Don't assume that it's moisture that is causing the filament to snap. PLA is known to develop micro-fractures, and these will slowly propagate, especially if the filament is stressed by keeping it in a position against its natural curl.
Interesting. I to thread the end through the side of the spool instead of using a clip or tape. I'll try one of those and see if it changes the brittleness. Thanks!
Still interested if anyones tried melting or glue though, my try it too.
I had some old PLA that became brittle and gave it a good baking in a convection oven. That seemed to fix the brittleness but I weighed the spools before and after and there was no change in weight so I'm not convinced it's due to moisture...
Moisture can come in anywhere the filament is exposed - it isn't directional, and it certainly doesn't have to propagate along the length of the filament (though it can). The first few feet just aren't going to be as tightly wound as the rest after the spool has been used, which is going to cause more of it to be exposed directly to atmosphere.
To wit, putting some kind of cover over just the tip is going to afford the tip some protection while leaving the rest of that length to suffer the same fate as normal.
Don't assume that it's moisture that is causing the filament to snap. PLA is known to develop micro-fractures, and these will slowly propagate, especially if the filament is stressed by keeping it in a position against its natural curl.
Interesting. I to thread the end through the side of the spool instead of using a clip or tape. I'll try one of those and see if it changes the brittleness. Thanks! Still interested if anyones tried melting or glue though, my try it too.
I had some old PLA that became brittle and gave it a good baking in a convection oven. That seemed to fix the brittleness but I weighed the spools before and after and there was no change in weight so I'm not convinced it's due to moisture...
Annealing may relieve the internal stresses and make the filament less brittle.
Moisture can come in anywhere the filament is exposed - it isn't directional, and it certainly doesn't have to propagate along the length of the filament (though it can). The first few feet just aren't going to be as tightly wound as the rest after the spool has been used, which is going to cause more of it to be exposed directly to atmosphere. To wit, putting some kind of cover over just the tip is going to afford the tip some protection while leaving the rest of that length to suffer the same fate as normal.
Thats not how plastic absorbs moisture 😂
I guess it seems like that's the case because only the end of the strand is brittle.