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Discover the Smart Cabinet - the most efficient partner for your BCN3D printers
On-demand webinar: Three ways in which the Smart Cabinet boosts your workflow
Performance
Supported by our smart drying technology, the humidity-controlled environment has been designed to extend the service life of your materials, protecting the filament and reducing print failure due to moisture, significantly improving your prints’ quality.
Protection
Protect your equipment and your work against power outages thanks to the Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS). In the event of a blackout of up to 10 minutes, this technology will enable the 3D printer to automatically resume the printing process once the power is back. In case of a longer outage, the UPS will save the printer’s last position, so that you can manually resume the printing process at any time.
Fit them all
Depending on the configuration chosen, the dehumidifier can fit up to 10 small spools (width up to 55mm), 4 big spools (weight up to 2,5kg), or 6 BCN3D Spool Cartridges -or a combination of them! Arrange your filaments in the most convenient way according to your needs, and reduce the need for loading and unloading processes.
Integration
Full 3D printing solution. The Smart Cabinet integrates with your 3D printers, materials, and software, streamlining your workflow thanks to its fast and easy loading of up to ten filament spools and its wheeled structure, which enables effortless transportation across your facilities.
The mechanical properties of the 3D printed part are strongly dependent on how well the filament is stored
Tensile specimen printed in Polyamide (PA) from a spool stored in a regular environment.
Tensile specimen printed in Polyamide (PA) from a spool stored in the Smart Cabinet.
+ 22% Tensile Strength. + 57% Young's Modulus of rigidity.
Our Smart Drying Technology
Within our humidity-controlled environment, an automatic drying cycle pushes the air through a compartment filled with alumina, a material that absorbs the moisture.
The desaturated air is pushed back towards the material compartment, free of any moisture that could damage your filaments. This cycle reduces significantly the environment’s relative humidity.
This technology effectively keeps the filament dry, ensuring that the materials maintain their mechanical properties throughout the whole 3D printing process.
BCN3D Spool Cartridge
The new BCN3D Spool Cartridges have been designed to give you greater control during the process of loading and unloading filaments, while significantly accelerating both workflows.
BCN3D Spool Cartridge
The new BCN3D Spool Cartridges have been designed to give you greater control during the process of loading and unloading filaments, while significantly accelerating both workflows.The magnets in their cover and the main body allow for easier loading of spools, as well as to quickly snap the cartridge in the loading or parking area of the Smart Cabinet. This system also prevents filament tangling: when unloading your material, the extra slack due to the long distance between the extruders and print heads is kept inside the cartridge.
White paper: The effects of humidity on 3D printing filament and drying methods
Effect of environmental humidity on printability of hygroscopic filaments
Print quality was tested with our most hygroscopic filaments, after recreating an environment with constant humidity and storing each spool for 4 days. PVA ensured good print results for a wide range of conditions, while PA and especially TPU required a much more restrictive storage protocol.
Highly hygroscopic filaments: humidity limit of printability
The humidity limit of printability was obtained after storing the filaments for 4 days at 25 ºC and specific relative humidity (RH). We observed that PVA could be printed successfully when stored at up to 40% RH. PA started to show superficial imperfection when stored at a 30% RH. TPU proved much sensitive to moisture and did not give satisfactory results when stored above 12% RH.
Highly hygroscopic filaments: Shelf life
The three hygroscopic filaments under test underwent a kinetic absorption evaluation. When stored at typical humidity conditions (60% RH), each filament required a different amount of time to reach its printability limit. We calculated that PVA could be kept on an unprotected shelf for up to 12 hours before requiring a drying cycle. PA shelf life was estimated at 4 hours, which makes it unsuitable to very long prints. According to our calculation, TPU should be handled carefully, as its extrusion performances started decaying after only 1.5 hours.
Get the best finish
Hygroscopicity, the tendency to absorb moisture, is a great enemy of 3D printing, as it is a prominent characteristic of most thermoplastic materials. Even a small percentage of humidity can negatively affect most filaments and, therefore, the end result of the print job, not only through imperfections which appear on the print surface, but also damaging its mechanical properties. Correctly storing your filament will have, then, a significant effect in the overall quality of your printed parts.
Tested Sample: BCN3D PA (polyamide)
Spool stored 4 days in an environment with high levels of humidity. Over extrusion and poor accuracy. Rough surface, opaque appearance and much stringing are an indication of an irregular extrusion and poor interlayer adhesion.
Spool stored 4 days in a workspace environment with 40-60% relative humidity. Good extrusion and dimensional accuracy, but rougher surface, due to the formation of vapor micro-bubbles.
Spool correctly stored in the dehumidifier of the BCN3D Smart Cabinet. Continuous extrusion without interruptions or formation of vapour bubbles. Smooth surface and no stringing.
Spool stored 4 days in an environment with high levels of humidity. Over extrusion and poor accuracy. Rough surface, opaque appearance and much stringing are an indication of an irregular extrusion and poor interlayer adhesion.
Spool stored 4 days in a workspace environment with 40-60% relative humidity. Good extrusion and dimensional accuracy, but rougher surface, due to the formation of vapor micro-bubbles.
Spool correctly stored in the dehumidifier of the BCN3D Smart Cabinet. Continuous extrusion without interruptions or formation of vapour bubbles. Smooth surface and no stringing.
Key Features
Key Features
Print while in storage
The dehumidifier can fit up to 10 small spools (weight between 750 g - 1 kg and width up to 55mm) or 4 big spools (weight up to 2,5kg). These can be loaded to your 3D printer directly from this humidity-controlled environment, therefore allowing it to print while keeping the materials in perfect condition.
Humidity-controlled environment
Designed to extend the service life of your materials, the alumina absorbs the moisture from the air in the chamber. Once it becomes saturated, this material is isolated from the filaments and gets heated up until it releases the moisture, purging it out of the system. This process effectively keeps the filament dry and in optimal condition for its use.
Complete working station
The tool drawer provides you with every utensil you might need, and thanks to the extra space for your laptop or tablet you count on a full working station right by your 3D printer.
Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS)
The UPS electric signal filtering protects your print from any possible outages and micro-cuts on the electric current. In the event of a blackout of up to 10 minutes, this technology will enable the 3D printer to automatically resume the printing process once the power is back. In case of a longer outage, the UPS will save the printer’s last position, so that you can manually resume the printing process at any time and without consequences for your print.
Storage and transportation
Maintain your workspace organized and clean at all times thanks to the ample storage space, designed to keep extra building plates and unopened filament spools - and thanks to the Smart Cabinet’s transportable structure, your printer can be easily moved across your facilities.
Benefits of the Smart Cabinet compared to other drying methods:
BCN3D Smart Cabinet:
- Optimal for all materials
- Low Energy consumption: 12 W Avg / 100 W Max
- 10 storage slots for small filament spools (4 for big spools)
- Prints while in dry storage
- Humidity-controlled environment, dries without heat
- No consumable parts
Other systems:
Oven Baking:
High energy costs, decreases tensile strength, time-consuming, melts filament if too hot.
Desiccants:
No RH control, constant replacement, and maintenance.
AC & Dehumidifier:
High energy costs, unable to reach below 40% RH, ineffective in low temperature/winter conditions.
Other Filament Dryers:
Constant heat baking with high energy consumption, unable to dry for extended periods, only able to dry a few spools at a time.
Questions? Check out our FAQ document and find every answer you'll need!
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