Bambu Lab spool silica gel desiccant container

Yet another spool silica gel desiccant container? Not quite the case.
This container fits the Bambu Lab reusable spools precisely, prints fast, is more stable and uses less material compared to other models. 

Bold claim, but I have tested the most popular models:

• If they are more stable, they use significantly more filament.
• If they are printed faster, they are less robust or borderline squishy.
• If they use less filament, they are smaller. This model with the same dimensions is lighter.

Do the test yourself, a print takes just over half an hour (without preparation time) and uses just over 15 grams of filament (with Bambu Lab Basic PLA).

Particularly suitable for storing filaments in large boxes. This model is also great for vacuum sealing filament rolls in bags.

Did I mention that a round hygrometer can also be used as an option?

Do you fancy a slightly slower version but with a logo? Then you should have a look here:

Branded Bambu Lab spool silica desiccant container

Attention, use the right print profile for your nozzle. The wall thickness of the model is optimized for the respective nozzle diameter. I recommend a 0.4 mm nozzle for unfilled filaments and a hardened 0.6 mm for carbon-, glass-, wood fiber or filaments containing particles.

0.6 mm nozzles can of course also be used with unfilled filaments if the model is to have extra oomph, but in my opinion this is not necessary.

This model is part of the Spool desiccant holders collection. Do you have a spool that is not in the collection? Let me know and I'll take care of that!

Passion for detail

Every detail was not just put on the literal, but on the actual scale. The various approaches were then tested in practice for both suitability and stability. The solutions chosen are not new, but they are new in this model combined.

The walls of the container are largely made from a single wall line.

This saves both filament and printing time, and there is practically no stringing in the model. A retract and z-hop are only required at layer changes or when printing several models. In addition, the seams can be practically invisible.

A close-up of the wall structure.

The stacked layers on the spokes, between which the outer walls following the radius of the circle as secants are drawn, are clearly visible.

All lines are straight, so the short bridges are printed perfectly without support material

The slight rounding of the lines is due to the optimisation of the slicer and the printing speed.

Rectilinear infill is generated using object modifiers to create the mesh in the container base and lid.

Rectilinear infill has the advantage that no paths are crossed during printing and therefore the nozzle does not scratch through ready printed material. This infill is also robust, light and quick to print. Three bonus points.

The cut-out for the round hygrometer uses exactly the right amount of material.

A clamping mechanism? The hygrometer already has that. Recesses? Not necessary. The hygrometer sits embedded and flat with the floor without the need for support material. With the right design decision, support material can often be avoided.

Threads optimized for 3D printing.

The threads are designed with an flank angle of 45° to ensure easy printing and maximum durability.

A blunt start and a blunt end save material and make it easier to find the thread when screwing in.

The tolerance was chosen so that the threads can be printed with any properly adjusted printer and any Bambu Lab printer anyway.

Arachne versus classic wall generator? Not really a question.

Well visible in Bambu Studio: Arachne uses ‘Inner wall’ to fill gaps, Classic uses ‘Gap infill’. For this reason, and because Arachne can calculate walls much more efficiently, classic is a whole 8 minutes slower.

Outdated Slicer software

I have noticed that the outdated Bambu Studio 1.10 and older versions do not slice some models and print profiles from MakerWorld correctly.

This is because object modifiers are not loaded correctly or not loaded at all.

So if you are using an outdated version, e.g. because you don't agree with the latest Bambu Lab course, and your prints don't look as expected, you need to use Orca Slicer 2.3 (I tested this version) or swallow the blue pill, update Bambu Studio to the latest version and stay with me in wonderland.

About my print profiles

Long story short, use my print profiles if you don't know exactly what you're doing. That's what they're there for: it just works.

If you change settings in the print profile, I assume that you know exactly what this does. Attention: Here be dragons!

How I create my models

I started developing 3D objects myself in 2010, when I got into 3D printing with Prusa Mendel. I still use the software I used back then: OpenSCAD. So if anything should not fit, let me know, adjustments are done with a few variables.  If I use a Standard Digital File License, the model was created from scratch in OpenSCAD, usually parametrically.

I publish all models that do not contain third-party work under Standard Digital File License, which is the normal case for me.