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The new filament box is here

Save time, filament and purchased parts!

The first version of the filament box was created four years ago and is getting a little old. Over the past few years I have continuously developed the design, accompanied by the thousands of operating hours of my now five filament dry boxes.

After the ANYBOX V2, there is now the third revised and improved version of the DIY filament dry box: the ANYBOX  Version 2023!

It can be found alongside many other 3D printing projects here on my new website 3D-PRINT-FILES.

You can find the instructions for building the new box here:

DIY filament dry box
What’s new about the improved filament box?
  • Possibility to use IKEA Samla boxes: Build Ikea Samla Filament Box
  • Less purchased and 3D printed parts
  • Better guidance of the filament spools
  • Extra wide pulleys
  • Better use of space in the air-tight box
  • PrintFit system for precisely fitting connections
  • Faster filament changes
  • Easier filament handling
  • Less filament waste
  • New silica gel desiccant holder
  • Silica gel beads box for loose desiccant
3D print files of the DIY filament dry box

The most important improvements of the new filament box

IKEA Samla Boxes

The new version of the filament box contains all 3D printing files to modify inexpensive 6 gallon (22 liter) or 12 gallon (45 liter) IKEA Samla boxes to make them airtight and use them as a filament box.

Link to the conversion instructions: Build Ikea Samla Filament Box

IKEA Samla box 6 gallon (22 liter)

Converted 6 gallon (22 liter) Ikea Samla box into an airtight filament dry box that can be printed from at any time. DIY IKEA Samla Hack with three stored filament spools that can be printed directly.

IKEA Samla box 12 gallon (45 liter)

DIY 45l Ikea Samla box for filament storage with up to 5 filament spools. The filament spools are ready to be printed directly from the airtight and dust-free Samla box.

New pulleys

Inserting filament spools was sometimes difficult with the first version due to the narrow guide of the purchased pulleys. With the new filament box version, only commercially available ball bearings + 3D printed pulleys are used instead. As a result, the contact surfaces are wider and inserting the filament spools is now much easier.

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Better use of space

The new pulleys are now attached to the outside of the rod mount, which is specially cut out so you don’t need any spacers there. This increases the usable length within the filament dry box by approx. 60 mm. With the additional space, several wider spools can now be stored.

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Wide pulleys

Another innovation in the 2023 Version is the possibility of using wide pulleys for filament storage. Simply choose from 6 different widths and print. This means that each filament spool stands on only two wide pulleys.

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All of the wide pulleys included in the 3D printing files have been 3D printed in orange PETG filament and set up according to size. Starting with the 50 mm in 10 mm increments up to the 100 mm wide pulleyl

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A filament spool stands on ball-bearing, 3D printed wide pulleys that are threaded onto an M8 threaded rod.

Material type labels

Now optional filament labels can be 3D printed and attached to the filament outlets. This makes handling much easier once a few filament boxes have been built and are in operation 🙂

The STL files are available for 21 different material types.

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Material signs for the filament box - ready to clip into variant B

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Rendering of all 15 included different filament material labels as STL files.

PrintFit System

The 3D print files for critical 3D printing parts such as nuts and bushings for tubes are available in five different sizes. If a connection doesn’t fit, a part can be printed with a larger or smaller diameter. This means that assembly problems and difficult scaling in the slicer are a thing of the past.

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Cover photo of PrintFit article with Printfit logo and functionality is explained schematically

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Technical sketch dimensioning the gap between the 3D printed external thread and 3D printed nut to explain the PrintFit system

Less purchased parts

The pneumatic fittings for the PTFE tubes are not needed anymore. Thanks to the development of an own tube clamping system, no pneumatic fittings are needed. This means that it is now also possible to use PTFE tubes with other outside and inside diameters. The 3D print files required for these different tubes are all contained in the 3D print files. Since PTFE tubes with an inner diameter of 3 mm are also supported, it’s now possible to use the filament box for 2.85 mm filament too.

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Saving of seals and 3D printed parts

The unnecessary inclination of the 3D printed fittings mounts has been omitted in the new version. Due to the now straight end surface, the filament outlets seals much better with the box. Therefore, the printed seals or the silicone for sealing of the old version are no longer needed for the new filament box. This saves three components per filament outlet (seal, washer and pneumatic coupling). The new silica gel holder also no longer requires M3 screws, which saves an additional four screws as purchased parts.

Taken from the entire box, there are a total of 22 parts less in the new version.

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Easy filament handling

The opening and closing of the filament outlet has shifted to the front of the tubes due to the new plug, which brings several advantages of the new filament box:

– The plug can be pulled and put onto the PTFE tube much easier than it was possible with the pneumatic fitting.

– Thanks to this type of sealing system, very long PTFE tubes can also be used – right up to your 3D printer. This means that much less residual filament has to be pinched off when changing filament.

– A piece of open PTFE tube does not have to be hooked into the pneumatic coupling in order to optimally guide the filament, because it is already installed by default.

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Silica gel desiccant storage

The silica gel bag for drying is no longer on the bottom of the box. In the new version of the filament box there is now the possibility to fix the silica gel bag in the lid, where it no longer disturbs. The silica gel bag holder can also be easily changed and dried using an additional clip in the lid.

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Silica gel bag holder mounted in the lid of the filament dry box. The lid is slightly opened so that the desiccant holder and the clip mounted in the lid can be clearly seen.
In addition, there is also a free add-on for the filament box, with the 3D print files to print a complete DIY silica gel box. This means that loose silica gel granules can also be used with the box and be easily stored under the lid. The 3D printed box also fits easily into the clip on the lid and can therefore be easily changed.

Free Addon

3D printed Silica Gel Desiccant Box L mounted in the lid of the filament dry box, the photo shows how the lid of the filament dry box is being closed

Free Addon

Cover photo 3D printing silica gel box desiccant box with the fastening clamp, screws and the box L filled with loose silica gel granules and a half-open lid, next to it the box S without granules but with a closed lid.

Press-in tools

The 3D print files of the filament box also include 3D print models for press-in and press-out tools. This makes assembling and disassembling the bearing pulleys super easy.

Also included

Have you convinced by the many advantages and features of the new filament box?

Go to the shop to get more information or to get started right away.

3D print files of the DIY filament dry box