3DPrinting
3DPrinting is a place where makers of all skill levels and walks of life can learn about and discuss 3D printing and development of 3D printed parts and devices.
The r/functionalprint community is now located at: or [email protected]
There are CAD communities available at: [email protected] or [email protected]
Rules
-
No bigotry - including racism, sexism, ableism, homophobia, transphobia, or xenophobia. Code of Conduct.
-
Be respectful, especially when disagreeing. Everyone should feel welcome here.
-
No porn (NSFW prints are acceptable but must be marked NSFW)
-
No Ads / Spamming / Guerrilla Marketing
-
Do not create links to reddit
-
If you see an issue please flag it
-
No guns
-
No injury gore posts
If you need an easy way to host pictures, https://catbox.moe may be an option. Be ethical about what you post and donate if you are able or use this a lot. It is just an individual hosting content, not a company. The image embedding syntax for Lemmy is ![](URL)
Moderation policy: Light, mostly invisible
view the rest of the comments
I use industrial silicagel granules that I buy in 5-liter jugs. The granules are blue when dry and turn purple/red when they no longer absorbs humidity. Then I throw them in the microwave for 5 minutes and the granules turn blue again - and scalding hot too.
It's not perfect because it gradually turns more and more silicagel granules to dust as they explode like popcorn. So after maybe 10 to 15 cycles, the silicagel becomes ineffective and the blue granules turn more and more to brown, Then it's time to throw it away and use a fresh batch.
It's possible to extend the life of the granules by drying them in a regular oven at low heat rather than in the microwave at full pelt but it's slow and annoying, and silicagel isn't that expensive, so I don't bother.
Perhaps microwaving for significantly longer, at a low power level, would be safer and result in higher success/yield?
That's what I do, never noticed the balls exploding. It takes about 20 minutes, but that's the microwave's time, not mine.