The Dry-Store multi from Stylox is a sealed container designed specifically for 4x1KG or 5x750g reels of 3D printer filament. Many 3D printer filaments degrade when affected by moisture absorption, so storing in a dry environment will help extend the lifespan and improve performance.
Manufactured from tough, high clarity Polycarbonate means you can easily see the filament inside the Dry-Store multi, which is handy when you’re looking for a particular reel. Inside, a small, neatly positioned vented container filled with dessicant gel beads keeps filament nice and dry.
The made to measure design means the overall size is kept to a minimum which is great if you have several and stack them on top of each other.
Due to its compact size, the internal volume of air is kept to a minimum. All air contains some moisture, so it makes sense to make the container as small as possible. It is fact that 1 x cubic foot of air at 21 degrees C and 50% room humidity will hold around 6 droplets of water. The Stylox Dry-Store multi being so compact in size has an internal volume of well under 0.5cubic foot when containing filament. This obviously depends on how full the reels of filament are when stored.
Product dimensions :
Ext. size – L33cm x W25cm x H24cm
Int. size – L31cm x W22cm (at top) x H22cm
Int. size – L28cm x W19cm (at bottom) x H22cm
Designed to comfortably store reels with a maximum diameter of up to 207mm
The best way to clean the product, should you need to and to avoid scratches from cleaning cloths etc. is to wash it in a warm solution of washing up liquid using a non-abrasive cloth. Allow to dry naturally or use a smooth soft absorbent cloth.
Polycarbonate by its very nature is susceptible to fine scratching. It is particularly difficult to avoid this during manufacture. Whilst every effort is made to prevent this, it is unavoidable that some fine scratching may have occurred. This will not however affect the clarity of the product.
As already stated, the container itself is sealed which will prevent any further moisture filled air from entering. The small amount of moisture trapped inside the container is easily dealt with by the silica gel beads. In their normal state they appear orange but when full of moisture they turn to a pale colour and begin to lose their effectiveness. They can be re-used many times by drying them out in a conventional oven at a low temperature.
Note - Keeping the lid on as much as possible will ensure the silica does its job. It will also extend the time it takes to fill the gel beads with moisture.
We suggest you empty the now pale coloured beads into a large oven proof dish making a thin layer if possible. Place in a pre-heated oven (max 120 degrees C) for about an 40-60 mins or until they return back to an orange colour.
LET THEM COOL slightly before handling as THEY WILL BE HOT. We suggest fanning the beads a little to help them cool quicker and to disperse the removed moisture. If you put them back into the main container too quickly when they are still hot, there is a chance that moisture still exiting from the beads could be re-absorbed. So, it is advised to let them cool fully but not for too long. Pour them back into their vented container as soon as you can and return this back into the main container and seal the lid.
We designed the Stylox Dry-Store multi as a result of trying to find the optimum sized storage container already on the market. Nothing really met our requirements and the ones that were vaguely the correct size, albeit too big, certainly were not airtight. The filament container originally was to be of a vacuum type where air would be extracted using a small pump. This would remove the moisture filled air.
It soon became evident that this concept was not the way to go because of the huge forces placed on the sides and lid once the air was extracted. The container clearly started to deform and implode as the pump was operated. The solution would be to thicken all sides and the lid with strengthening ribs but it became apparent that the overall external dimensions would greatly increase. Therefore the vented silica container version became the preferred option.