues. The S2 dryer is forward of its rivals in lots of respects and pleases the attention with its value.
Gambody’s group of engineers fell in love with FilaDryer S2 and nonetheless makes use of it so much because it allows you to overlook about sealing plastics in luggage or shopping for silica gel for drying. Nowadays, it’s sufficient to put the filament into the dryer for a number of hours earlier than 3D printing and overlook about any issues related to plastic moisture.
You possibly can learn our evaluation of the S2 dryer and see when you want to change to or add the latest Sunlu FilaDryer S4 to your loved ones of filament dehydrators.
Sunlu FilaDryer S4
Not way back, Sunlu offered their newest Sunlu FilaDryer S4. It isn’t an up to date model of S2, because the identify would possibly recommend. Sunlu S4 dryer is a very new product increasing the corporate’s line of the very best filament dryers.
If the spectacular Sunlu FilaDryer S2 is taken into account a house dryer for 3D printing lovers, then the brand new S4 sequence might be proudly known as an expert resolution that’s appropriate for 3D printing laboratories. This 4 spool filament dryer can formally accommodate 4 1kg spools, but Gambody managed to put six spools inside this machine!
The brand new launch affords unimaginable potentialities, and we are going to share all of the particulars in our detailed Sunlu FilaDryer S4 evaluation.
Greatest Filament Dryer
What’s the finest filament dryer? Also called a filament dehydrator, a daily dryer is designed to take away moisture from plastic to enhance the 3D printing course of, whereas the very best filament dryer is designed to simplify your life by providing user-friendly controls and nice outcomes with the least quantity of effort.
In case you hear popping or crackling noises whereas printing and the extruded filament seems uneven and non-smooth, this will point out you might be utilizing moist materials. The moisture expands when heated, which disrupts the continual profile of plastic extruded by means of the nozzle and might result in imperfect 3D prints. TPU and nylon are two forms of significantly moisture-sensitive supplies that take in moisture quicker than widespread filaments like PLA. Subsequently, it is strongly recommended to retailer TPU and nylon in hermetic containers, or use the very best filament dryer to work with these 3D printing supplies with no points.
Learn additionally: Greatest Recommendations on How one can Retailer 3D Printer Filament.
The filament dryer, geared up with a heated chamber that homes spools, removes moisture and ensures a gradual plastic provide. You possibly can dry the filament earlier than 3D printing or feed it straight from the dryer to your 3D printer, and selecting the very best filament dryer is your prime precedence.
Sunlu S4 Dryer Unboxing
Sunly FilaDryer S4 arrives in a reasonably large field of 14.5 x 11 x 19.7 inches (370 x 280 x 500 mm) and takes up nearly the entire inside area! This filament dehydrator is 17.9 x 8.7 x 12 inches (457 x 222 x 305 mm), which is de facto spectacular because it seems a lot smaller within the on-line images.
The Sunlu dehydrator’s dimension is nice and can simply accommodate as much as 4 standard-size spools of filament. The package consists of the Sunlu filament dryer guide and a set of Teflon tubes and gap plugs. It’s nice that the facility provide not comes individually. It’s hidden contained in the dryer, which is handy! The 350W dryer has a most heating temperature of 158 °F (70 °C).
Sunlu Dryer Field Design
The 4 spool filament dryer has a form of a black translucent field with a big contact display within the center. The entrance half is roofed with plastic glass much like the one within the FLSUN V400 enclosure, which might be simply scratched even when you wipe it with a not-so-clean rag, so we determined to depart the protective movie on.
The producer suggests loading filament into the dryer utilizing the 2 separate doorways on the highest. Every door latches securely and tightly, tremendously decreasing the noise degree of the followers inside. The field has steel legs on the backside, which makes the general look costlier. Basically, the design pleases the attention, being uniform and minimalistic with nothing additional.
What’s Inside?
Inside, the chamber is split into two similar sections, every of which has a pair of rubberized rollers that spin on bearings (changing them is as straightforward as within the S2 model). Every part has its personal cooler, and there’s a lid-closing compartment for silica gel.
The producer suggests putting in two spools (with a most width of 29.5 inches or 75 mm) on all sides. Nonetheless, nobody can cease you from experimenting. For instance, we had been in a position to place six normal spools inside (you are able to do this too to both retailer them or dry the filament).
Learn additionally: Over 100 Enjoyable 3D Printer Initiatives.
Display
As you plug your Sunlu FilaDryer S4, the very first thing we see is the nice inexperienced backlight (simply as on the S2 mannequin). It’s a small factor, however I actually prefer it! In contrast to within the S2, the display and font dimension of the S4 are smaller, however this doesn’t intervene with its use. Evidently the pixel density has been elevated, and the display itself has grow to be extra responsive to the touch.
The performance stays the identical as within the S2. You possibly can arrange the temperature, humidity, and drying time utilizing the entrance panel. Every widespread filament (PLA, ABS, PETG, PA, or PC) has its preset configuration. Thus, all you need to do is solely choose your filament sort and press “Begin.”
