CFS Back Desiccant Container

CFS Back-Shelf Desiccant Container 💧

The Creality CFS keeps its desiccant in two cavities in the floor, under vented cover plates, and leaves a long empty shelf running across the back. This puts that shelf to work: two magnetic trays of loose silica beads sitting directly above the filament bays.

Nothing is glued to the machine and nothing is modified. Two strips of VHB tape hold the base rails, and the trays lift straight out for recharging.

🟩 𝗪𝗛𝗔𝗧 𝗠𝗔𝗞𝗘𝗦 𝗜𝗧 𝗪𝗢𝗥𝗞

▸ 𝗣𝗲𝗿𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗢𝗻 𝗘𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆 𝗙𝗮𝗰𝗲 — The tray is not a solid box with a vented lid. All four walls are round-hole perforated and the lid is a diamond mesh, so air moves through the whole thing rather than only across the top.

▸ 𝗔 𝗗𝗼𝘃𝗲𝘁𝗮𝗶𝗹, 𝗡𝗼𝘁 𝗔 𝗦𝗻𝗮𝗽 𝗙𝗶𝘁 — The lid slides into a dovetail along the top edge of the tray. Nothing to click shut, nothing to fatigue, and nothing that springs open while you are lifting a full tray out of the machine.

▸ 𝗧𝘄𝗼 𝗟𝗶𝗱𝘀, 𝗔𝗻𝗱 𝗢𝗻𝗲 𝗢𝗳 𝗧𝗵𝗲𝗺 𝗜𝘀 𝗙𝗼𝗿 𝗙𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴 — The funnel lid slides into that same dovetail and has an open throat. Slide it in, pour the beads, slide it out, slide the plain mesh lid in. No beads spilled down into the filament bays, which is the failure this part exists to prevent.

▸ 𝗠𝗮𝗴𝗻𝗲𝘁𝗶𝗰, 𝗡𝗼 𝗦𝗰𝗿𝗲𝘄𝘀 — A thin base rail takes three 5 x 2 mm magnets and tapes to the shelf. The tray carries three matching magnets underneath and simply drops onto it, landing in the same place every time.

▸ 𝗣𝗿𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗜𝗻 𝗛𝗮𝗹𝘃𝗲𝘀 𝗢𝗻 𝗣𝘂𝗿𝗽𝗼𝘀𝗲 — Each half is 164.5 mm long, so it fits essentially any bed, and a half-length tray can be carried and poured without tipping beads back into the machine. Two of them span the shelf.

▸ 𝗖𝗵𝗲𝗰𝗸 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗖𝗼𝗹𝗼𝗿 𝗪𝗶𝘁𝗵𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗢𝗽𝗲𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗔𝗻𝘆𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 — Orange indicating beads read clearly through the diamond mesh, so a glance tells you whether they still have life in them.

🟩 𝗛𝗢𝗪 𝗜𝗧 𝗣𝗘𝗥𝗙𝗢𝗥𝗠𝗘𝗗

Measured on my own CFS and read off the machine display.

From a 38% starting point the enclosure came down to 5% relative humidity in 96 minutes, with the temperature flat at 27 °C throughout. To be exact about what that measures: the desiccant in the floor cavities was recharged in the same session, so it is the whole freshly charged CFS and not these trays in isolation.

The second test is the one I would judge it on. Two rolls on cardboard spools — the wettest spool material there is — went in that evening, after six hours in a filament dryer. Humidity climbed to 18%, a print ran overnight, and the machine read 7% the next morning. It is not a sealed box holding a number; it keeps up while the machine is working.

🟩 𝗪𝗛𝗔𝗧 𝗬𝗢𝗨 𝗦𝗨𝗣𝗣𝗟𝗬

▸ 𝗟𝗼𝗼𝘀𝗲 𝗶𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘀𝗶𝗹𝗶𝗰𝗮 𝗴𝗲𝗹, 𝟯 𝘁𝗼 𝟱 𝗺𝗺 𝗯𝗲𝗮𝗱𝘀. 𝗠𝗶𝗻𝗲 𝗶𝘀 𝗮𝗻 𝗼𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗲 𝗶𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗴𝗲𝗹 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗶𝘀 𝗰𝗼𝗯𝗮𝗹𝘁 𝗰𝗵𝗹𝗼𝗿𝗶𝗱𝗲 𝗳𝗿𝗲𝗲 — orange when it is ready to work, dark green when it is saturated.

▸ Twelve 5 x 2 mm disc magnets. Three per base rail and three per tray, two of each per machine. Depending on how your printer holds tolerance you may want a drop of super glue in each pocket.

▸ VHB double-sided tape for the two base rails.

None of that is included in the download.

⚠ 𝗧𝗔𝗞𝗘 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗕𝗘𝗔𝗗𝗦 𝗢𝗨𝗧 𝗕𝗘𝗙𝗢𝗥𝗘 𝗬𝗢𝗨 𝗥𝗘𝗖𝗛𝗔𝗥𝗚𝗘 𝗧𝗛𝗘𝗠

Indicating silica is recharged in an oven at 200 to 250 °F, or in a microwave. PLA starts to soften around 140 °F. Tip the beads into an oven-safe dish and recharge them there. Never put the printed tray in an oven, a microwave or a filament dryer — a dryer runs to about 158 °F, which is already past where PLA softens.

🟩 𝗣𝗥𝗜𝗡𝗧 𝗦𝗘𝗧𝗧𝗜𝗡𝗚𝗦

Two plates, both already set up in the project:

▸ 𝗣𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝟭 — two trays, two lids and two base rails. 18 h 32 m and 133.07 g.

▸ 𝗣𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝟮 — one funnel lid. 2 h 31 m and 28.57 g.

One funnel is enough for a machine, which is why it sits on its own plate. If you are printing a set for a second CFS later, use the no-funnel file and skip it.

0.12 mm layer height · 3 walls · 5 top and 3 bottom shells · 10% gyroid · 5 mm brim · no supports required

PLA · 220 °C nozzle · Epoxy Resin Plate · sliced on a Creality Hi 2 with a 0.4 mm nozzle

🟩 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗡𝗨𝗠𝗕𝗘𝗥𝗦

▸ Tray: 164.5 × 51 × 42.9 mm

▸ Mesh lid: 162.4 × 42.9 × 3 mm

▸ Funnel lid: 166.4 × 43 × 67.2 mm

▸ Base rail: 166 × 30.5 × 7 mm

▸ One complete CFS: 21 h 03 m and 161.64 g

Single-part files are included for every piece, along with a one-half project if you would rather print and try a single tray first.