Just gave my first go at vacuum-sealing a filament spool using the EIBOS pump and reusable bags. First impressions? Surprisingly quick and oddly satisfying.

A full guide and video covering how these pumps work, and long-term storage tips, will be coming soon to 3DWithUs.

UPDATE: Full guide is live.

Filament Vacuum Pumps & Reusable Bags: Complete Guide
✍ https://3dwithus.com/filament-vacuum-pumps-reusable-storage-bags
💬 Have you tried vacuum storage yet?

If you’ve tried vacuum-sealing your filament, share your results (and fails!) below.

Edited 6 hours ago6 hr by Max Funkner

Great attempt! I’ve been wondering whether it’s really necessary to get a filament dryer — have you ever used one?

I’ve tested a few filament dryers and always keep them handy. I would still recommend having a filament dryer available — especially if you live in humid regions like the UK, for example. Moisture is everywhere.

Let’s say you open a spool and leave it printing overnight. When you seal it back using a vacuum pump and desiccant dehumidifiers, that may not be enough to restore the humidity to ideal levels. In such cases, I recommend drying the filament before sealing it — when needed.

It also depends on the filament type. For some engineering-grade materials like PA12-CF, manufacturers even recommend using a filament dryer for a few hours before printing, including with brand-new spools.

Here’s my test with Inlogic PA12-CF and PA6-CF. Brand-new filament is dried in the SUNLU E2, then fed into the Creality K2 Plus via a PTFE tube. Maybe overkill — but I got beautiful, functional prints!

4 hours ago, Max Funkner said:

I’ve tested a few filament dryers and always keep them handy. I would still recommend having a filament dryer available — especially if you live in humid regions like the UK, for example. Moisture is everywhere.

Let’s say you open a spool and leave it printing overnight. When you seal it back using a vacuum pump and desiccant dehumidifiers, that may not be enough to restore the humidity to ideal levels. In such cases, I recommend drying the filament before sealing it — when needed.

It also depends on the filament type. For some engineering-grade materials like PA12-CF, manufacturers even recommend using a filament dryer for a few hours before printing, including with brand-new spools.

Here’s my test with Inlogic PA12-CF and PA6-CF. Brand-new filament is dried in the SUNLU E2, then fed into the Creality K2 Plus via a PTFE tube. Maybe overkill — but I got beautiful, functional prints!

Thanks for the reply! I’ve decided to go ahead and get one in the end. Even though it’s just for home use, it’s still pretty frustrating to spend several hours printing something only for it to fail.