Food to Filament Dehydrator Kit

USE AT YOUR OWN RISK

Inspiration

This print was inspired by 3dMakernoob's Dehydrator Dual Spool Holder.

3dMakernoob's design was looser than I liked in my Dehydrator, so I designed one to screw directly onto the dehydrator itself in place of the original white plastic cover over the fan and heating element (see pictures).  I also had trouble drilling clean penetration holes into the walls that come with the Dehydrator, so I designed printable walls as well.

I left the metal cover in place, so I **think** this is safe, but this is an electric heating device and I am no expert, so use at your own risk.  I have been using the dryer continuously for more than one year with no trouble.

Instructions

You need 1 spool holder, 1 spool collar and 6 walls.

At least one of the walls should have a “small hole," otherwise, you won't be able to get the filament out.  You can add more if you want more options, but they may reduce the efficiency of the dryer.  If you're not sure – print more walls with holes; you can always cover unused openings with tape later.

The spool holder needs supports and should be printed at 100% infill.

After printing,

1. Remove the white plastic cover over the dehydrator heating element / fan
   Do not remove the metal cover underneath that
2. Using the same screws, attach the spool holder
   Note that the print should have a single layer across the opening of the holes (because you can't print in thin air) – just push the screws through it
3. Put one skateboard bearing on each horizontal post
4. Put three skateboard bearings on the central vertical post
5. Put the spool collar over the central vertical post
6. Attach the walls to the base (press fit)
7. Use cable ties to connect the walls to each other

Tips

• Make sure that you use a filament that can stand the heat.  I used Fiberlogy Easy PET-G
• The dryer actually uses twice as much power as my Prusa Mini.  Running it all the time makes my makerspace the warmest room in the house.  So my primary electricity cost has been running my central A/C to make the rest of my house freezing-cold so that room will be livable.  I recently picked up a small appliance timer and use it to run my dehydrator on a 50% duty cycle, which has greatly mitigated the situation

Note for the Contest

This print is actually an update of a modification of an existing product.  Does that mean it counts as two entries?  :-)

USE AT YOUR OWN RISK