Sunlu FilaDryer S4 operates in two modes:
- The primary is a timer, the place the temperature and drying time are set;
- The second is moisture management, the place the machine maintains the humidity degree inside 20%, robotically turning the dryer on and off as wanted. This mode is particularly helpful for storing your 3D printing plastic.
Sunlu S4 dryer has eight filament holes to allow you to dry a number of filaments and printing on 4 3D printers on the identical time. Personally, I see this dehydrator as a extra skilled resolution and want to have some further settings, similar to controlling fan speeds and noise.
Learn additionally: Greatest 3D Printer Air flow System for Resin and Filaments.
How one can Use 4 Spool Filament Dryer
It’s easy to make use of FilaDryer S4. Place as much as 4 1kg spools of filament contained in the chamber, the place they are going to sit vertically on the rollers. Loading plastic is handy, because of the big machine doorways. After plugging the Sunlu dehydrator and urgent the primary change on the rear panel, the “energy” image seems on the management panel, beginning the drying course of. The followers will run, and the dryer will warmth as much as the temperature and humidity settings you’ve gotten chosen.
In testing, we let this 4 spool filament dryer warmth to its most temperature of 158 °F (70 °C) in lower than 5 minutes. It used about 400 W of energy whereas heating, however afterward, it used solely about 80 W to keep up the temperature. At room temperature of about 78 °F (26 °C) and a humidity of 55%, the dryer successfully lowered the humidity ranges contained in the chamber, guaranteeing secure drying high quality.
The followers are fairly noisy when the dryer is working. In case you stick your hand inside, you may even really feel how the new air plenty are mixing. Closing the lid helps so much to cut back the noise, after which the drying chamber is barely barely louder than the S2 model. As famous above, I want to see the silent mode sooner or later.
Operating Exams
The principle downside that happens if you 3D print utilizing moist plastic is a lot of strings, unstable printing, a clogged nozzle that may utterly break your print, and items of uneven rods breaking off, all of which can’t be mounted by altering the printing configurations.
To check Sunlu FilaDryer S4, positioned by the producer as the very best filament dryer, we used Sunlu TPU Gray plastic. We selected TPU as a result of this mushy plastic absorbs moisture particularly nicely, so utilizing it in our experiment sounds excellent.
To organize higher, we saved the plastic with out a bag and hydrogel in a damp setting for an entire week. Firstly, we 3D printed a GeZilla 3D printing mannequin as a take a look at utilizing the next choices (we didn’t use Sunlu S4 dryer at this stage):
- Take a look at 1 – we labored with a nozzle preheated to 446 °F (230 °C);
- Take a look at 2 – we printed with a nozzle preheated to 374 °F (190 °C).
- Take a look at 3 – we dried plastic within the Sunlu S4 filament dryer for six hours and repeated our take a look at. You possibly can see the ends in the images beneath:
Our Benchy boat take a look at additionally confirmed a noticeable enchancment in 3D printing high quality after we dried the plastic within the Sunlu dryer field at 131 °F (55 °C) for five hours. Such outcomes show how essential it’s to have the very best filament dehydrator when you try for wonderful 3D prints.
Utilizing S4 with AMS Mini
One of many first issues that got here to my thoughts whereas reviewing this 4 spool filament dryer was, “Is it doable to attach Sunlu S4 to Bambu Lab A1 mini 4-color printing 3D printer with AMS lite?” Whereas the usual AMS model shops spools contained in the chamber, the place you may add silica gel, the mini AMS is an open chamber machine.
Properly, to my shock, I’m not the one one who requested this query! Extra to say, there’s a 3D printing challenge that may mix Sunlu FilaDryer S4 with the AMS mini filament feeding system. You merely have to obtain the recordsdata, 3D print all of the components, and assemble them. Apart from, you may improve the area on your Sunlu dryer field, 3D print a tray for it and arrange your workspace.
Additional Options & Different Methods to Use
Let’s take into consideration how one can doubtlessly use your FilaDryer S4 at dwelling moreover retaining your filament dry. Because of its giant dimension and rectangular form, your filament dehydrator may also help you dry gentle garments. Or you should utilize it as an acetone bathtub.
You can even consider utilizing its low-humidity and high-temperature options on your different functions.
Learn additionally: How one can 3D Print Versatile Filament at Dwelling.
Sunlu FilaDryer S4 is a strong skilled filament dehydrator. Its giant dimension solely reveals its potential. Since this machine requires some area, you might want to take into consideration your desk format earlier than making a purchase order. Huge dimensions, nevertheless, will aid you to dry plastics for 2 or 4 3D printers on the identical time or just retailer as much as six 1kg spools of filament contained in the chamber to stop moisture. You can even adapt the Bambu Lab AMS lite to make use of with this 4 spool filament dryer.
What do I lack within the FilaDryer S4 model? Maybe I used to be anticipating its show to supply extra settings. I prefer to work in silence, and if the dryer is positioned near your workspace, the fan noise might be distracting. What I additionally seen is that the S4 dryer consumes extra electrical energy than the S2.
Basically, Sunlu S4 is a strong and extremely productive dehydrator. In case you 3D print so much and have a couple of 3D printer, this may be the very best filament dryer in your workshop.
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